At last the craft cleared the aisles and came to rest in front of two towering steel doors. The left rotors reengaged, and the craft returned to its normal orientation. Brady glanced back; the portal had vanished somewhere in the lattice of aisles behind them.
“Let’s just hope we don’t have to do that again in a hurry,” Nova joked, shifting her focus back to the controls. Her fingers moved nimbly across the virtual buttons.
“Before I open the doors…” she said.
“Yes?”
“Just so you don’t get freaked out… We won’t be alone anymore when they open.”
Brady was offended by the accusation. “Freaked out? I don’t—I mean—I won’t get freaked out!” His voice grew softer. “But… what exactly do you mean by we won’t be alone?’”
“Well, there are the Rariis, for one.”
“Rariis? They sound like some type of car.”
“Actually, they are. Sort of, if cars could fly, I guess. The Rariis are cargo bots. They’re wired to do the heavy lifting for everyone else in this world. They operate in colonies, sort of like worker bees. It’s strange, they even sort of look like bees. You’ll never see one by itself. Anyway, Rariis kind of have two minds. Sometimes they think for themselves, and other times they share their minds with each other, like when they need to problem solve. Bad things happen if they get too far away from one another.”
“Bad things? Seriously? Like what?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it happen.”
“But why are they here?”
“They’re here to pick up their cargo so they can move on to their next job. Normally they’ll leave other bots alone, but they can get pretty nasty if they feel threatened. Have you ever thrown a rock at a hornet’s nest?”
Brady imagined being engulfed by a buzzing swarm of bees. It was not a thought that appealed to him in the slightest. “That, um—sounds pretty awful actually. So, where are these things?”
“Right on the other side of the door.”
Brady’s eyes locked on to the doors, and he tried to remain calm. “How are we supposed to get around them if they’re sitting right there? From what I can tell, there’s only one way out of here, and it’s right through that door!”
“We’re not going to go around them.”
“Huh?”
“We’re going to travel with them. These doors open into a hallway that will take us straight to the atrium. From there we go up and out. Then we can try to lock onto Achilles’ signal.”
“That sounds like a terrible plan. I can’t imagine we look anything like these Rariis. They’ll spot us as soon as the doors open.”
“Fortunately for us, looks don’t matter. At least, they won’t for a while. The Rariis rely on sound to echolocate, and they communicate using a wireless peer-to-peer protocol.”
Nova saw the confusion on Brady’s face.
“Sorry. What I mean is, Rariis that are nearby each other send signals over the air to tell each other what they’re thinking. They know how to work together to figure out who goes where and when. That way they can figure out the best route for everyone. It’s actually kind of cool when you see them together.”
“If you say so. But how does that help us?”
“The Rariis use a pretty simple protocol to communicate with each other. It’s basic enough that the AI unit on this craft can figure it out and mimic it. We’ll fit right in with their flight pattern, so we shouldn’t draw too much attention to ourselves. The only problem is that they’re constantly evolving their protocols—so the AI will only be able to keep up with it for a few minutes. Let’s just hope this trick works long enough for us to get out of the building. Are you ready?”
Brady nodded. “Sounds pretty complicated, but what other choice do we have?”
“I’m going to shut off the lights in case any of the Rariis have their visual sensors enabled. It shouldn’t be a problem, but it never hurts to be on the safe side. Same thing goes with the acoustic sensors, which are pin-drop sensitive. Fortunately the craft has sound cancelers—but still, try to keep quiet. Okay, here we go—cross your fingers.”
Nova pushed a final button and the headlights slowly extinguished. The room went completely dark except for the faint glow of the controls.
“Opening the doors,” Nova whispered.
A few seconds later, the doors began to grind open, revealing a dimly lit hallway beyond. A continuous stream of floating machines zipped through the passageway.
For the most part, the Rariis looked similar to one another, although there were subtle variances in size and shape. They were charcoal gray with a smooth concave underside that had a long fin protruding downward toward the rear. The tops of the chassis were flat like a tray, and most of the Rariis had several Evercells stacked on top. A single rectangular light glided back and forth around the perimeter of each creature, and they had large, claw-like arms on opposing sides.
Brady couldn’t help but cringe each time one of the Rariis passed by. As far as he was concerned, their indifference to the craft made them all the more intimidating.
The stream of bots gradually slowed and stopped, holding in place on the other side of the doors. The Rariis left a wide gap in which Brady and Nova could take their proper place in the line.
Slowly the craft moved into the hallway, did a ninety-degree turn, and sandwiched itself in the gap between the bots. There was a Rariis only a few feet in front of them and one immediately behind them. Brady looked out the side window just in time to see the doors closing on the storage room they had come from. He knew there was no turning back now.
It scared him to be so close to the machines. The shiny metal claws glistened in the low light of the tunnel. Brady almost jumped out of his seat when one of the claws twitched slightly.
Nova saw his movement and smiled. “It’s normal, Brady—just a fasciculation in its neural net. Nothing to worry about.”
Easier said than done, Brady thought as he held his breath. They were sitting ducks. If something happened now, they were trapped.
The seconds passed slowly while the rotorcraft hovered in place. Brady’s anxiety grew. He wondered why they weren’t moving. Had they been detected? Nova was watching something scroll by on the controls. She looked up at him and made an okay sign with her fingers.
After what seemed like an eternity, the stream of bots finally resumed their advance like cars on a roller coaster. The rotorcraft propelled itself down the long, narrow tunnel, moving slowly at first, but gradually accelerating in order to keep pace with the Rariis.
Brady turned and looked out of the rear window. There were hundreds of bots lined up behind them now, all heading toward the same destination. He felt the walls closing in on him.
They continued on for a minute, passing countless doors on either side, no doubt concealing more storage rooms like the one they had come from. There was one door, however, that was considerably larger than the others.
“That’s the way to the fusion reactor,” Nova said.
Soon the tunnel opened onto a dome-shaped atrium. It was enormous—easily the largest room Brady had ever seen. A spiral of lights twisted their way around the ceiling toward a broad hole in the center that opened to the night sky. Thousands of Rariis flowed in and out of the opening, weaving tightly between each other.
More bots poured in through other doorways along the circular wall, then funneled into streams that led to the center.
“This is unbelievable,” Brady whispered, watching the swarm of Rariis entering and leaving. The bots that were leaving were carrying cells, while the ones entering had empty cargo beds. “Are they all talking to each other?”
Nova nodded. “They’re built with short-range transmitters, so they can only talk to other Rariis that are nearby. Those Rariis will then relay the message to the next Rariis, and so on. That way they can create a mesh brain that can span great distances.”
“But why share a mind?”
“For
lots of reasons. You see how all of them are flying around without crashing into one another?”
Brady nodded.
“Their movement is coordinated. All of their thoughts are shared with everyone else. Imagine if you could be in hundreds of different places at the same time. That’s probably what it would be like.”
Brady had a hard time wrapping his head around that one.
The line continued moving toward the center of the room. When the rotorcraft was directly under the opening, they began their ascent.
But it was a rocky climb to the top. The craft twisted, turned, rose and fell, its flight system doing overtime trying to match the flight patterns of the other Rariis. They were getting close to the exit when Nova began to look nervous.
“Everything okay?”
Nova pointed down.
Brady looked down through his window. The tributaries of bots had broken formation and spread across the floor. When he looked back up, he saw that the bots ahead of them had reversed course—they were now flying back toward their craft. Soon they were enshrouded in a fog of buzzing machines.
“They’ve found an intruder,” Nova said. “There’s no use pretending anymore. Hold on—this is going to be close.”
Nova increased the throttle, and the craft rocketed upward so quickly Brady was forced into his seat. He could no longer see the ground through the swarm. The bots were filling the atrium and coming straight for them.
“You have a backup plan, right?” Brady asked. A Rariis struck the roof like a colossal ball of hail. The glass held.
“Sort of. The Rariis have to be close together in order for them to communicate with each other. If we can outrun most of them, anyone left should turn around when they lose contact with the others.”
Suddenly the craft shook hard; something had crashed into it from the side. The impact forced the craft to sway, and Brady steadied himself against the side door. He clenched his jaw and held on for dear life.
The exit was getting closer. Most of the bots were loaded down by their cargo and couldn’t match the craft’s speed. But those that were able to keep up continued to swarm angrily around them. Every second or so one would hurl itself at the craft, but the craft was able to dodge most of their attempts.
After a few more seconds they were out. They continued to climb, higher and higher into the night sky. The Rariis drifted about like golden fireflies, and for a second, there was calm.
It was mesmerizing.
When Brady looked down again he was amazed by what he saw. The building they had just left stretched for miles in every direction. The lights of the Rariis below came and went at various locations near the base of the building. There were fields of solar panels that blanketed the ground beyond the complex.
The craft continued to rise until it pierced through a thin layer of clouds. There were only a handful of Rariis flying this high, although more and more continued to burst through the fluffy white blanket in pursuit of them.
Nova slid her fingers on the control panel, and the craft jerked forward in response, speeding off. The dozen or so remaining Rariis had come together into a spinning ring formation that advanced toward them. The rotorcraft was moving forward at top speed, but was still managing to lose ground.
“We can’t outrun them,” Nova said. “They’re going to catch up to us soon.”
“And then what?” Brady asked, his eyes focused on the Rariis.
“I have an idea, but we need to let them get close enough to us first.”
“Close enough? Are you crazy? How do you know it will work?”
“I don’t have time to explain. I’m not sure it’ll work, but I don’t have a better idea.”
With a swipe of her fingers, the craft abruptly came to a stop. She pushed a few more buttons just as the ring of Rariis began to encircle them. The ring, wide at first, began to contract inward. The rotorcraft was almost within reach of their shiny claws.
“Why are we just sitting here?” Brady asked.
“Just wait.”
As the Rariis spun, their rotation grew more and more unsteady—and then the circle started to widen once again. It continued to grow and grow until it seemed as though the Rariis could no longer hold the formation. One by one they peeled off and dipped back down below the clouds in retreat.
As the Rariis streamed away, a thud from outside caused the craft to wobble back and forth.
“What was that?” Nova asked.
They both looked out their windows but saw nothing—they were alone.
“What did you do?” Brady asked.
“I created a field that blocked their communication. Without being able to talk to one another, they had to turn back.”
“That was too close.”
“No kidding. We’re high enough now that I should be able to pick up Achilles’ signal from below. Felix will be with him—wherever they are.”
Nova pressed a button on her watch and a holographic heads-up display materialized in front of them.
“It’ll take a few seconds to lock on.”
They waited together while a beacon blossomed on the display and began to pulse. Finally, the beacon glided over to a new location and a map materialized beneath it.
Nova frowned.
‘What’s wrong?” Brady asked.
Nova just stared down at the screen.
“What is it?” Brady demanded.
“The signal. It starts here,” she pointed to their current location and traced an arc with her fingertip, “and stops here.”
“What do you mean, stops here?”
“I mean—there is no more signal. They must be too far underground for the transponder to work.”
“So what do we do then?”
“We head toward the last place we saw the signal.”
“And what if we don’t find them there?”
“We’ll find them, Brady. Please, try to be optimistic.”
The rotorcraft picked up speed toward their new destination. As Brady looked out the window, he couldn’t help but feel small and insignificant. The light of the moon looked unearthly as it reflected across the icy clouds.
Brady thought about what Nova had said. It was hard to be optimistic given the circumstances—and she still hadn’t answered his question. But he would probe until he had his answers, especially since he and his brother had seemingly risked their lives to help her—and look what that had gotten them. Now seemed like as good of a time as any.
“You still never answered my question about the Evercells. What do you need them for? You have to go to a ton of trouble to get them. And you actually got caught tonight! So tell me, what is so important that you’re willing to risk everything for them?”
For the first time, Nova paused and seriously considered the question. “I—my family, that is… we’re different…”
Now he was getting somewhere.
She turned to look at him.
“We—”
Nova stopped, frowning.
“Sorry, what? Did I say something wrong?” Brady asked.
Nova’s attention was focused on the window behind Brady. “There’s something glowing near one of the rotors,” she said. A look of recognition crossed her face, but it was too late. “It’s one of the Rariis!” she yelled.
Brady turned around just in time to see the explosion.
Chapter 13: The Valley and the Lake
FRAGMENTED REMAINS OF THE RARIIS streamed down through the clouds, piece by smoldering piece, leaving wispy trails of smoke that quickly dissipated. The rotorcraft pitched steeply to one side before finally leveling off. They had managed to escape —somehow.
“Ugh. What the heck was that?” Brady mumbled, the words barely escaping his mouth. The tips of his fingers massaged deeply into his forehead and he tried to relieve the pressure that swelled within his skull. His vision was blurry and doubled.
“I don’t believe it: a Rariis must have stowed away on one of the engines during our escape. I bet it
hid under the wing.” Nova studied the craft’s diagnostics log looking for signs of damage.
“Okay, but why did it explode then?”
“I don’t know. That’s the part I don’t understand…”
Something caught Brady’s attention from outside the window. He glanced out to investigate and saw the rear turbine engulfed in flame, the smoke casting a gray haze over the stars. His head grew heavy and he began to wobble in his seat like a top ready to fall.
“I didn’t think it was possible for this day to get any worse!”
“What is it now?” asked Nova.
“THE WING IS ON FIRE!” His hand instinctively shot out and clutched the side door handle. The turbulence was starting to get to him, and he fought back a wave of nausea rising from the pit of his stomach.
He couldn’t figure out how Nova managed to keep calm through all of the commotion. Wasn’t she terrified? But her attention remained focused on the control panel in front of her.
“It will be okay,” was all she said.
The flames eventually burned out as the craft sped unsteadily forward across the night sky. They were just beginning to catch their breath when a hairline fracture appeared near the end of the wing. The damage went unnoticed for a short time before the pressure from the airflow caused the crack to widen.
Brady heard the sudden groan of the metal as the wing began to tear and rip apart. He looked back out the window just in time to see a volcano of sparks erupt from the ruptured surface. The engine broke free and spun off like a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. With it went any hope of making it to his brother alive. This is the end, he thought.
The craft shook violently. A few seconds later, an alarm began to blare at a deafening volume while the interior lights flashed on and off at a fever pitch. His senses were overloaded, his brain shutting down.
“We have to find somewhere to land!” Nova shouted, her voice barely audible over the screeching of the alarm. Her quiet sense of calm had been replaced with a steely determination. She quickly pulled up a map of their current location and enlarged an area in the upper corner of the screen. “There!” she said, pointing down at a vaporous image floating between two virtual mountains. Brady tried to look down, but had to turn away when he saw the topographic lines weaving back and forth like a plucked guitar string.
The Quantum Door Page 10
