by John Lane
“Lose it, Mistress?”
“To protect me, it must be lost so that my attackers cannot find me. Can you do that?” Agnes asked, not sure that her beloved Ai had the creativity to make this happen.
“The Hide and Seek routine, Mistress?”
“Yes, play Hide and Seek. Hide me so I win the game.”
“And the duration of the game is to be what, Mistress?”
“Randomize the duration,” Agnes began as she snuggled down into her casket. “No, wait, make it no less than three years and randomize the duration above that.” She thought she could lose three years as long as Marcus got her aboard one of the outgoing mail barges that still waited to leave. “Now, please initiate the Big Sleep Program on this casket.”
“Closing casket and initializing hibernation mode. Casket to be mailed general postage to Agnes Zephyr care of the Postal Master General Office, Central Systems, Jupiter Station.”
As the frost built and drowsiness overcame Agnes, her eyes popped open wide as she realized she had forgotten it. The hibernation sequence could not be reversed, and she was already too far gone. So, her last complete thought as she closed her eyes again and fell into a sixty-three year sleep was her personality storage unit. It was still sitting on her workbench. She hadn’t installed it in the casket. She would awake with no memories.
In her closet, Agnes pulled out her childhood tablet. She quickly disconnected it from any outside systems. It only needed to read the file her brother had hidden in her hand. She plugged in the chip. Music played the children’s song Pop Goes The Weasel. Then the document file opened with her brother’s last confession typed out. She must get this information out to the galaxy. It had to be stopped.
Agnes ran from her room to the apartment’s main door. It was locked. Banging on the door hurt, but it made her feel a little better. That’s when she looked out the balcony and saw the lights begin to go out across the cavern valley. She might have a chance. Opening the balcony door, she saw her childhood toy still where it was always stored. She grabbed it and jumped over the protective railing out over the open cavern floor. And she fell.
Chapter 14: Birthright
Cassius Brutus watched. Humans had returned to the settlement. His instructions were clear. Nothing interfered with his function. His part was always the same, and it was close to completion. So, he watched and tried to learn.
He could not see the humans. He was blocked from the habitat. But he controlled all access to the habitat: power, water, and all data. External data could be collected to extrapolate considerable information about the humans. Their location conveyed ample data about them.
That she had returned was a puzzle. Everything matched. Facial recognition routines had confirmed that it was Agnes Zephyr. The anomaly of her return fell outside his parameters and was dismissed. Cassius Brutus did not think about things beyond its parameters and never wondered at the profusion of anomalies that were human.
Cassius Brutus waited for the patterns to emerge and the subroutines to click into place. He had driven her out before and would not let her interfere this time. There would be no difference.
The other human was new, and Cassius Brutus needed more data. This new human had accessed no information from the net, yet. Based on that access, Brutus could determine if this new human was a threat to his function or not.
Cassius Brutus waited, and he watched.
*****
Agnes had slept through the first night after her seizure. Dr. Ann Ai had scanned her and pronounced her stable. She diagnosed over stimulus in Agnes’ Limbic System. She guessed that Agnes’ memories were exerting themselves. Agnes suffered little physical damage to her brain. She needed rest to recover and to allow her brain to process these emerging memories.
Deep into her second night of her recovery they had little time to find Agnes’ lab, and locate the pirates. Tommy knew this gamble would delay them almost five days. They were almost halfway through the emersion of this planetoid in the atmosphere of the gas giant it orbited and had nothing to show for it. Frustration he could handle. Patience, he had mastered. But Tommy had little practice with concern for another person. He’d lived most of his life alone with only Alfred, his AI. Agnes had to get better, kept going through his head.
He had tried to take short naps while Alfred’s avatars kept watch, but he couldn’t sleep. So, he wandered through the apartment, exploring. He’d found his mother’s childhood bedroom, full of toys, dolls and stuffed animals. Educational apps populated her tablet and more than one virtual biology lab. Not surprising since Caesar was a doctor as well. Tommy saw his grandfather’s influence on his mother’s life.
He discovered his grandmother’s study. She was the family archivist. There he found the anachronism of family albums in hard copy. He and Alfred accessed her workstation and discovered additional video of family gatherings. Tommy watched some early birthday parties for his mother. Agnes was absent from these early gatherings. Tommy guessed that Agnes was away to school during his mother’s early years. At some point in the night, it became too much, finding a past and family he didn’t know overwhelmed him. He understood how overwhelmed Agnes must feel returning here and how brave or desperate, or both, she was to do it. He stopped the playback and asked Alfred to copy all of Virginia’s files.
As he wandered around the apartment, he took in the beauty of the settlement cavern outside the balcony under nighttime conditions. The interior lighting mimicked Earth’s rotation. Plants and animals alike needed those rhythms. The sight of the other buildings hanging from the ceiling and the fields of crops laid out across the floor below amazed Tommy. Well maintained parklands and wide boulevards meandered between the crops.
The food crops puzzled Tommy. He took out a scanner and got a closer view of the cavern floor. Why maintain crops where there were no people to eat them? Then he noticed the pattern. The crops supported the manufacturing deeper in the planetoid. As he scanned, he found other crops primarily harvested for their medicinal uses. Medicine had been the major economy here. It made sense they would have these crops.
Sitting on the balcony, Tommy opened a connection with Marcus, the apartment Ai. The only information Marcus found on the network, was a canned promotional tour of the settlement. Tommy had Marcus access the settlement systems for additional information. That’s when it got interesting.
“Sir, I cannot find information concerning your inquiry about current mandates and products being manufactured,” Marcus informed Tommy.
“Try manifest of scheduled shipments. Check the most current records,” Tommy asked.
“The most current records appear to be over fifty years old.”
“What about the current stock of materials?”
“According to the public record which by mandated includes all resources the settlement produced, there are none.” Marcus continued, “This does not correspond with the detailed data. And now I am receiving inquiries to my systems. Firewall alerts and protocols have been initiated to protect the Zephyr systems.”
“Protect your systems,” Tommy agreed. “Cut all outside connections.” ‘Something crooked is going on here,’ he thought. ‘There must be two sets of books.’ He had been staring off across the cavern and noticed activity in several of the abandoned apartment buildings. Scanning them showed maintenance bots doing routine activities. “Marcus, in your own observations of the last fifty years,” Tommy had to phrase the question so Marcus would understand that he didn’t need details, “generally, how much activity has there been in the apartments?”
Marcus replied, “In general terms and specific. None. I have maintained this building based on my own programing initiatives and the habitat’s systems. These are low level functions in the settlement, and there have always been adequate supplies provided by the settlement’s systems.”
“Interesting. Too much information, but continue,” Tommy said. “Are you in contact with the other buildings or family systems?”
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sp; “None appear to be active for communication. The settlement’s system is still active and my firewalls go up when the connection is made.”
The other systems were either shut down or subsumed by the settlement system, Tommy mused. “Marcus, were you left any instructions from the family when they left?”
“Yes, protect the family.”
There it was, a simple instruction to protect them. “Who left it,” Tommy asked, and was surprised with the answer.
“In chronological order; Dr. Virginia Zephyr left the instructions to watch over Caesar Zephyr and the remaining children, Jasper and Agnes, prior to her death. Dr. Caesar Zephyr made the same request about Jasper and Agnes. Mr. Jasper Zephyr left a delayed recording and the same request that started upon the exodus of his evacuation on the last ship scheduled to leave the settlement. Finally, Agnes Zephyr made the request twice. Once from her room here in the apartment and once via a direct scramble com line from her lab, several hours after the last ship had left.”
The world shook. “Alfred, report,” Tommy asked urgently. As he watched the suspended buildings around him begin to sway. Some of them looked like they might collide as the shaking subsided and the buildings quickly settled into place. The Zephyr’s apartment building settled very quickly.
It was not Alfred, but Marcus who reported. “The tremors are caused when the planetoid hits turbulence as it passes through the gas giant’s atmosphere.”
“I can confirm that,” Alfred added from the spider that accompanied Tommy to the balcony. He sounded a little miffed that this older Ai had beaten him to the punch. Or maybe the Marcus Ai was responding to Tommy as if he were a member of the family. This prompted Alfred to ask, “Marcus, please explain why Thomas Judson has familiar access to you.”
“Thomas Judson displays physical and vocal genetic features, that indicate he has a ninety-six percent probability of relationship to the Zephyr family. Upon completing his access request, I retrieved skin cell samples that confirm this relationship with both Caesar Zephyr and Arnold Judson. Accompanying Agnes indicates her approval of Thomas Judson. Therefore, basic familiar access is granted,” Marcus concluded.
Lights came on across the floor of the vast cavern. The primary light source appeared on the bottom of most suspended buildings. Strips of lights along the roof of the cavern would provide illumination to the exterior of the buildings and their occupants when they had been occupied. These lights remained dark. The crop lights under the buildings cast a twilight glow among the suspended buildings
“Arnold Judson had access to your systems?” Tommy asked.
“Yes,” Marcus responded. “He has full administrative access to the family systems.”
Alfred followed this response with, “How long ago did Arnold Judson last access your systems?”
“Directly or remotely?”
“Directly,” Tommy interjected quickly.
Marcus replied, “Thirty-one point two Solar years ago.”
“That was before I was born,” Tommy mused. “And after the settlement had been abandoned and lost.”
Alfred continued probing Marcus for information, “When was the first access for Arnold Judson?”
“Thirty-one point three Solar years ago,” came the response from Marcus.
“He spent little over a month on this planetoid. Why was he here?” Alfred asked. Then he suggested, “Marcus’ main systems are located in your grandfathers’ study. I might be able to access it directly.” Tommy nodded assent, and they moved to the study.
Light now streamed down on the crops below. It cast long shadows through the great window that took up most of the exterior wall to the room. Tommy sat down at the partners desk. He knew that this desk had been Caesar’s. He had discovered his grandmother, Virginia, had her own study complete with desk and workstation where she worked as an administrator for the settlement. The other side of the partners desk must have belonged to Jasper, his uncle, Tommy concluded.
He tried keying in access instructions but was blocked. He needed administrative access. When asked, Marcus had no data on how to access the system. Tommy went directly to the wall cabinet where the Marcus system was located. He tried to get direct access. Alfred sent a smaller avatar spider into the cabinet.
“This is strange,” Alfred said through the avatar. “There is additional cabling. Marcus is networked with a hardline to another system.” His avatar wedged itself as deep in the wall as he traced the line. While he did this, Tommy surveyed the room in the twilight shadows for the first time. The three other walls were lined with hard copy books on simulated oak shelves. There was comfortable furniture placed in a conversational cluster near one wall of books. In another corner a gaming nook invited family members to relax in friendly competitions. The study looked to be as much a family room as a sanctuary for Caesar.
The center of the room held the partners desk. It dominated by both its position and size in the room. That drew Tommy back to it. He explored the drawers on both sides as Alfred prattled on from the wall. “I can almost see the first junction. All of the cabling is shielded and sealed from outside hacking. The junction doesn’t branch out. It turns in a single direction.”
“Toward the center of the room,” Tommy finished.
“Yes,” Alfred admitted as the avatar crawled out of the wall cabinet. Tommy’s ability to make cognitive leaps no longer surprised Alfred. “What have you found?”
“The desk. There is more volume than the drawers take up,” Tommy answered. “You’ve been active a long time, Marcus. Describe how Caesar accessed the system.”
“I do not have that data,” Marcus’ answered. “My logs show I was active. However, there are gaps in the log that are blocked. I cannot access them.”
“Security from industrial espionage,” Alfred suggested. “This is where he conducted some of the family business.”
“Family business and a partners desk.” Tommy sat in Caesar’s chair at the desk staring at the blank workstation in front of him. “We need Jasper,” he declared.
“Yes, Tommy. It takes two to access the system. There are no connections to the outside settlement network except through Marcus. They used him as a buffer,” Alfred commented.
“Would another Zephyr do?” The question came from the door. Agnes stood there, a little worn looking, but stronger. Behind her, Dr. Ann Ai’s avatar hovered protectively. Agnes entered and sat down in the other partner chair. “Access is a combination of audio tones and biometric readings. Father and Jasper were primary users of the system, but father and I or Jasper and I also accessed the system.” She paused. “I’ve got a lot to tell you. Marcus can you get us something to eat?”
“Certainly, mistress.” A few moments later a platter of warm sweetened grain meal and fresh squeezed juice arrived on a bot cart with the emblem of a Roman general on its side.
Agnes took a whiff and smiled. “Perfect, cinnamon oatmeal and fresh grape juice. You remembered my favorites.” They both dug into the meal. As she ate, she related what she could of her revived memories. “I can’t remember everything, but being in this room must have brought back what I needed.” She finished her story as she finished the last of her breakfast. Looking more energetic from her meal, Agnes rubbed her palms together, addressed the desk and said, “Now, let’s see what you have to tell us.”
Agnes started with confidence. “Tommy place your hands on the touch screen.” She typed in S-E-C-U-R-I-T-Y A-C-C-E-S-S. The room darkened as the window went opaque, the door closed, and the interior lights illuminated the room in subdued tones.
Once they sealed the room, Agnes began to sing, “All around the mulberry bush.” She nodded in Tommy’s direction to continue.
“The monkey chased the weasel,” he sang.
“The monkey thought ‘twas all in fun,” Agnes added and motioned Tommy to join in the refrain.
“Pop goes the weasel.” They finished together, and the center of the partners desk slid up to reveal a 3D data tank. Acces
s ports and the controls for an advanced dedicated computer were located below the opening. Considering that it was almost seventy-five years old, Tommy was impressed.
“Alfred, can you access this system?” Tommy asked with apprehension. “I think we came looking for mom, but we may find my dad.”
“Yes,” Alfred didn’t hesitate to reply. “I’ll be right back.” And he plugged in.
*****
In Alfred’s conceptualized reality, he was in a white room. A round dark hallway appeared in the distance and instantly he faced a gaping opening him. He listened carefully before he stepped in. Images flashed by him. He arrived in a long white corridor lined with doors.
He stepped down the hall, and the doors flashed passed. Each door opened into files and images of data from the Zephyr data tank. At some doors, he stopped to examine the data. In many, Alfred found patient files. These he conceptualized as Caesar standing next to a patient’s bed or teaching students in an auditorium. Alfred also watched occasions where Caesar worked alone in a laboratory.
At another set of doors, he found Agnes. In a single conceptualization, he saw multiple images of her in her lab at various ages. In each image she worked on a different project. Some were on a micro scale. In others, her project was so large he only held a part of the project in the image. In another one Agnes worked on the casket and in another, head bent focused on her work, Alfred saw the disassembled components of the media storage unit.
Back down the hall, he found a door that led to Jasper’s files. Jasper mainly worked at a console on code. Alfred could make out lines that represented artificial intelligence. Images of Jasper flashed by. He worked in a clean lab hunched over on micro boards. The frozen shots of Jasper trailed off into very dark back rooms. Alfred skimmed past these. He was looking for more pertinent data.