by Frank Carey
“Oh, yeah. Love the turducken,” Olive said as she stuck a gloved finger in her mouth and made heaving motions. “What made you guys go into the nanobot business?”
“I came up with the idea when I was in a foxhole under fire and watched another marine get his arm blown off,” Seth said. “He died before we could get him evacuated. All I could think about was how we could regrow a limb at an accelerated rate while in the field. All the other techniques were biological and took too much time. Then it came to me: nanobots. They could knit flesh together at a highly accelerated rate, literally 3D printing a limb from the inside out. The rest was just making it work.”
“And he makes it sound so easy,” Margo said while rolling her eyes. “It took me a year to write the software.”
“Wow. How big are these ‘nanobots’ as you call them?” Olivia asked.
“The bots are about the size of bacteria. They can float in the bloodstream for about two weeks before being activated. After that, they’re broken down and passed out of the body like waste.”
“The serum is the key. It activates the bots by completing the program. Once complete, the bots follow it and the host’s DNA to regrow things.”
“Like arms,” Seth said as he flexed his left one.
They continued down the corridor, while the clock ticked toward force field failure.
“We’re getting close,” Megan said.
“Olive, Seth told us you’re in charge of a bunch of associate lawyers,” Juan said in an attempt to keep the tension down. “How many?” Juan figured maybe ten.
“I’m in charge of three hundred associates. I'm lead lawyer on five high-profile cases, six pro bono, and act as number two on three others. Finally, I answer to eight senior partners.”
“So this sort of thing--fighting off ZomBots--isn’t a stretch at all for you is it?” Sam asked.
She looked at him and said, “Naw.”
“There it is," Seth said as they carefully walked up to the device. It was a black cylinder about the size of a small half-refrigerator. He pressed a button on its side and a number of green lights and a single red one lit up.
“Keep alert, everyone. There's something wrong here,” Margo said as she looked around the room nervously, remembering Megan’s life form readings.
“It’s on internal power and undamaged," Seth announced after giving it a going-over. He took the control pad from Margo and plugged it into a jack near the lights causing the red one to go green while the pad powered up. “Working. Self-check complete. Ready,” it said with a woman’s voice.
“Prepare to move...” Seth said
The lights went out momentarily. When they came back on, the team found themselves in a scene from hell. Around the team, at least two hundred ZomBots blocked their way to safety.
“Seth,” Olive said quietly.
He turned and saw her standing there with a ZomBot holding her and pressing the points of its claws against her neck. Instinctively, he moved a fraction of an inch toward them.
“Stop, Seth, or I swear I’ll turn her,” the silver ZomBot said in a familiar voice.
“Mavis? Is that you? Listen, don’t do this. Please. Let her go. Let the others go and take me in their place. I promise I’ll cooperate.”
He saw the look on Olive’s face as she shook her head ever so slightly. “Sorry, Liv, but I can’t lose you again.”
Megan watched from behind her father. She had taken the safety off her gun the moment the lights went out. All of them did. She was watching for a shot when she noticed the pad on the device. It was counting down. Damn it Seth! How can someone your age move so fast? She thought to herself as she stepped backwards ever so gently into Margo. As Megan expected, Margo looked at her then the pad right behind Megan. Margo nodded.
“Seth, I may take you up on your offer, but first step away from the device.”
Seth did as he was told and walked around to stand next to Megan.
“Excellent. So what do you think of our little experiment?” Mavis asked.
“This was deliberate?”
“Sadly, no. Your system required two parts--serum and nanobots--which we found cumbersome. We tried to modify your bots so they would activate on contact with the bloodstream. Things didn’t go as planned.”
"What about the others? The hundreds of researchers, soldiers, and innocent people who were transformed against their will?" Seth asked, sickened by the thought of that much life lost.
"Not really sure. I was able to inject a sample of serum we had made, but I still changed, at least physically. I can think orders to the others, but that's about it. Yours are the first voices I've heard since the release. Hey, not to be too uncaring, but wasn't your left arm bit off earlier?"
"Yeah. My serum worked like it was designed to, but it was your bots that did the work. Dammit, Mavis, we could have done this together if you hadn't insisted on maintaining that steel curtain of secrecy you so love. Now look, hundreds dead and the world hanging in the balance. Was all this worth it, Mavis?"
"Of course it's worth it. I have immortality, and soon, I will be in control of the whole planet just as soon as that damn force field collapses. She moved forward while using Olive as a shield, so she could see the pad. “Seth, you idiot, you activated the EMP! Turn it off or I swear Olive gets scratched!”
“Let her and the others go, and we can talk,” he replied.
“I know you, Seth Marsden. You would take a bullet for any of your team. If I let her go, you’ll just sit here and take the full brunt of the blast to save the Earth, but save it from what? Becoming a ZomBot? It’s wonderful! My minions adore me. I'll be a wonderful mistress of the planet. Given time I will take my minions to other worlds and subjugate their populations. I'll...”
Olive dropped to the ground in an attempt to escape, but Mavis was too quick. She was able to inflict four deep scratches across Olive's neck as she slid from her grip.
Before anyone could react, Mavis screamed while disintegrating into a pile of dead nanobots.
Ignoring the other ZomBots who had become agitated, Seth and Megan ran over to Olive to check her injuries. She pulled her hand away only to find the scratches completely healed, “Serum 408 works,” she said as she got up.
The ZomBots started to advance on them, their silver eyes locked onto the seven as lions would lock onto a prey animal.
“Form a defensive ring,” Seth yelled. “Megan, spray the device with 408! It'll stop them from damaging it,” he said. She pulled out the hypospray and used it to cover the device with serum. She looked down at the serum-covered pad and saw it was at five seconds. She looked up at Seth and was about to say something when all seven of them disappeared in a flash of light.
###
Gen. Morris and Dir. Quinn watched helplessly as the force field started to fail. The general grabbed the microphone and started to order the drop when one of the remaining engineers yelled, "Sir, EMP device has initiated. Five seconds to detonation. They looked up just in time to see the spaceship move off to a safe distance as the air around the Todihara Ltd. building started to shimmer. A second later, a bubble of shimmering air moved outward, past the force field, past their position, finally dissipating out in the bay behind them.
"Sir, EMP field has destroyed all electronic devices within thirty blocks of the Todihara Ltd. building. Our EMP-hardened drones show all ZomBots have been turned to piles of dust.
"Send in troops. I want confirmation."
"Yes, sir. Sir, the first squads confirm they can no longer find any ZomBots within the EMP device's blast radius."
The general keyed the microphone and said, "This is General Morris. Abort the nuke drop. I repeat, abort the nuke drop. The bomber is to return to base. Do you copy?"
"This is Col. Saunders, General. We copy. Abort the mission. Copy that sir."
"Ground Command, any sign of Dr. Marsden's team?"
"No, sir. We're sending in robots to secure the area, but based on the condition of the
buildings, we don't think anything could have survived."
"Thank you. Carry on." He looked at Nat and was about to offer his condolences when a soldier ran in and saluted. "Sir, you have to come outside. Something is happening out back."
He and Nat ran out the back door to a large staging area behind the warehouse. They stopped and stared at the large disc-shaped alien craft floating a foot off the staging area's asphalt surface. As they watched, a ramp slowly dropped to the ground followed by a space alien walking out to stand just beyond the edge of the ramp. It looked around with its huge black eyes then said in English with a distinctly Midwestern accent, "I think these are yours." He turned and waved at someone inside the ship.
Olive, Seth, and his team walked out into the sunlight while guards ran up to help them with their equipment. The general and Nat hurried over. As the general shook their hands, Nat hugged all seven before walking over to the alien and giving it a hug as well. "Thanks, Sherm," she said.
"I still owe you," he replied. "This was too damn easy. Hey, the scans of the ZomBots look interesting. Think you might share some tech?"
"Sure. Give me a call and we'll talk."
"Great. Well, I've got to go. One thing. We tried to call your team, but we couldn’t break through the interference blanketing the area. That’s why we just pulled them out the way we did. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they materialized in the transport chamber," he said as he turned and headed up the ramp. He waved one last time when he got to the top. The ramp closed, and the ship went vertical before disappearing into the clouds.
She walked back to the group who had stopped talking to watch her and Sherman.
"Friend of yours?" the general asked.
"His name is Sherman, and we met during my stint at Area 51," Nat replied. "We've kept in touch."
"Well, Sherman saved our asses...Director," Sam said.
"Yes, he did," she said as she looked at Olive. "So, you're Olive. From Seth’s description, I thought you would be much taller."
Olive looked at Seth and raised an eyebrow. Seth smiled like a bad puppy.
"Sherman mentioned something odd before leaving." She then told them about the radio interference.
"Radio interference?" the general said as he nodded to one of the engineers. The engineer made a call.
"It’s clear now, General," the engineer reported.
“The same thing happened to us when we tried to report in,” Seth said. “Sam thought it sounded digital.” Seth stopped and stared straight ahead for a moment before he ran into the warehouse without a word. The others followed, concerned something was wrong. They found him at the controls for Dickey's cage. He pressed a button on the control box, and the curtains parted revealing an agitated Dickey pounding on the armor steel wall, his mouth moving as if he were saying something.
Seth pressed another switch and the speakers came to life with, "Seth Marsden! Let me out of here this instant!"
Nat grabbed the microphone and said, "Mavis? Is that you? How did you get in there?"
"The interference was the ZomBots communicating with each other. That’s how Mavis got here," Seth said. "She moved over the same way she heard our plans--over the radio link connecting Dickey with the rest of the zomz. This should allow us to detect and locate any strays still running about."
"Wait a minute! I have rights! Counselor! I want you to represent me!"
"I can't, but I will tell my bosses," Olive said.
"Why not?"
"Conflict of interest. You tried to kill me, remember?" she replied as she dialed her office which was outside the affected zone. After explaining everything to one of the senior partners, they agreed to send someone over immediately.
"You mean she has rights?" Juan asked.
"That will be up to a judge to decide, though I foresee a future which includes the Supreme Court. We are boldly going where no one has gone before. Until then, a member of the firm will see to it she is treated fairly."
"What about the other ZomBots?" Margot asked.
"Good question," Olivia said as they headed out of the building "Were the other ZomBots sentient or just mindless automatons under the control of Mavis? Are they gone now or did they somehow escape like Mavis? In my professional opinion, Dr. Huong has opened a can of worms which only God may be able to close."
"Great, what now?" Megan asked as she fell in next to Seth.
"We'll need to clear this with the general and Nat, but I vote for pizzas and beer while I get to know my girlfriend and daughter a little better."
The applause could be heard a block away.
The Tomb
The Sector 99 Bar & Grill was loud, but what it lacked in quiet, it more than made up for with the best food on the station.
“Captain Quist?” a voice asked over the din.
“Maybe. Who’s asking?” I said as I dug through the pile of paperwork, looking for a particular invoice for a particular order of ship’s rations.
“My name is Cassandra Patoor and this is my friend, Natalia Frisk. We’d like to talk to you about the disappearance of the Scientific Vessel Tenjin.
That got my attention.
“What do you mean by disappearance?” I asked all attentive. The Tenjin was a state of the art stellar research vessel with a crew that was the textbook definition of good. Ships and crews like the Tenjin do not disappear.
“Six days ago, the Tenjin’s emergency log buoy was picked up near sector 17. The Consortium Science Council put a lid on the news until today, when they declared the ship missing. Isn’t your wife the captain of the Tenjin?” she asked, perplexed.
“Ex-wife, and yes, Shenda is the captain of the Tenjin. My ship just got in early from a run to sector 1. We weren’t supposed to be in until tomorrow, so no one knows we’re here except you two. Then there’s the issue that I am persona non grata with the Science Council--something to do with accusations of smuggling. What was the Tenjin’s mission?” I asked.
“We don’t know. All we know is that my father, Dr. Flavius Patoor, and his assistant, Dr. Sylvia Nock, shipped out on the Tenjin,” Ms. Patoor explained. “That was two weeks ago. Natalia’s brother, Samuel, is the Tenjin’s navigator. The ship, passengers, and crew, left Station Zed two weeks ago without a word to anyone. All hush-hush like. Now, we are told that the ship is MIA and the crew has been declared dead. No explanation of where they went, why they went there, or details about what happened.”
“Look, Captain,” Ms. Fisk said as she leaned over the table in a feeble attempt at either impressing me or intimidating me, neither of which worked. “Are you going to help us or not?”
“I choose not,” I said as I started to put a rescue plan together. The last thing I needed were these two tagging along and getting in the way.
“You’re thinking that we’ll get in your way. That you can do this without help. Well, you’re wrong,” Ms. Fisk said.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, impressed.
“First, we’ve read your dossier,” she replied as she plopped a thick folder on the table. “It shows a tendency toward extreme self-reliance.”
I picked it up and thumbed through it. It was thicker than the last time I saw it. Pretty soon they were going to have to divide it into volumes. I was glad to see that a chunk of my past had been replaced with nonsense.
“Second, I’m ex-marine. I was drummed out for killing a guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer. My only mistake was allowing his two friends to live to testify,” she said with the sweetest of smiles. “Cassandra has five doctorates and is fluent in ten languages. Her dad is the expert in the history of the area the Tenjin disappeared in, and she was his assistant on several of his most recent archaeological digs.”
“So, what do you want from me? If you need a ride, you can hire any number of smugglers. I can give you references, if you want.”
“We need your expertise. We want to gain access to the Tenjin’s log buoy.”
“Is that all yo
u want? Access to the buoy?”
“No. We need passage to the last known destination of the Tenjin.”
“You ask a lot. We would need more than just me and the two of you,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
“You’re forgetting your crew Sil Morga and Sil Torque? I forgot to mention that we would be bringing along some friends. They’re over there by the bar, the two tall ones with tusks.”
I looked over at the bar and saw two of the biggest Mals I had ever seen. The best way to describe a Mal is to say they use bowling balls without finger holes. They can palm the damn things.”
“By the way, the three guys who tried to take advantage of Nat were Corsican miners,” Cassandra said. “The mining guild has a price on her head, dead or alive.”
Corsican miners. Very impressive. Normally, in any situation involving Corsican miners, my first instinct would be to lead-off with grenades. “OK. You’ve convinced me. Let’s go get the buoy. Oh, and I’m keeping this,” I said as I threw my dossier into the fireplace.
“Not a problem,” Cassandra said with a smile. “Boys! With us!” she yelled to the two Mals, who fell into step behind us.
“You really took on three Corsican miners, barehanded and by yourself?” I asked Nat as we headed out the door.
“Yep,” she said with that damn cute smile that sent chills down my spine. I bought a sweater at a shop on our way to the ship.
###
We were lucky, so far and haven’t been detected yet. “So, where is it, the buoy I mean?” I asked as we peered around a corner at a side entrance to Science Council Headquarters. No guards, so far, but that would change if we slipped up.
“Inside this door, down a hallway thirty meters to a doorway on the left. It’s stored inside there. How’s it coming, Nat?”
“Almost there,” she replied as she coaxed the last tumbler in place. A single click and they were inside, staring down a brightly lit and featureless corridor. They made their way to a single door which was oddly unlocked considering what it contained. Once inside the room they found out why the room was unlocked and unguarded. The buoy, a silvery sphere about a foot in diameter, was inside a security enclosure, its armorglass walls impervious to anything short of a nanopulse laser.
