“What the fuck is this?” asked Charlotte, but got no response. A moment later, she heard Damien’s voice and it sounded like it was projecting directly from her own mouth.
Interactive? Coleman, I thought it was a message. You never indicated that it was interactive.
Before Charlotte could react, the reptilian figure turned to her and said, “She.”
Omandi tried to jump back and screamed, “Oh shit, you’re alive!” Again, she found herself unable to move and the reptilian creature showed no sign of having heard her outburst. Instead, it continued to address her Damien-Charlotte self.
“My research indicates that your planet’s dominant life form is mammalian, bipedal, and has two genders. Given that, I thought it best to make clear which gender I am.” The alien paused and Charlotte felt her virtual mouth drop open a bit, then it continued. “You haven’t responded. I hope my appearance is not too alarming, or do you communicate through some means other than verbally?”
“This whole damned thing is alarming,” yelled Charlotte, then heard Damien’s voice project again.
Uh, no, I…we…speak, and your appearance is not alarming at all. In fact, my artificial agent informs me that you are quite lovely.
“Oh, for the love of God, really? You are flirting with an alien reptile during first contact,” grumbled Charlotte, then yelled, “Interface!”
Everything froze and Damien Howard materialized beside her. “Yes,” he said, “How can I help you, Ms. Omandi?”
“What the hell is going on here?” she asked. “I can’t talk. I can’t move. What am I seeing here?”
He nodded. “Yes, I can understand how this could be confusing. Perhaps I should have given you a bit more context. I just assumed you would have picked up on what was going on.”
“Great, thanks,” snarked Charlotte, “so this is my fault?”
Damien shrugged. “In short, you are experiencing Howard-Prime’s memories. These are the very memories that were uploaded by Doctor Howard prior to his death. You—”
“Stop,” said Charlotte and raised a hand. She frowned at it. “Wait, that’s my hand and I can move it again.”
“Of course.”
“What do you mean, of course?”
“The simulation is paused. You are, for lack of a better description, you again. While the simulation is running you are Doctor Howard. You will say what he said and move where he moved. You are a passenger in his memories.”
“But I heard myself talking as myself,” said Charlotte confused.
“I can disable that if you like,” replied Damien, “but I thought becoming mute would prove alarming. Would you like me to—”
“No, I do not want to be muted,” hissed Charlotte, “but I think I understand now. I can hear myself speak, but since the memories cannot be altered, nothing in them can react to me, as me. Everything will respond to Damien Howard, just as it happened when the memories were first formed.”
“Exactly,” smiled the hologram. “Think of it like a Pensieve.”
“What’s apensive.”
“No,” said Damien shaking his head, “It’s two words. A Pensieve. The device from Harry Potter.” The hologram noted Omandi’s blank expression and gave another affected sigh. “It’s a device that allows someone to experience the memories of others. I cannot believe you haven’t read those books. Doctor Howard should have made them mandatory for all his genetic subjects.”
“Genetic subjects,” yelled Charlotte. “I am no-one’s genetic subject. I know my parents. I was not made in some lab. Listen to me, I don’t want to experience your dead self’s memories. I want—”
The hologram gave her a wave and vanished.
“Fucking asshole!” yelled Omandi, but her virtual reality had already reasserted itself with the reptilian creature continuing to speak. Charlotte grimaced as the alien’s tongue shot out several inches. It wavered for a second before returning to her mouth.
The reptilian female turned toward Coleman and said, “I am impressed that you have created artificial constructs so early in your development. That is unexpected. However, I thank you for the compliment. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nerr’ath Salmix. My species is called the Drac’ath, and I served as the Chief Xenologist for the Galactic Confederation. You are to be commended for both detecting my beacon and decrypting my interactive avatar.”
Charlotte Omandi felt a crush of conflicting emotions as the vignette ended and the virtual reality headgear lifted from her head…amazement at experiencing humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization…longing to return to that VR world and experience more. Finally, she felt guilt at both of the previous two emotions.
“Congratulations, Ms. Omandi,” said the Damien Howard hologram. “You have successfully passed the second of four tests.”
He gestured as a small panel opened in one wall and an automated server slipped into the room. Charlotte had seen devices like it before, but rarely, because they were both expensive and not particularly practical. This one looked more advanced than others she’d seen. It consisted of a tall rectangle that she assumed contained some combination of semi-prepared foods and beverages. This section was supported by a slender pole that terminated in a housing which contained the device’s mobility sphere. As the little bot whisked its way through the room, Charlotte couldn’t help but be impressed at the agility it demonstrated. It even tried to circle around the Damien hologram as if it were really present.
“Your blood sugar is not optimal for the next test, and you are slightly dehydrated,” said Damien. “The butler will have done its best to anticipate your preferences, so, just ask for something that appeals.”
Charlotte stared at the optical cameras mounted on the device and smiled. “Would you like to take my order?”
“Yes,” came the slightly robotic voice.
“Awesome,” replied Omandi, “I’d like a plasma torch capable of cutting these wrist restraints and a portable electro-mechanical-pulse generator of sufficient strength to disable both you and Damien Howard’s spectral ghost over there.”
Her peripheral vision caught the hologram shaking his head when the robotic butler replied, “I’m sorry, Ms. Omandi, but I’m fresh out of both those items. Would you care for a pimento cheese sandwich and a cup of mint tea.”
Charlotte felt her nose flare in frustration at the same time her mouth began to water slightly. She ground her teeth and said, “I suppose, but it would have been nice if you thought to include bacon and lettuce as options.”
“Of course, Ms. Omandi,” replied the butler evenly, “I have those options available. Will there be anything else?”
She glanced at the hologram who simply smiled back innocuously. Charlotte frowned at him. “Yes, I’d also like a Doubletree chocolate-walnut cookie and a glass of cask-strength bourbon, neat. Oh and make that bourbon a double.”
“Very good, ma’am. One moment.” Seconds later a panel slid open and a large tray slipped from within the main body of the robotic butler. Thin legs extended down from the tray and it wheeled itself expertly in front of Charlotte then raised itself to the optimal eating height. She stared at the perfectly arranged food in mute awe as the robotic butler silently disappeared from the room. She reached out and tapped the cookie with her index finger. It was warm and bent slightly at her touch, leaving a slight smear of chocolate on her finger. She licked it and felt her salivary glands explode.
Ok, I’m eating this first, she thought, then took a bite and shook her head as the long-remembered flavors danced through her senses.
“I take it that we’ve replicated the recipe to your satisfaction, Ms. Omandi,” said Damien with a mocking smile.
Charlotte smirked at him around another bite of cookie, “How did you—”
“Know that your father used to take you with him as he traveled, or that you always insisted on staying at Doubletree hotels because of their cookies? We know much more than that, trust me. As I’ve already mentioned, yo
u are the key to humanity’s survival. Well, you and your two brothers. Do you think we would have let you simply traipse through your life without knowing the details both large and small.”
Charlotte finished the cookie and took a sip of her tea. She set it down and narrowed her eyes. “I’m an only child. I don’t have any brothers.”
“None born of your mother or sired by your father,” said Damien evenly, “I was referring to your Howard brothers, but that information will be fully revealed during the final test.” Charlotte glared at the hologram, set down her cup, and reached for the bourbon. “I don’t recommend you drink that,” said Damien.
Omandi lifted the glass and sniffed. It smelled good. “Why not? Did you poison it?”
“Really, Ms. Omandi, do you think Howard-Prime would have gone to all this trouble, just to poison you?”
Charlotte shrugged, “Maybe it’s part of the test,” she snarked, then took a sip. It tasted even better than it smelled. Hints of vanilla and citrus played across her tongue and evolved in the most delightful way, even as the liquor warmed the back of her throat. She took another sip, then stared at the hologram. “Can I get more of this?”
“You shouldn’t even be drinking it now. You will need all you faculties for the remaining two tests.”
“Then why are you letting me drink it?”
The hologram shrugged, “It is your choice. In this case it is a bad choice. However, it will allow us to see if you can still make good decisions after having made bad ones. Even that is informative.”
Charlotte pondered this for a minute then asked, “Assuming I pass this test of yours, then can I have more of this bourbon?” The hologram froze, then flickered for a several seconds, and finally startled her by laughing. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“People are so wonderfully unpredictable,” said the hologram. “Do you know how many times Doctor Howard simulated this encounter before his death?”
“That was rhetorical right?” she asked sarcastically.
“It was,” he replied. “Fourteen million three hundred ninety two thousand and twelve.”
Charlotte whistled. “That’s a lot.”
“Yes, a lot, and all that data went into creating these moments we two are now sharing.”
“Just out of curiousity,” asked Charlotte, “how long did that take.”
“About twelve days,” replied Damien, and before Charlotte could say anything further, he said, “In all of those simulations you asked for a Doubletree cookie, in most of them you wanted tea, in about half bacon and bourbon was involved somehow or other. Do you know how many of them resulted in your asking for additional bourbon as a reward for passing the exams in which you are now taking part?”
“From your expression and glitching out a moment ago, I’m guessing not many.”
“None. Not once in over fourteen million simulations.”
“Wonderful,” sighed Omandi, “good on me for coming up with a question that you couldn’t answer, but if a simple question makes you go all flickery, I think I may have overestimated the complexity of your programing.”
The hologram waved a hand in her direction. “Oh no, you misunderstand. Your question was not the problem, I adapted to that very quickly, so quickly you didn’t even notice. It was the answer to that question which took me a few seconds to confirm, however I have it now. Yes is the answer.”
“Super,” said Charlotte as she took a bite of her sandwich and talked around a mouthful of pimento. “I forgot the question.”
“You wanted to know if you could have more of that bourbon if you successfully passed all the tests before you. Again, the answer is yes. I have arranged for a virgin cask of that exact bourbon to be delivered to our facility by this evening.”
Charlotte swallowed. “A cask?”
“Yes, I thought it best. I can either have it integrated into the Bladerunner’s food and beverage dispensary systems or bottled for you personally.
“How many bottles is that,” she asked amazed, then said, “Wait, what’s a…a Bladerunner.”
The hologram pointed at her. “Whoops, shouldn’t have said that. Perhaps my dream of being human is already becoming a reality because machines don’t make mistakes, do they Charlotte?”
Omandi took another pull from her bourbon and sighed. “Honestly, I have no idea, but when did we become on a first-name basis and what the hell is a Bladerunner?”
Damien nodded apologetically, “I’m sorry, that makes two mistakes. You have not given me leave to speak with such familiarity, Ms. Omandi. It will not happen again.”
“Fine…Bladerunner?”
“I cannot tell you. I should not have brought it up. That was the error.”
“Do I get to know what a Bladerunner is when I pass your stupid tests?”
“No, I’m afraid you don’t.”
“Why the hell not? Aren’t I supposed to magically become your commander, or something, if I pass?”
“Captain, but yes.”
“What if I order you to tell me?”
“I would regretfully have to decline. It was one of Howard-Prime’s explicit wishes that no one know the exact meaning behind the Bladerunner until the appropriate time. If it makes you feel any better, you will know that meaning before July 16th of this year, or it won’t really matter anyway.”
“Because July 16th is the one-hundredth anniversary of the Trinity nuclear test?”
“Yes, and as you saw Nerr’ath explain, it is also the deadline for us to demonstrate FTL to her Galactic Confederation.”
“Or, the Drac’athian lizards plague us to death, yes, I got that part,” said Charlotte. She stared at the last half of her sandwich. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Very good, Ms. Omandi,” said the hologram, “then are we ready to proceed with the third test?”
“No, we are not ready. We have not finished our bourbon.”
Chapter 5
The Third Test
Within her forced virtuality reality, Charlotte Omandi felt herself walking across hard-packed ice. She could feel the biting cold and shivered reflexively despite the thick coat Damien Howard had been wearing three decades ago. She felt her head turn as Howard paused to survey the Antarctic landscape, then reach up and tap his augmented reality goggles.
Coleman immediately appeared beside her and nodded in acknowledgement.
Did you dismiss the crew? asked Doctor Howard's memory-self.
As you requested, sir. They are all at base camp. I still think it is folly for you to descend unaccompanied.
Noted, said Damien, but I’m not unaccompanied. You’re with me.
Sir, I will not be much use if you happen to slip and crack your skull on a rock. Although, I assume given past experiences I should fear more for the rock. Coleman smiled hopefully.
Damien chuckled, That was very good. Bravo.
Are you patronizing me, sir? asked Coleman.
Doctor Howard shook his head. Not at all, that really was quite good. Insulting, but good.
Coleman’s face began to crumple into despair, Insulting…sir, no. I never meant to—
You are ruining it, Coleman. It’s fine, really. Now help me find the entrance to this damned shaft.
Seven meters ahead sir, I’ll display a tracking line on your AR layer.
Immediately, two red lines appeared to extend outward along the Antarctic ice field. A green “X” hovered in the distance with a numerical reference number beside it that decremented as Howard continued to walk toward it. The distance indicator reached zero and he looked down at the large steel plate that rested beside a complicated winch mechanism.
I really don’t want to get stuck down there, Coleman. How many charges does that thing have?
This is exactly why I wanted you to have someone other than me in attendance. Will you now relent and at least allow me to—
No! How many times have I told you to stop mothering me?
Three hundred forty-sev—
&nb
sp; Stop. How much bloody charge is on the winch battery?
It is fully charged, sir. Even at these temperatures, you could spend an entire week in the cavern before even tapping the battery’s reserve capacity. Do you expect to be down there more than a week?
I don’t know what to expect, Coleman, grumbled Damien in a rushed staccato, It’s my first time exploring an alien cache of technology, that was revealed to me by a humanoid reptile.
Sarcasm, sir?
Ya think? Howard stepped onto the metal plate and said, Go ahead, lower me down. Let’s get this show on the road.
Coleman gestured to the device and the winch whirred to life. Seconds later, Damien looked up to watch the small blue patch of cloudless sky recede into darkness. He clicked on his environment suit's exterior lights, turned up the heat registers, then glanced at the control panel strapped to his wrist.
The environment suit represented Howard Technologies at its finest. He had concepted, prototyped, and developed it in less than sixty days from discovering where Nerr’ath’s cache had been deposited. The suit had its own heating elements, contained potable water, and could even convert urine if need be. It was packed with every imaginable communications device. In theory, he could communicate anywhere in the world via tight beam satellite signals even from nearly one mile beneath the surface, which, Damien reminded himself, was exactly where he was headed.
After about twenty minutes, the small lift rumbled to a stop and Damien stared at the criss-crossing red filaments embedded in one side of the ice shaft. We’ve confirmed the presence of a cavern in that direction, right? he asked.
Coleman managed to sound annoyed, For the fifth time, yes sir, the cavern is one meter through that wall. Damien just stared at the automated track heaters that, once activated, would carve out the last remaining three feet between him and the first physical evidence of extraterrestrial life. Shall I activate the track heater, sir?
Damien continued to stare silently and Charlotte felt her throat burn as she yelled, “Oh for God’s sake old man, flip the switch already. I want to see what the hell is through there.”
Paradigm 2045- Trinity's Children Page 5
