Sunrise broke through the morning haze and I kicked dirt over the fire to put out the last of the embers. As much as I hated to wake Eliza and Marcus, the sooner we set out the faster we could make it back to the others. We used as little water as possible to wash our faces and hair. I shook my canteen. There was barely enough to last us the rest of the journey. My head was pounding and my stomach rejected the idea of food. A couple days on a limited water was kicking my ass. Maybe I could convince Phoebe Rickman to hook me up to one of her famous banana bags. Convalesce in the infirmary for a few days with a stream of saline and nutrients running through my veins. What a sweet dream.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I could hardly believe my eyes. The colony had completely transformed in our absence. Pallets of aid from the android emissaries was stacked against the entrance of the shelter. It was clear that Jason and Nicole had been busy with building homes. There were more than a dozen new ones, their footprints spiraling out from the shelter’s entrance. The additional food and water had worked their magic.
“Hey! Hey! Here come the conquering heroes!” Jason’s shout carried over the wind and we heard him before we saw him. He jogged up to us, exuberant as ever. He tackled Marcus in a hug and then turned to me before he noticed the sling around Eliza’s arm. “Shit, what happened? Where’s your Dad?”
Marcus shook his head vigorously to head him off but it was too late.
“It’s a story for later, Jason.” I tried to be as gentle with the guy as I could. It wasn’t his fault that he was a living puppy dog. His mouth just ran a little faster than his brain sometimes. “Would you be so kind as to alert Phoebe Rickman that my wife needs medical attention? Actually, we all do. We’ve been on water and food rations for about three days.” Jason nodded and sprinted away.
“Sorry, darlin’.” Eliza bumped me gently with her good shoulder. “That wasn’t Jason’s most...tactful moment.”
“It’s all right. Let’s get the three of us fixed up. There’ll be plenty of time for an explanation after we feel better.”
Dr. Rickman had the sense to not ask any questions. She marched us into the infirmary, now even more stark than when we left it. Marcus and I were treated to intravenous fluids and bowls of warmed over snot. The very same thing that Dad ate for years to keep himself nourished. I swallowed hard, forcing the thick goo down. God bless Dad. I never wanted to touch this stuff again. Eliza was whisked over to an AutoDoc. For once in her life, she didn’t protest. Eliza and my father had shared a mutual dislike for the AutoDocs, courtesy of a childhood phobia on Dad’s part and the inherent distrust of machines on Eliza’s. The fact that she wasn’t pitching a fit and demanding a human doctor was more concerning to me than the bullet wound.
“For being shot, you lucked out.” Phoebe peered at the imaging of Eliza’s shoulder. “The wound is a clear through and through. Minimal tearing to the surrounding tissue. It looks like the bullet grazed a nerve, though. Are you experiencing any numbness?”
“Yeah.” Eliza gritted her teeth as the AutoDoc’s delicate appendages probed at her back. I set down my bowl and brought the IV pole close to the gurney she was laid out on.
“Hey there, hot stuff.” I bent down and grinned at her. “All shirtless on the table...” I wolf whistled and she shot me the finger with her good hand.
“Mooooommmm. I know I’m an adult and everything but you can’t keep it in your pants? Momma’s been shot.” Marcus whined from his bed.
“I can’t help myself Marcus, your Momma is just the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen!” Eliza smiled gently and I knew the distraction worked. I punctuated my lecherous leering with a healthy dose of kissing noises and both Marcus and Eliza groaned.
“Fiona, if you don’t stop making my patient move around, I’m going to strap you down to the gurney. And not in a fun way.” Phoebe didn’t look up from her console behind the AutoDoc.
“Yes ma’am.” I moved to Eliza’s side and clasped her hand in mine. “Uh, I love you.”
“What.” She started to look up and then swore as the AutoDoc injected the area around the wound with anesthetic.
“That. Sorry. Squeeze the hell out of my hand anytime you want. I am here to be your personal punching bag.” Man, those banana bags were something else. I was feeling no pain and a little light headed. I wondered if Phoebe had put a little something extra in them to sedate us.
The operation on Eliza’s shoulder was blessedly fast. She would have to be monitored for a couple of days but otherwise she would be as good as new. Phoebe gave her something to help her sleep and closed the curtains around her bed. As soon as we could stand to deliver the news, I asked Phoebe to fetch Jason and Nicole for us. They appeared with concerned looks on their faces. I waved them in to the infirmary.
“We need to talk.”
The five of us sat in the cramped office space. It wasn’t strictly necessary for Phoebe to attend, but she had been such a help to my father and I felt she was one of the best people to hear the news first.
“You’re telling me there is a city full of androids that used to run the other shelters.” The three of them stared at us, unbelieving.
“Yes.”
“And they decided to put your father on trial for murdering a homicidal A.I.”
“Yes.”
“And between your entering the city and your escape from it they murdered one of our own, split him in half, and killed your father.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Well, fuck.” Jason put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. “All right, what do we need to do?”
“The androids told us that we are the last of humanity, but I don’t buy it. We were only able to escape that place because an old-tech unmanned aircraft flew overhead. None of us got a really good look at it, but the body was far different than anything we saw in that machine city. They make everything out of glass and metal; the plane was plastic. Maybe some metal plating in the vulnerable areas, but when have you seen anyone using plastic in the last half thousand years?” With his body replenished, I could see that Marcus was itching to go. His family was in danger yet again and sitting in an office rankled. Like a wolf who interpreted hesitating as weakness.
“We also intercepted two transmissions, both appearing to be from humans.” That really got their attention.
“How do you know?” Phoebe spoke up. In her hands was a rosary, her thumb steadily moving over the beads as she spoke. “I’ve seen those A.I. do some really crazy things, Fiona. It wouldn’t be difficult at all for them to fake a transmission from another human colony.”
“The truth is, I don’t. But the majority of the androids seemed to share Gabriel’s mindset in so much as they consider themselves a wholly separate species from humans. If they were trying to trick us or lead us into a trap, they wouldn’t bother being vague. Or breathing. There were breaths interspersed with the words.”
“On our second night out there we also had a visitor. About halfway through the night, a drone appeared. It looked just like the plane. Plastic body, ancient build. It stayed far away from the campsite and didn’t bother us. Mom had the brilliant idea to flash some Morse code at it and I swear to you all that I saw the thing wag back and forth in acknowledgement. Machines don’t do that. They don’t wait around to see what you’ll do once discovered and they sure as hell don’t waggle their drones. Ever.” Marcus’s voice had grown a little deeper during the conversation. It was like he remembered his position as one of the shelter leaders and was racing to fill that role once again.
“The long and the short of it is that we need to move. Now I’ve had great success in splicing oil palm DNA with the potato DNA; I’ll need a quick spin by the labs to make sure my math is correct, but I think I’ve got the formula nailed down. Until we can find this other group of humans, or another place to settle, it’s somewhat pointless, however. The four of us can work to triangulate any radio signal on the way. If we're lucky, maybe we’ll run into the group of human
s who has access to military hardware. If we’re not...well, there isn’t much we can do about that, is there?” The whole thing was a somewhat fatalistic plan but hell, our lives had become beholden to fate a long time ago.
With the help of aid from the androids there were very few who were too sick to move. Those who were would be given a choice; either they could risk the journey with us or they’d be welcome to stay with whatever was left of the supplies. I certainly wouldn’t condone execution of the infirm; neither would Eliza, when she woke up.
I was cleared to leave the infirmary a couple of hours later. My first stop was the hydroponics lab; the place had been picked over since my departure, but the computers were still intact. I plugged my tablet into one of them and uploaded the DNA map. The computer’s fans whirred as it ran the formula and for a full agonizing minute I waited to see if my work had been for nothing. When it finished I stared at the screen, certain I had made a mistake. The program returned a positive result. We had a food supply.
First things first, I needed a shower. After checking in with the medical folks I made my way to the showers. A single bathroom had been left operational while the smart people figured out a better solution. I turned the taps as hot as they would go. When I stepped into the cascade of water I groaned. Every ache and pain that had concealed itself over the last week rushed to the surface. The knots in my back unraveled and the multitude of scrapes and bruises on my skin stung as the fresh water cleaned them out.
“Fuck.” It was like being born again. When I couldn’t take the scalding water anymore I turned the cold tap up and lathered up. The amount of dirt on my skin was horrendous; a veritable puddle of mud formed against the tiles. The grief I tamped down to warn the others of what was coming threatened to burst forth again. The hot water soothed the aches and pains but as I felt better, the flimsy walls I had put up around the mental pain started to crumble. I finished rinsing myself off and as I reached for the shampoo, the barricade fell. If you told me a year ago that grief could cause this much pain I would have laughed in your face. Now, it felt like I was slowly bleeding to death by a thousand cuts. There was no fighting it; the only thing I could do was hold on and try not to drown. Blessedly there weren’t other people around to witness my sobbing. My wife was still leading the shelter and in her absence, it was vital that I appeared steadfast. I turned the shower to shocking cold and gasped. The change in temperature was jarring enough to break me out of it and I stood under the water, letting it chill me to the bone. When I couldn’t take it anymore I twisted the taps back to hot and found the strength to finish washing. As my fingers wove their way through my hair I wasn’t shocked to find bits of twigs and grass tangled up in it. I dumped a pile of conditioner in my hands and worked it through, making sure to rinse throughly. Having a proper shower made me feel better almost as much as the banana bag. I dried myself off and went in search of a set of clean clothing. Unsurprisingly, a pair of clean scrubs was waiting for me on a stool outside the bathroom. Marcus must have taken off to clean up and left me a gift on his way. I smiled at raising such a considerate man. When all this was over, I hoped he found somebody to settle down with. He certainly deserved it.
While Jason, Nicole, and Marcus broke the news to the colonists, I made myself a cup of instant coffee and sat back down at the computer to work. Our fates were unknown, but I could still conduct myself as if things were going to plan. Since we didn’t have a hyper advanced 3D printer like the androids, I had to go about things the hard way. The DNA sample was easy to print and distill into a solution. I took three potatoes and injected a sample of the modified oil palm DNA strand into each. From those potatoes I harvested one eye and planted them into fresh pots. Another injection of the modified DNA went into them as well. Lastly, I set the printer to make as much DNA as it could with the couple of hours I had before sleep. I would preserve one in liquid and another in gel. I would pack both in a cool container to preserve them on the journey. If no miraculous colony of humans presented themselves we would need the backup. That’s assuming we made it that far.
I kicked my feet up on the desk and leaned back. A full stomach, getting rehydrated, and a shower had taken the stress out of my body and my eyelids felt heavy. There couldn’t be much harm in getting a few minutes of sleep while I waited for the DNA to synthesize. I leaned back and shut my eyes. The next sound I heard was the printer alerting me to the fact that it had finished the job. One of the trays served as a staging area for all six pots. I found an insulated cooler in one of the decommissioned refrigerators and packed it tightly with ice from the infirmary. Since the container was airtight it was unlikely the ice would melt quickly. Some cool water would serve in a pinch. I remembered Dad mentioning that he got drinking water from a nearby stream when Gabriel had left him for dead.
I returned to the surface to find order where I expected chaos. Word had made its way around camp like wildfire and there were lines of people packing supplies everywhere you looked. I sent a silent thank you to Dad. He had made such a difference in these people’s lives and the story of his death motivated people to move. I vowed to myself there and then that I wouldn’t let his death be in vain. No matter what lay out in the unknown, this colony would survive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eliza slept until the next morning when she woke up with renewed strength. Her shoulder was still a little tender but it was like my regular wife was back. In true form she insisted on jumping right back into her duties, much to the consternation of Dr. Rickman. With a sincere promise to not do any of the heavy lifting she was released from the infirmary. She wasted no time in gathering her people together and setting the plan into motion. The potatoes I planted were coming along nicely, their growth accelerated with the special nutrient enriched soil I put them in. There was nothing above the ground yet—there wouldn’t be for about a week—but I could see the root structure branching out through the glass of the containers they rested in.
The decision was made to go North. The weather was more stable in the North, and if there were any remaining human settlements or cities it was more likely we would find them up there. The security force for the colony would keep their shift rotation and Eliza already had several people volunteering for radio duty. Two radios would be kept running twenty-four seven, one that would remain on the channel we first heard the transmission from and another flipping through frequencies. The second radio would stop if and when it picked up any activity. This was not only to try to pick up another human colony, our hope was that it could pick up the robot language too. Martin Jones had already approached Eliza with an interest in building an analytic program to decode their communications. The kid was brilliant, and I had no doubt he could help us. When it came down to fighting, intercepting the enemy’s communications was vital. Since the system we put together for the expedition towards the beacon had gone so well, we outfitted the population with sleds. Each one held a portion of the remaining food, water, and medical supplies. Most of our computing power was hardwired to the systems that supported Gabriel so we were left with tablets. Underpowered compared to what we had in the shelter, but they would do the job.
Phoebe Rickman and the rest of the medical team were loath to leave behind the extensive suite of equipment at their disposal but I pointed out to them that either way things ended, we weren’t going to need it. Either we’d come across more humans or the androids would come for us. Long term medical conditions weren’t an immediate concern.
The first day passed slowly, giving me plenty of time to doubt everything we had done so far. I used the walk as a kind of meditation and set about attacking the problem from multiple angles. No matter what variables I mentally manipulated, the outcome was the same. Leaving was the most advisable option. It wouldn’t keep away the androids; undoubtedly the androids had bugged Eliza’s and my tablets, but I hoped that the weaker signal would be more difficult for them to trace. Spirits were surprisingly high. As much as anything else, the distraction wa
s a welcome change from toiling endlessly without a clear goal. Determination was briefly replaced with fear when a drone like the one Marcus and I saw that night approached us as the sun started to set.
“It’s all right, be calm people!” Eliza held out her hands out. “We’ve seen this drone before!” She signalled the caravan to stop and waved to the little machine. It descended from its altitude to hover just above head height. The drone was far larger than we thought; when it came to rest, it was almost as wide as my arm width. I came to Eliza’s shoulder and waved at the drone. It waggled its rotors at me and I smiled. This one was similar to its cousin, a metal body reinforced with plastic. Unlike the previous drone, this one carried a small box of some kind underneath its central chassis. We heard a small whirring sound and the box opened to drop a piece of cloth to the ground. I leapt after it as the wind tried to carry the scrap away. On it were a set of coordinates, written in black ink. They didn’t appear to have been written by a human hand, the letters and numbers were too uniform for that. It looked like someone had stamped them on. That didn’t exactly bolster my hopes for the journey. It was a toss up whether the stamped characters were done by a human; it would be easy for an android hand to stencil them in. The only thing that gave me faith was the fact that it was unlikely the androids would spend this much time screwing with us. Machines were efficient; the fast solution is the best solution. Eliza plugged the coordinates into her tablet and we had a heading.
The drone stayed with us for part of the journey. Twice it made circuits around the entire convoy, like it was trying to get an idea of how many we were and what supplies we had. It backed off, then, resuming its flight path a couple hundred yards away. Seeing the confidence of their leader, quite a few people looked up to smile at the drone—some even waved. It became our mechanical friend, humming along in a flight path that took it to the edges of the gathering and back. Like our own little mechanical guard dog. The humans who reached out to us were trying to establish trust before approaching us directly. Sending a cute drone wasn’t a bad choice. As night began to fall, the drone peeled off and flew out of sight. Dinner was another bout of rations, but I wasn’t going to complain. Eliza was feeling stronger by the hour and we had a direction. Short of getting another hot shower, things couldn’t have been going better.
Destiny: Quantic Dreams Book 3 Page 16