“No. I had help.” As soon as he said this, a red light flashed from the center of his body, and the floor spread open twenty yards past the ship. Out came dozens of mechanical arms and hovering drones. “They did most of the work. I oversaw the project.”
Suma walked toward the collection of robots and turned to us. “Dean, we need to get these guys into our Alliance. Imagine the things we could do with just-in-time manufacturing like this. It’s like our 3D printers, but far more advanced. It takes weeks for us to put together a vessel like this, and far more resources.”
I wanted to tell her to be careful what she asked for. I wasn’t sure we wanted a city of AI robots building anything on our worlds. Maybe we could offer a trade for their assistance, but I was already skeptical of a robot takeover, even if J-NAK seemed like a fair partner. Part of me knew it was being so accommodating because it needed our help.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I said.
“You have the location of the northern pole. You have the frequency Origin will be emitting. These functions are built into the lander as well. Should you encounter any resistance, there is weaponry attached to the vessel.” J-NAK went inside and showed Rulo how to use it. The fact that the robots took our concept and blueprints, and automatically added weapons, concerned me again.
A few minutes later, the four-legged robot crawled out of the tight-fitting lander, and Rulo nodded to me, confident she could use the weapons with ease.
“Bring back Origin. Without Origin, this entire complex system will fail within three hundred years,” J-NAK said. That sounded like a long time to me, but I suspected they’d been here for a lot longer than that.
“J-NAK, you’re going to work on getting a patch for the portal stone while we’re gone?” I asked.
“Yes. I will have your patch completed.”
“Dean, I’m going to stay with J-NAK. I’d prefer to be near the stone and the Theos within while the robot works,” Karo told me.
I was worried about our Theos friend, but didn’t want to argue with him in this case. It might be better to have one of us behind, making sure J-NAK met his end of the bargain.
I waited as the others got on the lander, before turning to the robot and asking one more question privately. “What if we can’t find Origin?” The words came out in a whisper, hardly loud enough for J-NAK to hear them.
“Then I am afraid you will not be leaving.” The robot turned and walked away, leaving me with cold blood running through my veins.
I shut the door once inside the lander and gave Suma a smile as Rulo lifted the ship up and out of the manufacturing warehouse. The whole time, J-NAK’s last words echoed in my mind.
You will not be leaving.
Eight
The landscape didn’t change much for most of the trip toward the pole. Robot cities stretched out before us, lights blinking below, the whole thing feeling empty and alone. If what J-NAK had told us was true, there weren’t many intelligent robots thinking for themselves any longer. They’d reverted to a hive mind or autopilot, as it seemed. When Origin was in charge, controlling the world, would there have been thousands of robots on the streets and in the skies?
“Look ahead. We’ve found the border,” Slate said from his perch beside Rulo at the front of the lander.
We neared the edge of the robot world and came into something completely foreign-looking on this planet. Greenspace.
“How is their pole so lush?” I asked. I’d visited a lot of planets, and not all of them had ice caps at the poles like Earth. But this was the greenest I’d ever seen.
“There could be a variety of reasons,” Suma was quick to answer.
Slate cut her off. “Let’s save the science for another time.”
“Any sign of Origin?” I asked, doubtful we’d pick up a reading the second we entered the pole vicinity.
“Not yet,” Slate said, and Rulo lowered the lander, getting our altitude closer to ground level. The landscape was beautiful: thick brushes of trees, all blue and deep green in color. Every now and then, they’d spread apart, unveiling a lake, various minerals giving the water colors I’d never dreamt of seeing.
Something beeped from the pilot’s console, and I leaned over Rulo’s shoulder to see a faint signal blinking for a second before disappearing.
“Looks like we have something,” Rulo said, changing the lander’s trajectory toward the icon, which for the time being had vanished from the console screen.
I was nervous and excited to get to Origin, and wondered if it really could be this easy. These robots had accomplished so much, but for some reason, they couldn’t function at the poles. It was strange, because our ship was working just fine. It had something to do with their positronic brains and interconnected system.
“W, you holding up okay?” I asked, and the android nodded from behind me.
“I am well, Captain.”
That was good to see. Why hadn’t the robots created an android like W to complete this mission? I felt like there were a few missing pieces to the puzzle as we lowered toward the location where Origin had shown up on our sensors minutes earlier.
“Still nothing?” I asked, seeing no blinking light on the screen.
“Nothing. It was in this region, though,” Slate said as Rulo found an opening in the trees and landed the ship on the surface. “Walk from here?” he asked.
“Yes. W, you have the sensors on your internal system, right? You’ll know if we’re near Origin?” I asked.
“Yes, Captain. I will know,” he replied.
That was good enough for me. I’d really been hoping we’d see Origin on the sensors quickly, and pick it up within minutes of landing. It seemed nothing was ever as simply done as the best-case scenario.
We funneled out of the lander, leaving our helmets behind. Slate was the last one out, and he passed us weapons before closing the lander doors.
I took a deep breath inside the blue-leaved forest, finding it oddly comforting. The ground was hard here, thin blue grass rose a few inches off the surface, and I noticed a lake between the tall tree trunks to my left.
Slate’s gaze darted about the copse. “There’s no way the alien who took Origin would still be around, right?”
“We can’t tell. There was nothing unusual from above, but the tree cover’s pretty dense here,” I said, looking toward the lake.
“Should we split up, cover more terrain?” Slate asked.
I contemplated this but settled on staying together. “Less to go wrong by sticking as a group. Dubs, what are you picking up?” I asked the robot.
“Nothing yet, but I think it’s ahead.” Dubs started forward, walking toward the water that had to be close to a kilometer away. Slate shrugged and went after the android. I grabbed Rulo’s arm and leaned in.
“We have no idea how hostile these beings will be. They may not want to part with Origin. I have to make sure we’re ready for anything,” I said.
Rulo grinned, lifting her minigun. “I’ll be ready, Dean. Don’t worry about that.”
“Good.” Suma was ahead of us, and I hung back, walking with Rulo near the rear of our convoy. Tiny bugs hovered around me, attracted to my scent or blood. The others were waving arms around, trying to fend off the insects as well.
“Did you bring the bug repellant, boss?” Slate laughed from the lead position. I didn’t think he’d be chuckling for long if they became worse.
We arrived at the lakeside a few minutes later, and I bent down, touching the water with a bare hand, letting my fingers submerge in the cool liquid. It was musty, swampy, and I jumped back, recalling the variety of water creatures that could possibly live beneath the red algae-covered surface.
“Why do you always do that?” Suma asked me.
“It’s something I’ve always done, ever since I was a little boy. The first time I saw the ocean, I opened the car door before my dad was parked and ran to the water, feeling the urge to touch it. Ever since then, it’s become a habit of mine. Don’t you guys h
ave a few behaviors you always do?” I asked. It was good to talk, to chat about ourselves to pass the time as we wound our way beyond the lake. I was hoping Dubs wouldn’t find a source of Origin’s signal in the water, and there was no indication that the robot overlord was anywhere underneath.
“I guess I twitch my snout when I’m nervous or excited… sometimes,” Suma said.
“Sometimes?” Slate said from ahead. “Suma, you’re either nervous or excited most of the time. I mean… I do find it endearing.”
Suma laughed, and I watched as she attempted to keep her snout from wiggling.
“How about you, Rulo?” I asked the Keppe woman.
“I don’t want to say,” she said, too quietly for the others to hear.
“Come on. It can’t be that bad,” I told her.
“I have to clean my weapon four times after each use,” Rulo admitted.
“See, that’s pretty normal.” I glanced at her, seeing there was more to it.
“I sing a song from my childhood while I do it. My father taught it to me when I first got a gun, and he used to use the timing to show me how to remove and replace all the components. I still do it. I don’t have to, but I choose to. It reminds me of him,” she said, showing a softer side.
“You’ve never spoken of your parents before,” Suma said.
“That’s not common practice in my culture. Once a loved one is gone, you hold their memory inside you. If you speak of them, their essence leaks away, and you have a little less remaining of them,” Rulo explained.
“That’s strange,” Slate called back.
“I think it’s nice,” Suma said. “You must hold their essences closely, Rulo.”
The Keppe warrior smiled and nodded, but didn’t add any further details.
“Doesn’t anyone want to hear my thing?” Slate shouted down the line.
I took the lead on this one. “You work out when you’re feeling caged? You like to eat fried food? You make bad jokes?”
He paused. “I do those things? I was going to say I have a habit of looking handsome.”
We all laughed, but Dubs froze in his footsteps.
His eyes were red, and his voice wasn’t his own. “Behold the Origin. I see you. Find me on the platform.”
“Well, that was unexpected,” Slate said, tapping W on the chest.
Dubs’ eyes returned to normal. “What did I miss?” he asked.
“Do you have a pin on Origin’s location now, Dubs?” I asked the android.
“It appears I do. Another two point three kilometers. We’re on the right track,” he said. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Origin spoke through you,” I told him.
“That makes sense. It explains my missing thirteen seconds,” Dubs said.
The lake ended, this end covered by large rocks and boulders. The water was even deeper red in tone here, and more of the small bugs droned around my ears as we passed through the treed region into an open field. Once clear of the forest, we spotted the ruins.
The grass was tall and turquoise, flowing like waves in the gentle breeze. The sun above was lowering beyond the horizon, and I assumed we’d be walking in the dark within the hour. From here, the distant structures were obviously worn down, almost like a crumbling pyramid. They had to be tall for us to see them from this far away.
My arms tingled as I imagined plucking Origin from this platform it mentioned and rushing back to the ship. I wanted nothing more than to be on our merry way. Oliter awaited, if J-NAK was able to accomplish the portal patch like he’d suggested he could.
“I have a feeling whoever stole Origin isn’t around any longer,” Suma said as she pointed across the fields.
“I think you’re right, Suma. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared for the unexpected.” Slate led us through the grass. There were fewer bugs hovering around us now that we’d moved beyond the lake’s edge, and I was grateful for it. I glanced at my hands, seeing a few angry red welts rising from their incessant bites.
The grass was waist-high on Suma, and she struggled through it, where on Rulo, it only came above her knees, allowing her ease of passage. I was somewhere in the middle, but eventually, we all emerged from the field just as the sunset cast a red glow over the ruins. There were multiple smaller stone buildings, each with steps around them leading onto flat roofs. The entire village reminded me of a visit to Mexico in my early twenties.
But these rocks seemed shaped with a precision the ancient Mayans had lacked. “They appear to have been cut with lasers,” Suma said, reading my mind. She was standing beside the first building, running a hand over the exterior.
Slate held his pulse rifle at ready; Rulo, at the opposite end of the group, held her minigun toward the structures. Paths joined the buildings, but weeds and grass grew through the stone walkways, telling me no one had been here to do maintenance in some time.
“Where’s the platform? Dubs, what are you picking up on your sensors?” I asked.
W pointed to the epicenter of the ruins. “There.”
I followed his finger, which aimed at the largest edifice in the area. Smooth steps were carved into the side. “Let’s go.” I ran forward, the others close behind.
There were no signs of the race that stole Origin, at least not of their physical bodies. There was ample evidence they had lived and even thrived here, with all the work they’d put into their village. I wanted to know what had happened to them and hoped we could solve the mystery before returning Origin to J-NAK at the robot city.
I paused at the bottom of the stairs and glanced up. There had to be at least forty stone steps, and I let Slate take the front position before hopping up after him. As expected, there was a platform on the top: a perfect square area with a stone ledge three feet tall. I placed a hand on Slate’s arm to hold him back. In the middle of the platform was a box made of stone.
“That has to be him!” Suma exclaimed, and started for it.
The platform vibrated as she neared the container, and the second she touched it, I knew we’d been had.
Nine
The force field lifted up from the ledge around the dais, covering us in a red energy barrier. The instant it closed, W fell hard to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
I rolled him onto his back, but blank dead eyes stared up at the sky. “Dubs! Are you there?”
He didn’t reply.
“I’m sorry, Dean. I thought…” Suma started, but stopped when I shook my head.
“Any of us would have set it off. It’s a trap,” I told them.
“There has to be a way to get you guys out,” Rulo said, and for the first time, I noticed she was still on the stairs. She hadn’t entered the platform like we had.
“Thank God one of us had the common sense to be cautious,” I said.
“Or slow,” Slate mumbled from beside me.
“What kind of trap is this?” Suma asked, looking at the red barrier surrounding us.
“If I had to guess, this was set by the creatures who took Origin.” I walked over to the middle of the roof and set a hand on the stone box. “Slate, help me with this,” I said, and soon we slid the top slab off, revealing nothing but empty air.
“So they left this in case the robots found a way to the pole, and this field deactivates all robots?” Suma asked.
“Slate, check your pulse rifle.” I nodded to the gun.
“Dead.” He tapped his earpiece. “Testing. You guys getting this?”
“Nothing. They’ve killed all our electronics inside the force field.” I kicked the stone case, instantly regretting it. I sat down on the ledge of the container and ran hands through my hair. “There has to be a way to shut it down,” I said, glancing at Rulo.
Suma took over. “If I was going to guess, whatever’s powering this field would be inside the building we’re standing on. Rulo, can you go inside and see if there’s any power source down there?”
Rulo nodded firmly. �
��I’m on it,” she said, running down the steps.
I looked over to W, who was in a heap of metal, and I hoped we’d be able to find a way to shut this down: not just so we could escape, but so he could be initiated again. He was a robot, but still an integral part of our team.
“I’m going to test the barrier.” Slate walked over to the side of the platform and started to reach his finger toward the buzzing red wall.
“Stop!” Suma yelled. “Don’t touch it, you big dummy. Take something and throw it.”
Slate appeared to consider this, and he pulled a water bottle from his pack. It was almost empty, and he drained the last bit before pulling his arm away and throwing the steel bottle at the barrier. It bounced back with excessive force, the force field sparking brightly at the contact.
Slate held his hand up, staring at his fingers. “Good call, Suma.”
I stayed seated, hoping Rulo would be able to shut the barrier’s power source down sooner rather than later.
____________
My eyes snapped open at the sound of Rulo’s voice. “You guys have no idea how much fun that was.” Her voice dripped with malice.
The barrier was gone, but Dubs was still deactivated, and my gun was dead as well. I stretched and woke the others. “How long have you been gone?” It was pitch black out; a few stars lit the sky, but they were few and far between, as clouds had rolled in.
“I don’t know. Five hours or so?” Rulo said, staying back on the stairs.
“Did you do it?” Suma asked groggily.
I had the urge to run from the platform in case the field sprouted again, and I got as far as W’s limp form before I stopped. “Slate, give me a hand.”
He wiped sleep from his eyes and ran over, helping me slide the robot to the ledge.
Rulo didn’t have to be asked to help, and together, the three of us hefted the robot onto the steps. “What do we do now? We can’t lug him around all day,” she said.
“Show me what you saw down there. There has to be a hint to Origin’s real location,” I said, and we left W lying on the top step, away from the ledge.
New Alliance Page 7
