Black and White

by Mark Wandrey

  The scientists still didn’t know if it was the Human’s lights attracting the Oohobo. Retuning the lights was simply an expedient. The result was things appeared slightly orangish to them. To Terry, it lent everything a slightly fake feel, and he worked not to let it lull him into a false sense of complacency.

  Finally, their target came into visual range. His sonar showed a large metallic object ahead. He squinted through his helmet to make sense out of it. The mine was designated Core Mine #11 on the Selroth records, and it was currently being worked by Extractor #3. The habitat controlled six extractors, five of which were currently operating. One was lost and had yet to be recovered.

  Perched on the lip of an underwater volcano’s cone, the extractor looked to Terry like a bunch of treads with a collection of tanks on its back. It took another minute of buzzing through the water to realize just how damned big it was—at least the size of an apartment building.

  “Wow,” he said. “It’s huge!”

  “That’s what she said,” Piano said.

  “That’s not what I said when I saw it,” Tina replied, and everyone cracked up.

  Terry grinned. He’d been in grade school when he’d first heard the joke, and it was still funny. “How can we not find one of these?” Terry asked.

  “It’s a big ocean, kiddo,” Doc said. “There are 92 of these little volcanos around Templemer within a 50-kilometer radius. The Selroth data showed 44 active mines the last time they were here, which was 320 years ago. The problem is, the alien morons didn’t turn them off when they left, so the roving extractor just kept going around until something broke.”

  Terry silently whistled. The Selroth were on Hoarfrost mining before the Revolutionary War. He wondered if he could find it.

  As he was thinking, they came within a few meters of the monstrous tracked machine. He realized he was sweating and checked his HUD. The water temperature had risen 20 degrees in only a minute!

  “It’s getting hot,” Terry said.

  “That would be because of the volcano,” Peyto said.

  “Oh,” Terry said lamely and adjusted his suit’s system. The hot air blowing between the tough neoprene covering and his skin cooled, and he instantly felt better.

  “Found the lock,” Honcho said.

  “Let’s see if Terry can get in there with his toy.”

  Excellent, Terry thought, and moved the sub forward.

  Before they’d left on the mission, Doc had shared the security codes for the various extractors with Terry. He carefully maneuvered around the outside of the extractor, the sub’s computer using sonar to build a Tri-V construction of his surroundings. He accessed the data on the extractor and found the access points. Each of the six extractors in the database was different, having been built on the planet from available parts. Number 3 showed six ways to get inside. Terry wanted one of the personnel hatches.

  He activated the minisub’s external LED floodlights and maneuvered to one of the indicated personnel access points. The sub’s sonar showed the seven mercs nearby, keeping careful watch over their young charge.

  At the lock, Terry activated the remote arms, using them to open an access panel and reveal the security system. A Union standard panel was there, able to be configured for a dozen different command script-oriented languages. A year ago he’d have been lost. Now he’d spent many hours learning various scripts, and he had his high-end slate secured within the sub’s computer compartment.

  Between his knowledge and the slate’s augmentation, Terry selected a language he could work with and entered the access codes Doc gave him. The extractor didn’t accept the code.

  “Code’s no good,” he transmitted.

  “I’m not surprised,” Doc replied. “We figured the damned Selroth wouldn’t have given the real access codes to the Izlians.”

  The mercs floated nearby and talked over their options, from trying to gain access to the extractor via a cargo hatch, to cutting their way in. The former was unlikely to be any more successful, and the latter could have catastrophic consequences.

  Terry listened with half his attention as he examined the system’s access interface. It was obvious the Selroth hadn’t given the correct access codes. Of course, the code had been set hundreds of years ago. None of the Selroth alive then would still be around. How would they keep those access codes for so long? he wondered. The answer was, they couldn’t. At least, not with any chance of someone down the road having them when they wanted them.

  While the others were talking over their options, Terry began messing with the codes. Only a second later, the door flashed an accept signal and the door began opening.

  “Got it,” he transmitted.

  “Holy shit, kid,” Tina said. “Way to go!”

  “How’d you get it to accept the code?” Doc asked.

  “Well, I thought about how you’d keep a code for over 300 years with any chance of coming back later and not count on it being stored. You can’t. So I tried the code backwards, and it worked.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Toothpick said.

  “Probably,” Honcho said.

  “Come on,” Doc said. “Let’s check it out.”

  Terry hadn’t known until then that they’d been unable to gain access to any of the extractors. The mercs gave him a pat on the back and told him how good a job he’d done when he got out of his minisub and joined them inside the extractor.

  As Terry and the others began examining the extractor’s interior, Tina used the code Terry had discovered to access the computer. The extractor had been operating without maintenance or instructions for three centuries.

  The inside of the extractor made Terry think of old WWII submarine movies, or B rated sci-fi. Rusty hallways clogged with pipes, cable runs, and various ductwork. It felt like being inside a living thing, with pumps pulsing and power thrumming throughout the structure.

  “What powers it?” Terry asked Doc.

  “Fusion power, like everything else in the Union. They love throwing gobs of power around.”

  “But I thought they needed the stuff to contain the reaction?” He made a face as he tried to remember what it was called.

  “F11,” Doc said.

  “Right, F11.” Humanity had been trying to create fusion power for 75 years on Earth, only to find out after First Contact that their efforts were ultimately doomed to failure. The vital link to controlling a sustained fusion reaction was an isotope of Florine with the amazing property of being able to absorb most kinds of energetic radiation. F11 contained and controlled the biproducts of the miniature stars held within a fusion reactor.

  “But doesn’t it have a limited life?” Terry asked.

  “It does,” Doc agreed. “We think the reactor in these extractors doesn’t consume much power. Since F11 endurance depends on how hard you use it, it’s possible they could last a long time.”

  “Like centuries?”

  Doc grinned and nodded.

  “That could also be what happened to the missing extractor, right?”

  Doc gave him the appraising look and smiled. “Exactly our thought.”

  They walked around for a bit and eventually returned to the lock area. Terry’s leg didn’t hurt as much; he’d gotten a lot of time on it in the last week, and all the swimming practice helped. They found Tina sitting cross-legged on the floor tapping on her slate. “I’ve got access to the whole system,” she said. “Terry the Terrible’s code works on all the extractors’ computers.”

  “Terry the Terrible?” Terry said.

  “What else,” Toothpick said. “You’re a badass, even if you are a little squirt.”

  “So were you as a kid,” Piano said. Toothpick flipped him a middle finger in reply.

  “Are they making fun of me?” Terry whispered to Doc.

  “No,” the older man said with a slight smile. “They’re actually giving you a compliment. It’s maybe a little tongue-in-cheek.” He grinned at the young man who gave a little grin back. “What did you
find out about this monstrosity?”

  “It’s been a busy little boy,” Tina said. “This extractor shows a 26% overall active work cycle for the last 320 years. It’s claimed a total of 4,991 tons of targeted minerals from the ocean vents.”

  “What capacity does the extractor have?” Doc asked.

  “Just 950 tons,” Tina replied. “There’s 102 tons currently on board.”

  “Where’s the other 4,889 tons?” Terry asked.

  “Still trying to figure that out,” she said, glancing up at him.

  “Sorry,” he replied.

  “Status of the extractor’s fusion plant?” Doc asked.

  “F11 is 88% saturated,” she said. “There are a few hundred warning status indicators as well. This thing needs help. If its health is any indication, we know where #6 went.”

  “Yeah, but what about all those harvested minerals?” Doc pushed.

  “I’m freaking working on it,” she snapped back.

  “Language,” Doc said.

  Tina glanced up at Terry then away. “Sorry, kid,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  Tina continued working for a while, her hands flipping back and forth on the slate, tapping icons, and moving virtual controls. Eventually she sighed. “I can’t find it,” she admitted. “The six extractors were working together cooperatively, but the programming is missing part of the command codes. I have to admit, I was never very good with Union coding.”

  “I know someone who is,” Doc said and turned to Terry. After a moment the mercs were all looking at him curiously. “Yeah, he wrote a Tri-V simulation program when we were on the Behemoth. Sold it for 300,000 credits.”

  Nods and a couple of whistles from the mercs and Terry felt his cheeks getting hot. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “Three hundred K is a pretty big deal,” the characteristically quiet Hutch said.

  “I’ll say,” Hutch’s buddy Peyto agreed.

  “Don’t forget the money came from a Maki merchant clan, too,” Doc pointed out. If anything, the mercs’ level of respect increased.

  Tina tapped at her slate and stuck a data chip into it. A second later, she pulled it out and handed it to Terry. “Here’s the program, can you please check it out?”

  “Sure,” he said, taking the chip. “Let me go back to the minisub and get my slate.”

  “You can do it later,” Tina said, laughing.

  “Oh, okay,” Terry said and slipped the chip into a zippered pocket on his drysuit.

  “For now, let’s look at getting the other sub back and beginning to unload what’s here,” Doc said. The mercs nodded. “We’ll go out tomorrow to the next extractor, and hopefully Terry’s code solution works there, too.”

  “What time are we going out tomorrow?” Terry asked.

  “We are, you aren’t,” Doc said. “Only once a week, the doctor and your mom both insisted.”

  “Oh, that’s crap,” Terry mumbled.

  “That’s the rule,” Doc insisted.

  “You tell ’em, kid,” Tina whispered, making Terry grin.

  “Don’t encourage him,” Doc admonished. “You can use the time to figure out the programming and help us figure out where the extractors have been stashing the goodies.”

  * * *

  The minute Terry got back, his friends Colin, Dan, Taiki, and Katrina were waiting to help him give Pōkole his afternoon feeding. The calf was just as attached to them as he was to Terry after months of their feeding him during Terry’s coma. He’d still wanted to talk to them about having heard the voices talking in his mind. However, as time went by, he’d decided he’d probably just imagined it. Comas were weird, apparently.

  “How’d the diving go?” Colin asked as they were getting out of their gear.

  “Good,” Terry said and told them about the extractor and figuring out the code.

  “Cool!” Katrina said. “You figured it out all by yourself.” She punctuated her comment with a wink. Terry felt a shiver go up his spine, but not in a bad way.

  “Thanks,” he said, managing not to stammer.

  Katrina walked with him back to his quarters, which were only a short distance from her own family’s. She hung on his every word, excited by the talk of being outside again.

  “I can’t believe you went out there,” she said, glancing down at his leg. “I’d have been terrified.” He just shrugged, not knowing what to say. “Did it hurt? The leg, I mean?”

  “I wasn’t awake when they took it off,” he said. “The hip hurt worse, as I remember.”

  “I didn’t know you were hurt there, too.”

  “Oh, yeah. I have a killer scar.” He pulled his shorts down for her to see, and her eyes bugged out at the long line of scar tissue. She reached a hand out and touched the pink scar on his hip, tracing its line inward. He shuddered and stammered, “T-They took this tooth out, too.” He pulled it out of his shirt with the other hand.

  “I wondered where you got it from,” she said.

  The door to his quarters opened and his mom stepped halfway out, coming to a sudden stop when she saw the two kids standing there. Her eyes went down and Terry suddenly realized he had his pants half pulled down. Katrina also must have realized the situation because she squeaked and took a step back.

  “Well, hello, young man,” his mom said, slowly looking Katrina over in a critical manner he’d never seen her use before.

  “M-mom!” Terry said, yanking his shorts up. “Uhm, you know Katrina?”

  “H-hi, Mrs. Clark,” Katrina stammered.

  “Ms. Clark,” she corrected, “and yes, I know young Miss Long. I know her parents, too.” His mom’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure your parents will be wondering where you are.”

  “Bye!” Katrina said, and skittered off like she was being chased. Terry slipped in past his mom and headed for his room.

  “Just a sec,” she said behind him.

  “I wanted to get a shower before dinner,” he said.

  “First let’s have a talk.”

  “Oh, Mom,” he said and continued.

  “No ‘oh Mom.’ Now.”

  Terry stopped and turned around, sighing. “Yes?”

  “First, how did it go? I already heard from Doc you were a great help.”

  “It went fine,” he said. “I broke the code and got us into the extractor.” He took a data chip from his pocket and held it up. “I need to get to work on the programming to help figure out what’s going on with the other extractors.”

  “Good,” she said and came closer. “Now, how about the scene I walked in on?”

  “I was just showing Katrina my scar,” he said.

  “It looked like you were showing her a lot more than your scar,” she said in a condescending tone.

  “It doesn’t matter what it looked like,” Terry said. “That’s what I was doing.”

  “Terry, your father took himself out of the equation before he had time to give you ‘The Talk.’”

  “What talk?’

  “About boys and girls.”

  “Mom,” he protested, his voice rising in alarm and cracking, furthering his humiliation. “We were just talking!”

  “When a girl touches you there...”

  “MOM!” he yelled, turned, and ran into the bathroom.

  “Terry,” she said from the other side of the door. He stood there staring at the toilet, which had been installed while he was out of it. The previous one hadn’t been made for Human backsides. “Terry, it’s okay to be curious.”

  Furious, he reached out and yanked the shower curtain aside, popping a couple of the rings in the process, and turned the water on full. He pretended not to hear her.

  “Okay,” she said eventually. “Later, then.”

  Terry sighed, stripping and climbing into the shower. As the hot water pelted his skin, he tried to ignore the part of him that had enjoyed Katrina’s touch the most, and wished it would go away.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 8
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br />   Templemer, Planet Hoarfrost, Lupasha System, Coro Region, Tolo Arm

  April 24nd, 2038

  “Terry?” He turned to see Doc walking into the moon pool. They were the only two currently in the room. Terry was waiting for the machine to make enough milk for Pōkole and for the other seniors to arrive and help.

  “What’s up, Doc?”

  The older man stopped and laughed, making a funny gesture with his hand like he was holding up something in front of his mouth. “Ahhh, what’s up, Doc?” Terry’s brows knitted in confusion. “Never mind, I need to tell you how I got nicknamed Doc someday. You got a minute?”

  “Yeah, the guys won’t be here for a few minutes. Junior’s starving.” He pointed out through the ruby dome to where Pōkole was swimming impatiently in a figure-eight pattern. Moloko was hovering a short distance away.

  “Your mom asked me to talk to you.”

  “Oh, for the love of—”

  “Kiddo, it’s cool. I don’t really care if you play doctor with another kid your age, as long as they’re consenting.”

  “I wasn’t...wait, ‘playing doctor?’”

  “Old saying,” Doc said. “Examining each other’s bodies?” Terry felt his face turning hot. “Uh huh, that’s what I thought. In the hallway?”

  “I was showing her my scar,” Terry said and pointed at his hip.

  “You’re off by a few centimeters to the left.”

  Terry looked down, tracked in the indicated direction, and the hot feeling in his cheeks turned to molten lead. His mouth opened and closed, but only a popping sound came out. It took him a full five seconds to respond coherently. “I was showing her my scar!”

  “It’s cool,” Doc said. “I mostly believe you.” He shrugged. “Mostly. Now, how do you think it looked to your mom? Her son and a pretty blonde girl out in the hallway, you with your pants half off, and her touching your...scar?”

  “I didn’t have my pants half off,” Terry said, realizing how lame it probably sounded as the words came out of his mouth. Doc put his hands on his hips and cocked his head. Terry looked down. “Well, I didn’t.”

  Doc stared at him with a hard gaze for a long time, then slowly nodded. “But you do like her, don’t you?”