“Cronus!”
Isra’s sharp voice jolted him out of his world. He pulled the goggles back off his eyes and the numbers vanished. There was only this world. And Isra looking impatient. She must have been trying to get his attention for some time.
“What are you working on?” she continued with her preternatural calm.
“The Code. The signal between the refineries and this place. There’s something we are missing. Something fundamental. This place, these people, they revolve around the Code the way Titan revolves around Saturn. It is everything and it is only four numbers repeated in a seemingly random fashion.”
“Interesting,” said Isra, without looking remotely interested. “I need you to put that on hold for a minute. What can you tell me about the refineries?”
Cronus touched an icon on top of the silver box and the dual monitors flashed back to life. The code was gone now and replaced with detailed schematics of the refinery complex. “Everything. I found the original plans for the refineries and adapted an algorithm to update its structures and current functions. The System controls everything and now I see the System.”
Isra leaned close. “Is there anything odd going on?”
Cronus scrolled through the complex diagrams. “The Corporation shut down most of the systems. They remain inactive. Extraction pumps, transfer pipes, distillers, condensers, all of it is—”
Cronus stopped. There was some activity at one of the mid-process chemical tanks. He typed a few commands and the diagram zoomed in on three conical tanks. There was a set of numbers showing how much of what chemicals they contained and they were falling.
“What? What do you see?” asked Isra.
Cronus zoomed back out to look at the schematic as a whole again. “Holding tanks for hydrocarbon chemical compounds. They were full but the level is dropping. They contained refined hydrocarbons but they are not being transferred. Not in the system. Which means…” Cronus spun around in the chair and activated the screen on his EROS suit. He linked to the satellite view and zoomed in close to the Ligeia Mare.
“There! Do you see it?” he said holding his arm out so Isra could look at the screen.
She bent down. “The Ligeia Mare?”
“Look close. Do you see something strange on the surface?”
Isra looked closer. “I do…what are those?”
Cronus pulled his arm back. “Do you recall the spools they unloaded? Hundreds of meters of carbon-reinforced synthetic tubing.”
Isra thought for a moment. “The giant spools of hose. Enough to stretch across the Legia Mare?”
“Several times,” added Cronus, looking at his EROS computer again. “They planned this. They knew about this city and the refineries all along. That’s far too much weight to ship a billion miles from Earth, even for the Corporation. There’s no other reason to be prepared for a situation like this unless that was their plan from the start.” Cronus turned back to the monitors. “There’s your evidence.”
“What evidence do you speak of?”
Cronus tapped his ear. “I’ve kept the channel open. Listened to the lies and the secrets. If you humans insist on destroying this City, then it is up to me to protect this place and its secrets. I know about Viekko and I know you need evidence to present against the Corporation. You have it now.”
Isra sighed. “Then you know that Viekko is injured and in danger. We need to make that evidence portable and show it to the forest people holding him. Can you do that?”
Cronus turned and blinked a few times, “Well…yes, it is possible. I have devices that can store and replay complicated systems like this. But it is not easy to transfer and use. It will take time to show you how—”
Isra straightened up. “No need. You will be going. Althea is still tending to the wounded but, as soon as she can get away, I want you and her on the crawler and moving toward Viekko’s signal. Understand?”
Cronus looked back at the Code, those flat numbers on the screen. “I need…time. I’m so close. I can almost see it.”
Isra started walking toward the main door. “You will have plenty of time to come back to that. Viekko needs help now and I need every team member in play to make sure he is safe. So do what you need to do and be ready to leave in about thirty minutes. I’ll be back after I talk to Althea.”
That was it. No discussion. Just Isra’s footsteps on the steel catwalk as she walked out of the pyramid. Cronus pulled the goggles over his head, hit the icon on the box and watched the numbers dance in their beautiful spiral patterns for a few minutes.
He needed time. He could see it, but he didn’t perceive it yet. He needed time.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
At any other time and place, these regional warlords would have been happy to kill each other for scraps from the Corporation’s table. But this was a time when nearly every person living in the outlying provinces could point to a friend or family member that had been killed or tortured by Corporate soldiers.
The Global Corporation was indeed strong, but it became the perfect common enemy for many population groups that normally would have been quite happy killing each other.
-from The Fall: The Decline and Failure of 21st Century Civilization by Martin Raffe.
Althea loosened her coat as she drove the crawler through the forest. The sun was high in the sky now and, despite being a fraction of the size it was as seen from Earth, it warmed Titan surprisingly well. All around, a thin mist rose from the ground as if the whole moon was thawing. She drove on a path of packed earth just wide enough for the crawler. The trees and shrubs on either side were trampled or had branches broken implying some constant traffic.
As they traveled, Althea noticed something wrong with the forests. The huge ferns, massive trees, and other diverse plant life were not as vibrant and green as she remembered them just hours ago. Maybe it was a characteristic of the area she traveled through, but the flora looked like houseplants that someone forgot to water.
Cronus looked better now sitting in the passenger side, even if he clearly wanted to be anywhere else. He didn’t speak or move or even busy himself with his holographic computers. He just sat holding the breath mask over his mouth and nose and stared out at the passing landscape like a petulant child.
Althea stopped the crawler and pulled up the sleeve on her coat to check the EROS display. A flashing icon indicated Viekko’s signal a little over ten kilos from their position, almost due South. She pressed another icon on the screen to talk to Isra.
“Status?” said Isra’s voice in Althea’s ear.
“Ten kilos away now. The crawler isn’t running particularly well. It will need some more work when I get back, but everything else is just lovely.”
Not running well was an understatement. Going faster than a few kilometers per hour caused the engine to whine and belch smoke from under the hood. She was sure there was a fluid leak in the transmission and occasional clunking from the engine sometimes threatened to shake the machine apart, but it was moving for the moment and that was what was important.
Isra responded over Althea’s earpiece. “Keep me posted. Out.”
Althea pulled her sleeve back down and continued driving. She glanced at Cronus again. “Sorry to pull you from your work, Cronus, but this is quite important. Isra says that Viekko didn’t sound terribly well.”
Cronus just glanced at her while holding the breath mask to his face.
Althea, the type to make polite conversation in any circumstance, continued, “Were you making any headway? Did you find something interesting?”
Cronus pulled the mask away from his face. “I don’t know. There is something about that place. And the refineries. Something bigger than both of them. I can’t read the code yet, but it is important. Not like normal computer code. It is a strange quaternary system, nothing like it in any known computer coding.”
“Quaternary system?”
Cronus held up four fingers. “Most computing uses two base numbers. Each co
rresponding to a different argument. Yes and no. Some use three. Yes, no and maybe. Then there are four base numbers. Yes, no, maybe, who the hell knows? It makes no sense, but it’s there. It’s everywhere in that system.”
Althea smiled pleasantly. “Well I’m sure you will figure it out. You look well. Are the allergies getting better?”
Cronus pulled the mask away again. “Yes, which is strange. They went away inside the pyramid. The effect out here is mild.”
“Maybe it was just a temporary reaction. We’re not entirely sure what effects alien plant life will have on terrestrial systems. Your body might have just been adjusting to the new environment.”
Cronus put the breathing mask back over his face and looked away.
Petulance was one thing, but Cronus acted genuinely afraid of something. Well, Cronus was more or less permanently afraid since they landed, but this was different. He wasn’t just afraid for his life at the moment.
“What’s wrong, Cronus?” said Althea.
Cronus took a couple deep breaths from the breather and pulled it away. “I can’t quite pinpoint it. It’s like a flash of light beyond the peripheral. There’s something important about the mainframe and the refineries. If it gets out, it will be destroyed.”
“What will be destroyed?”
Cronus put the breather back up to his mouth and took a several deep breaths. He did this for several seconds before he pulled the breather down and said, “Everything.”
Althea was about to ask him to explain that cryptic remark when she heard a hollow thump from the woods. Something flew out of the brush and fell to the right side of the crawler. Before Althea could swerve, there was a deafening blast and the feeling that the whole world was just stashed in a tumble drier. There was a sensation of falling and then pain as her body smashed into the hard, wet ground.
When the world stopped spinning, she was lying face down in the mud. At first, there was no sound but the ringing in her ears. But, as it died away, she became aware of rapid gunfire. The crawler, what was left of it anyway, was upside down not far from where she was lying on the ground.
Where was Cronus?
She took a quick look around and found him sprawled a couple meters away.
She crawled on her belly, keeping as low to the ground as possible. When she got to
Cronus, she put her fingers to the artery in his neck.
He was breathing and he had a pulse. Aside from some minor scratches, she couldn’t see any wounds.
Bullets ricocheted off the crawler and a nearby rock. She had to get Cronus to safety, but he had just been thrown from the crawler. Moving him could be as dangerous as leaving him there until she knew he didn’t have a spinal injury.
Still lying flat on the ground, she placed her hands on her head and yelled, “We surrender! Please! Stop shooting! We surrender.”
The gunshots died away and were replaced by someone shouting orders. Althea laid there trembling until she heard boot steps a few meters away and a gruff voice yell, “On your feet!”
Keeping her hands on her head, she maneuvered herself into a kneeling position and then stood up. She found herself face to face with two Corporation marines in full body armor.
One of the two men stepped forward, pointing the barrel of his rifle directly at Althea’s head. “Drop any weapons you have, slowly. Then turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
The Corporation marines—basically a highly organized mercenary battalion—tended to attract people who divided up the world into two groups: enemies and civilians. And to the marines, ‘civilian’ was a word said with the same tone as ‘cockroach’. It was a useful trait if played right.
Althea turned her head away and sucked in a few irregular breaths as if desperately trying to keep from breaking down completely. The trick was to appear powerless. She took another deep breath and whimpered, “Cronus?”
Cronus let out a pathetic little whimper.
Althea turned back to the marine. “He’s injured. Badly. He will die if you don’t let me save him.”
Cronus groaned again and moved his arms as if to push himself up.
The marine motioned with his gun. “He’s alive. Now you do as I say before I change that.”
Althea snapped back around, “Cronus! Listen to me. Don’t move. You have a severe spinal laceration. If you move, you risk paralysis. It will be a bloody miracle if I can save your feet, so don’t move!”
Cronus froze.
Althea turned back to the marine and managed to work up some tears. “He needs lorazepam right now or I can’t even begin to save his life.” She motioned to the crawler. “My bag is in there. If you will just let me…”
The marine pressed the rifle closer to her face. “Sorry. Can’t let you do that.”
“We are representatives of the Ministry!” said Althea letting more hysteria creep into every word, “What do you think will happen if I tell them that Corporation marines just stood by and watched one of their people die?”
Althea saw a slight twitch of fear cross the marine’s face. Marines responded to power and, as much as they enjoyed lording over people, they also understood what it meant to be on the wrong end of the Chain of Command.
There was a click as the marine switched off the rifle’s safety. “And what do you think will happen if I just kill you both?”
Althea gulped. “A lot of paperwork, I should think.”
It was a joke, but only just barely. The marine clicked the safety back into place.
“Please, let me help him. Don’t…” Althea gulped and let herself cry, “Don’t let me watch him die.”
The marine looked toward the crawler, then at Cronus, then back to the crawler, then Cronus. “Henderson!” shouted the Marine, “Get in there and find…whatever she was talking about.”
“It will be in a black leather bag,” said Althea, wiping her eyes. “I had it in the back before…”
The second marine pulled the bag from under the wrecked crawler and started rooting through it. “What the hell am I looking for?”
“Lorazepam,” said Althea, forgetting her feigned hysteria for a moment. “It will be a proper syringe with a needle with a yellow label.”
The soldier rooted around a while and produced a disposable syringe filled with medication. He threw it to his partner who examined it for a moment. “This the stuff?”
Althea nodded and the marine handed it to her.
Still under the watchful eye of the marines, she went and knelt beside Cronus. She pulled the cap off the syringe. “Try not to move, this will all be over soon.” Then she gave him a quick wink.
She turned back and looked up at the marine, “Come kneel down beside him here.”
“What?” said the marine still holding the assault rifle on her.
“Kneel down. I need you to hold him while I give him the injection.”
His hands holding the assault weapon trembled. “I can’t…”
Althea glared at him right in the eye. “If I give him this and he has a reaction he can spasm so hard he breaks his own back. It’s not good for any of us if he dies. Not me, not you, and definitely not him. You are in this now, so get down here and hold him.” She turned to the second marine. “And you, if this goes terribly wrong, I’ll need the portable defibrillator. It’s in the bag as well.”
The second marine went back to rooting in the bag. The one standing nearby swore under his breath and slung his rifle behind him. “What do you want me to do?”
“Put your hand here and here,” said Althea indicating Cronus's shoulder and stomach. “On the count of three.”
In one quick and effortless motion, she jabbed the needle into the marine’s neck and pressed all the way down on the plunger. “One.”
The dose was so high that the marine didn’t even have time to get a word out before his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell down and Althea pulled the rifle strap over his head. “Two.”
Cradling the weapon in her arms
she stood to face the second marine. “And three.”
The second marine stood up with a pair of palm-sized silver paddles in his hand. “Is this what you are looking…” His voice trailed off.
Althea now spoke in a flat, even tone. “Now remove the clip from your rifle, empty the rounds from the chambers, and throw it away. After that, do the same with your sidearm. Then throw away your combat knife.”
The soldier hesitated so Althea fired a short burst a meter or so from the man’s head. “That was just in case you had any doubts as to whether I could use a gun. Now, do as I say.”
The marine grimaced as if he’d just eaten something foul but did as he was instructed. As he threw his knife away Althea asked, “Who else is out here? Are you alone?”
“Lady, in this forest you can’t move a dozen steps without someone watching through a sniper scope.”
Althea nodded. “I see. Well if that’s the case, then it seems we are in a stalemate. So why don’t you go fetch someone with rank. We’ll stay here and watch your friend.” she indicated the man now sleeping soundly on the ground near Cronus. “And, if I were you, I’d hurry. If the wind so much as blows the leaves in a way I don’t like, well, it won’t end well for him.”
The man started walking away. “You know that you are basically both dead now, right? It’s just a matter of time. We’re going to bring fire and pain down on you.”
“I’m quite sure that is true,” said Althea. “And you wouldn’t want to delay that, would you? Run along now.”
The marine turned and ran into the forest. Althea watched with her gun aimed at him until she was sure he was gone.
“Um…shouldn’t you give me that injection?” said Cronus still laying as motionless as possible.
“Relax. You are okay,” said Althea, lowering the gun.
“I can move?”
“Can you feel your toes?”
Cronus hesitated a moment. “Yes.”
“Then you’re fine.” She went to pick up her medical bag by the crawler. “Come on, we should get moving.”
Cronus stood up. “Moving? What about all the soldiers?”
Saturnius Mons (Ruins of Empire Book 1) Page 19