The Simpleton: An Alien Encounter

by Mark Wayne McGinnis

  “No, I’m sure they used their superior, kinetic, mindset to handle that sort of thing,” Brian said, an edge to his voice.

  Cuddy shrugged and nodded. “Guess so.”

  Both Tony and Kyle were already immersed in checking out what they later dubbed the big whoopee cushion.

  “Look … Pashier movies!” Tony said excitedly, digging into sub menus, which displayed even more entertainment options.

  “Come on, guys, we’re taking a tour of the ship right now,” Jackie said. Cuddy led the way down the aft passageway, informing them, “And here we’re passing berth port and starboard sleeping compartments.” He opened the hatch into the ones portside, stepping aside so they could all move past him into the narrow space. Three bunk-bed-style sets of two bunks each were crammed in, with a single stand-alone bunk at the far end.

  “Great … communal living … just like summer camp,” Brian sneered. “So where does one drain the snake in the middle of the night?”

  Jackie made a face. “There’s a door … hatch … right there. See for yourself.”

  Brian did, discovering a communal bathroom that facilitated up to four crew at a time.

  “You’ll have to figure out how to use the shower and toilet system on your own. They’re nothing like anything we have back on Earth,” Jackie added.

  Brian exited the head, looking unimpressed. Then, with his hands on his hips, he surveyed the bunks. “Well, enjoy the … what did you call them, the portside berth compartment? Jackie and I will be crashing on the starboard-side bunk compartment. That only makes sense, since we’re a couple.”

  Cuddy, noticing Kyle and Jackie were both about to speak, interjected—raising a hand. “That sounds like a good idea, Brian. Just know the area is somewhat smaller than this one.”

  Brian said, “That’s fine. It’ll just be the two of us.” He winked at Jackie, who looked away—her cheeks reddening. He strode from the compartment and moved across the passageway to an identical, opposite hatch and opened it.

  Tow must have repaired the hatch door, enough so it could now be opened. But little had been done about the festering lingering smell. The crushed-in space, to Cuddy, looked like how a tin can of soda would appear from the inside—after being stepped on first. There was no way to enter the compartment, let alone sleep there.

  Brian held the back of his hand over his nose. “What the hell is that smell? And what happened in there?”

  Jackie said, “That is what happens when there’s a hull breach.” She looked at Cuddy with a questioning expression, unsure of her choice of words. He nodded back to her.

  “Hull breach? How often does that happen?” Brian asked, still staring into the decimated compartment.

  “I don’t know,” Cuddy said flatly. “Part of the risk one takes, living in space, Brian.”

  “Dude … close that hatch,” Tony said.

  Cuddy led them further down the passageway, which had several more hatch doors on either side.

  “What’s in them?” Brian asked.

  “Don’t be concerned with those areas, they are kept locked. There’s nothing for you to see in those compartments.” Cuddy then turned around, before entering the larger hatch door at the end of the passageway, to inform them, “In here is the Evermore’s propulsion system … Engineering. Go in and take a fast look around, but know there’s probably no reason for anyone to ever go in there, so this area will remain locked.”

  Again, Cuddy stood aside, permitting the group to pass by him and enter the compartment.

  Brian stepped in, seeming disinterested, and asked, “And what … you’re the gatekeeper to all these off-limits areas?”

  Cuddy followed into Engineering with the others. It was louder in here. Cuddy felt the constant vibration beneath his feet. “Safer for everyone that way.”

  Kyle stood at the large portside drive unit, and queried, “What if one, or both, of these babies goes down? Do you know how any of this works, Cuddy?”

  Brian sneered at the prospect of Cuddy actually answering him.

  “With emersion drives, such as these, simply put … antiprotons are used to heat a solid, high-atomic weight refractory metal core. Reusable propellant is pumped into the hot core and expanded through the aft nozzles to generate regulated thrust.”

  They all stared at Cuddy in astonishment for a long moment.

  Kyle asked, “How do you know that, little brother? How could you possibly know that?”

  “The orb, before it … left … transferred a ton of information to me. Truth is, I didn’t even know I knew that until you asked.”

  Jackie, looking impressed, then focused past Cuddy. “Where is Brian?”

  Cuddy, noting he was halfway down the passageway and moving forward, pointed, “He’s out there.”

  The group, catching up to Brian, one by one took the spiral staircase down to the second level, where Cuddy spent extra time describing the operation of the food replicators, the various dispensers for H2O, plus another liquid, called xicachan. Then they all, including Cuddy, opened and closed cabinets and inspected various, appliance-like, units. Some were easily figured out, while others remained a total mystery.

  They moved into two, identically sized, ship holds, strolling through aisles of tall shelves. It became apparent that much of the stores there were now depleted. Not unexpected, since the Evermore had been in space for more than three years now.

  “Oh, here are other orb bodies, Cuddy,” Jackie said, pointing to a collection of AI orb parts, neatly stored on several shelves. Cuddy eyed the spheres, with their folded up appendages, and the assortment of gel-tabs close by.

  They then moved into the second hold area, which seemed nearly identical to the first. Everyone was pretty much wandering around on his or her own, by this point. Cuddy slowed down when he heard hushed voices, coming from the next aisle over. He heard Brian’s voice, then Jackie’s, then the almost imperceptible sound of two people kissing. Cuddy’s heart ached, thinking of the two of them together—becoming intimate.

  Cuddy hurried down the aisle and caught sight of Kyle, walking toward the exit.

  “Ship seems a lot bigger from the inside. Seems almost roomy in here,” Tony said.

  Cuddy nodded and grumbled something imperceptible—he wanted to leave the hold before Brian and Jackie caught up to them.

  Chapter 42

  As Brian and Jackie rejoined the group, she seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone, though Brian, in turn, smugly stared back at Cuddy.

  “Where to now? You going to show us where the toilets empty out?” Brian snickered at his own humor. “Lead on kemosabe …”

  Next, Cuddy showed the group the wellness chamber. He stood at the entrance, while the others took seats within the sterile circular compartment.

  “So, this place is what made you … like super human?” Tony asked.

  Cuddy shrugged, uncomfortable talking about his private sessions here. Eventually, everyone cleared out of the chamber, except for Brian. He was taking in every detail—spending the most amount of time staring at the blinking, multi-colored lights on the control panel, positioned midway up and to the right of the entrance hatch.

  “What can you tell me about this panel?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Cuddy asked, more defensively than he intended.

  “Look … in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a physician. A surgeon. Don’t you think a sophisticated wellness chamber would be of interest to me? Don’t you think here is where I could do the most good, on our journey to God knows where … wherever it is we’re going?”

  “Maybe, but nobody’s sick. And this chamber was designed for the Pashier, not humans. It could be dangerous,” Cuddy said.

  Brian scoffed at that. “Uh huh. So says the one who’s benefitted most. Heightened intelligence, not to mention kinetic and psychic capabilities, which no human has ever possessed.”

  “That’s the thing, Brian. I am no longer human. Not completely. Are you willing to gi
ve that up … your humanity? To become a living mutation … one not wholly of a particular species?”

  “Sure … why not? I could care less what species I’m called. No, I need to know everything about this chamber.”

  “Well … sorry, but I don’t know how to configure that panel. That was not part of the information download I received from the orb,” Cuddy lied. “Best you don’t mess with it. Sorry.”

  Brian eyed Cuddy, clearly not buying it.

  “You guys coming? I found another cool compartment,” Jackie said, looking out from a hatchway ten feet further down the corridor. Again, she avoided making eye contact with Cuddy, and he wondered, Have I lost her … my best friend?

  He followed Brian into the next hatchway and peered curiously around, never having been inside before.

  “I think it’s a Pashier chapel, or a church,” Jackie said.

  A large compartment, with soft lighting, there was an overall tranquil feeling to the space. Its original metal decking had been replaced with a more organic-type of flooring, not wood—but something similar. Comfortable-looking seating was arranged in a circular fashion. Kyle tapped Cuddy’s upper arm, gesturing him to look upward, where a suspended galaxy of tiny lights hung. He wasn’t sure if they were some kind of projection, or something else. They certainly looked real—three-dimensional. Although he had no memory of ever visiting this compartment before, he only knew he liked it—the way it made him feel. Cuddy knew he would be returning soon.

  “It’s a sanctuary. It’s so beautiful,” Jackie said. “It makes sense … the Pashier were kind, spiritual beings.” As she and the others started to file out, she said, “Other than the bridge, which we’ve already seen, and a few bathrooms, I mean heads, scattered about … that’s the complete fifty-cent tour, folks.”

  Brian waited for Cuddy, the last one to leave the sanctuary. “How about you show me that sub-level compartment, bro. I hear it’s really some—”

  Cuddy moved fast, before he knew what he was doing. “Never go down there! Ever!” With his left hand, he grabbed a fistful of Brian’s shirt and lifted him two feet off the deck. Then, taking a step forward, he slammed him up against the closest bulkhead. He brought back his other clenched fist, ready to unload his 6’3”, two hundred pounds of body mass, into one killing blow. Wide-eyed, Brian squirmed and tried to free himself. Cuddy’s tight grip on his throat made it impossible for him to utter more than a few whimpering squeals.

  “Stop! Cuddy … stop! Please put him down.”

  Cuddy ignored Jackie’s request, though he felt her presence behind him in the corridor. Felt her eyes boring into his back.

  “He’s an ass … that’s no secret. But killing him would hurt you too, Cuddy. That’s not you; not the person you are.”

  Cuddy released his death grip on Brian’s throat—he was now gasping for air. Cuddy took a step away from him. Cuddy’s mental power kept Brian pinned, high up on the bulkhead—his legs flailing. His voice, little more than a croak, screamed out, “Let me down you … you fucking freak!”

  Cuddy brushed past Jackie without slowing down. He was halfway up the winding staircase before he inwardly relaxed his invisible hold on Brian. He heard Brian hit the floor with a clamoring thud. Smiling, because Jackie was wrong. She didn’t know who he was—not now—not anymore.

  * * *

  Later, after everyone retreated to a personal berth to get some sleep, Cuddy left the bridge and returned to the lower level. He followed the aft passageway into Hold #1 and made his way over to the shelving that contained all the various AI orb parts. He lifted the inert sphere unit off the shelf then moved to where the boxes of gel-tabs were located, and grabbed one. After a final scan of the shelf, checking to see if there was anything else he was supposed to get, he left the hold and headed forward, toward Tow’s small hidden workshop.

  It took Cuddy four and a half hours to complete a job he figured Tow would be able to do in a matter of minutes. But his fingers were thick and clumsy, and he only discovered the necessary calipers tool, with its wiggly, life-like prongs, after a frustrating hour of no progress. To accomplish the essential task of bringing a new AI to life, Cuddy drew on memories furnished by the new orb’s predecessor. Now more accustomed to drawing on thoughts that weren’t his own, he wondered at what point he might fully discern everything that the AI had downloaded into his mind—though perhaps never.

  After making the final settings configuration, he next ensured that the orb was indeed powered on. He knew the AI was going through a series of self-tests, doing millions, if not billions, of assessments—determinations.

  Startled by the orb’s rapid ascent into the air—where it quietly hovered—he said, “Hello … I am Cuddy Perkins.”

  Yes, hello, Cuddy Perkins … I now must address several pressing issues on the Evermore: Environmental filters need swapping … there is a slight alignment issue with the second emersion drive. Cuddy watched as the sphere sped away. Only then did he realize the orb had spoken to him telepathically.

  Suddenly, Cuddy felt very tired, needing sleep. He left the little workshop and found his way to the upper-deck berths. He tried to be quiet as everyone was sound asleep. He stopped and looked down at Jackie’s sleeping face—so beautiful—and wondered if she was angry at him for the altercation with Brian? Of course she was.

  In the dim light, he made his way to his berth then crawled into it, too tired to undress. He just needed sleep. His mind drifted into the murky state between consciousness and sleep, and he felt himself drifting off, going deeper and deeper. Then suddenly his eyes opened wide and he sat up. He remembered something. Something that wasn’t there. In the semi-darkness, he found Brian’s berth, the one atop Jackie’s—it was empty.

  Chapter 43

  Cuddy crept past the sleeping passengers, out the berth compartment, and headed forward. Reaching the bridge, he saw that it was empty. The orb should have been here. Thinking about it, he had a pretty good idea where both Brian, and the orb, had gone. It also suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t taken the time to set up a command structure for the orb. He cursed himself, this was something he’d been reminded to do by the other AI. He hurried aft, crossed through the main cabin and took the circular staircase down, taking three steps at a time. Reaching level two, he hit the deck running. Halfway down the aft passageway, he noticed the hatchway to the wellness chamber was closed. Symbols on the small access panel told him the chamber was in use—the hatch locked. He banged on the hatch with a closed fist several times, and then brought his head closer to it to listen. He definitely heard Brian’s voice within. Frustrated, Cuddy banged again, followed with several strong kicks.

  Use your mind! Cuddy remembered and reached out to the orb:

  Yes, Cuddy Perkins … can I assist you?

  Relieved that he hadn’t been completely locked out from contacting the AI, he proceeded to handle the most important business first.

  I would like to set up the Evermore’s hierarchical command structure.

  Yes, Cuddy Perkins … you may proceed.

  Captain is Cuddy Perkins. First Officer is … Cuddy had to think about that for a few heartbeats … Kyle Perkins. Third officer is … Jackie?

  And the other two on board this ship, Captain Perkins?

  Tony Bone … leave him undesignated at this time. Brian Horowitz, though, is not part of the Evermore’s crew and you are not permitted to follow any of his orders, or directives, without the Captain’s, or First Officer’s, prior sign-off. Is that understood?

  Understood and logged.

  Now open the hatch!

  The wellness chamber hatch slid to one side and Cuddy stared into the brightly lit compartment. Brian was seated in there, naked, directly before him. His hair bun was undone and a long ponytail hung down over one shoulder. His face—his entire body—looked strangely bloated, added to the fact he was glowing bright enough to still see, even in the highly illuminated chamber. To Cuddy, Brian looked like an over-sized, glow
ing slug as he gazed back at him through half-lidded eyes.

  “Orb, what’s going on with Brian? What’s wrong with him?” Cuddy asked out loud.

  “Brian has completed his fifth wellness session, Captain Perkins.”

  Cuddy realized that this was the first time he was actually hearing the AI orb speaking vocally. Even more surprising, the voice sounded different than its predecessor. More friendly.

  “Humans cannot withstand any more than two sessions within the chamber in so short a time span. Why did you let him do that?”

  “At the time, there was no hierarchical command structure in place.”

  That was true and he should have anticipated Brian pulling something like this. Cuddy stepped into the wellness chamber and took a seat next to Brian.

  “Brian … can you hear me?”

  Yeah … but can you dial it aback a little … so fucking loud.

  Cuddy watched the slightly older man’s face, noting he hadn’t moved his lips. He, like Cuddy, was now part Pashier.

  “Are you in pain?” Cuddy asked, keeping his voice low.

  Yes.

  Cuddy looked up to the hovering orb. What can we do for him?

  The wellness chamber was not designed with a human genome in mind. The effects from too many recurring sessions at one time cannot be undone. He may not survive the journey.

  You’re not sure?

  No, Captain Perkins, as there are no previous records of any such occurrence. No case studies to which to refer.

  Cuddy noticed Brian staring at him, only this time he spoke aloud: “You do know … I can hear what you’re saying … your mental chit-chat?”

  “Oh … all right. I don’t know how to keep mental, telepathic conversations exclusive to only myself.”

  “I’m going to croak … I heard Bob.”

  “Bob?”

  “That’s what I’ve been calling the orb. Bob … because he’s always bobbing up and down.”

  He was surprised to find he felt somewhat bad about what was happening to Brian. It was true, he detested the guy. There was no two ways about it. But seeing him like this, Cuddy actually felt a little sympathy for him. Truth was, this was partially Cuddy’s own fault and now Brian might die because of his lack of forethought.