by Paul Dayton
“Are Mat and his team on the Medi-Ship?”
“Yes, Sir. Safe and sound. It’s your turn.”
“Give me a few minutes…” Bishop replied. He looked at Finley and typed in, “Angela, I am the nearest commanding officer, and am now taking control of the Base. Respond.”
“Yes, Sir. Please wait while I verify your authority…”
Bishop’s eyebrows raised up in surprise at her reply but he kept quiet.
“Captain, I’m picking up a laser signal transmission,” Jack said.
“Laser? Can you tap in?”
“My ship has tried but it’s encrypted and it will take a while. It’s pointed at a relay and there are various ones along the way to Earth, but I can’t tell who the recipient is other than that he or it is on Earth.”
“I didn’t know there were relays…” Bishop mumbled, upset at being surprised. “You’re sure it’s being directed at Earth and not the lunar base orbiting it?” he added.
“Yes, Captain.” Hollander had butted into the conversation. “We can confirm the same transmission, nothing further to add to Jack’s report.”
“There is a reply Captain. It lasted only one tenth of a second,” Jack added. “Transmission has now stopped.”
“Angela, who were you talking to?” Bishop asked.
“My superiors. You are allowed limited control of the base for an undetermined period of time. Your parameters are confined to base improvements or repair and Earth defense, with access to my database as you see fit,” Angela replied.
“Can I communicate with your… superiors?”
“They have anticipated this question and have chosen to remain anonymous, for now. They asked me to convey greetings and said they will contact you in a reasonably short period of time.”
“Very well then. As to the ‘limited control’ that I have been given, you are now answerable to me or to Commander Hollander. For now, your objective is to use the Support Ship we have left here to repair communications, to repair the cargo elevator blast doors and to bring the base back online and ready for the defense of Earth.”
“Yes, Sir, Captain Bishop.”
“And Angela,” Bishop added, “Can you delete the other Angela from the computer’s memory banks?”
“Not without compromising my system, Sir. You must delete the program manually. Once you have isolated her peripherals, you will find her core program accessed through computer banks twenty two to thirty eight in the secondary computer room, but I would suggest removing the memory capsule these banks access, destroying it, and replacing it with a new unit. Residual program elements may remain if you only attempt a delete. The capsule is clearly marked.”
“Sir, we can’t do that!” Finley blurted out. Bishop turned to him.
“It is an incredible piece of programming, and from what I saw it has mutated its program in ways I can’t comprehend. To throw away such an opportunity to study hundreds of years of I.T. evolution would be akin to destroying the Guttenberg bible!” Finley saw the doubt in the Captain’s eyes. “And it can benefit us too, Sir. It would be foolish. No disrespect intended,” he quickly added as Gomez gave him an angry stare.
Captain Bishop considered the request. “Very well, take out the ‘capsule’ as this Angela calls it and we’ll quarantine it until it can be SAFELY analyzed and studied. It stays quarantined until I permit you to access it, do you understand?” Bishop looked at him sternly.
“Yes, Sir. I understand.”
Gomez poked him in the chest and said, “Make sure you understand.”
“In the meantime, I’ll finish off with this Angela. Gomez, give Finley a hand.”
Finley sat at the keyboard and began typing. He still couldn’t believe there had been another room, but it made sense now that he thought about it. Fortunately, the room the first Angela persona was installed in was next door and accessed through a hidden panel that the new Angela had opened.
Angela opened a screen on the left of the display to coach him on the cleanup, and after a few minutes it informed him that the program had been properly quarantined to the memory capsule. He took one last look at the screen to confirm what he had read earlier and then walked over to the cabinet housing the computer banks indicated.
He was furious at the Captain and furious at Gomez for the way they treated him. ‘Damn monkey,’ he muttered as he looked at the cabinet.
“What was that?!” Gomez asked angrily.
“I said it’s damn funky. The memory capsule. Just strange, that’s all.”
“Funky. Uh-huh. How about this – do what you came here to do so we can leave! These ‘funky’ Angelas give me the creeps. They’re like my worst ex’s.”
“I didn’t know you were married.”
“I’m not. I’m talking about girlfriends.”
Finley bit his lip as he tried hard not to reply. He removed one of his tools, glad to know that a Philip’s screwdriver still fit screws made seven hundred years before. He quickly removed the panel and was surprised to see only two data capsules in there. The two comprised most of the space inside of the cabinet, with the data bus, cable routing, power supply, logic boards and liquid cooling system making up the rest of it. He looked closely and found two pry levers built into the sides of the capsule with one screw bolting in each lever. A green LED was blinking near the top of each capsule and Finley called out, “Captain, ask Angela if there’s any special precaution I have to take when removing the capsule.”
Within a few moments Bishop yelled back, “Angela says you have to remove the capsule in one fluid motion to prevent damage to the capsule or the unit, and to avoid touching any live busses or wires because of capacitors. And make sure the unit is powered down.”
“Great,” Finley muttered under his breath as a smiling Gomez stood back and watched. He removed both screws, being careful to not touch anything with his screwdriver. Once that was done, he grabbed both pry levers and said to Gomez, “I’m not sure how this will pop off so you have to be ready to catch it if it falls.”
“I thought you were an expert.”
“Yeah, and I thought you were an expert at getting us out of here too,” Finley snapped back.
“Cut it out!” Bishop yelled at them both. Gomez reluctantly put his hand below the module. Finley yanked both levers and the module popped off but rested supported on the now extended pry levers. The green blinking LED had now turned into a permanent red LED. Finley looked behind the capsule and didn’t see anything else connected, so he quickly slid the unit off of the levers and took it carefully to his briefcase.
“Finley, come here and look at Angela’s request,” Bishop said.
Finley read, “Data indicates that a virus has shut down the primary system and that it was introduced by one of you. If you have removed the capsule, please consider deactivating the virus so that I can follow your orders efficiently.”
“What do you think?” Bishop asked Finley.
Finley thought for a moment and replied, “I think that this Angela is the original Angela, but even if it isn’t and this is all a trick, what difference would it make now? Jack can get us out, right?”
Bishop thought it over and said, “Do it. Deactivate the virus.” Finley went over and typed in a series of commands, and then typed in a series of numbers and letters. Within moments the words appeared on all monitors, “Thank you. Estimated time for repairs to this base is twenty-one Earth days. Full communications system will be up and running within two hours.”
“Excellent,” he typed.
“I have another request,” Angela said out loud from the computer speakers. Your pilot Jack is on her way down to pick you and your team up. My Duty-Bots have informed me that she made a hole in cargo shaft one’s wall. Can you ask her not to do that again?”
“Comm to Jack.” Bishop said. “The Base comp asks that you not cut another hole in the wall.”
A few seconds went by and Jack replied, “How will you get out, Captain?”
“Angela, how will we get out?” Bishop yelled, tired of typing. He hoped the hallway mikes could pick up his voice.
“There’s a maintenance ladder just inside the passenger elevator shaft that will take you to an access door at the top. You can make your way to the surface there. Please keep in mind that the base has completely lost air pressure in both elevator shafts. If you are ready to leave, please make sure that you suit up before opening the air-tight access door.
“Type in the command: ‘EOpen’. Once the seal is broken, please be prepared for the immediate loss of atmospheric pressure. Please exit as fast as possible. The access door will close by itself after thirty seconds. Much of my equipment relies on air to cool it, and some of my airtight doors have been damaged, as you probably know. My systems will get damaged or fail if left for too long in a vacuum. Thank you and good-bye, Captain.”
Bishop exited and went back into the Interface room to search for the Maxon the Medi-Bot must have removed while he was under. Within a few minutes he returned suited up. The three of them quickly left the room one by one and hurried down the hallway, past the security center and over to the elevator doors, and stood against the back wall. Gomez held on to a handhold and keyed in the word ‘EOpen.’ The sudden rush of escaping air as the access door mechanically opened tugged at them while the shrill of the klaxon sounding in the hallway decreased quickly with the loss of air pressure. Doors still operational closed as the automated base systems dealt with the breach.
Looking in, Bishop saw the ladder on the inside of the door, bolted onto a section of the elevator shaft in a recess of its own. He could see it was going to be a tight fit with their suits on, but there was no choice. He counted to twelve just as he hit the ladder and started climbing. Behind him came Finley, followed by Gomez. Bishop counted twenty-seven seconds for all three to enter before the door closed, and they climbed the long distance up to just below surface level. As they reached the top, Bishop could see stars glinting through an opening just above a heavily damaged control box. “Gomez, see that? I think our team has been busy doing things of their own.”
Bishop found the exit door just as Angela had mentioned but had trouble opening it. Luckily it opened outward, and after a few solid thrusts the seal broke and they were able to make it through to the waiting Medi-Ship. On the way, they gaped at the odd looking Klinger resting on the surface.
“Is that ours, Captain?” Gomez asked.
Bishop didn’t know what to say. “I guess it is now…”
CHAPTER 22
Earth United
Timothy looked at the results on the computer screen. Ruth had come in behind Timothy but hadn’t said anything, still upset over the event with Darlee. She looked over his shoulder and saw the figures Meagan had brought up:
Overall Base Power Production Capacity – 72%
Estimated Total Capacity Possible – 89%
Overall Base Defense Capability – 83%
SETE Time To Operational Status – 14 hours
Overall Base Operations Capability – 69%
Overall Communications Capability – 54%
The list continued as it displayed the Base’s different sections, sub-sections and projects in order of importance.
Timothy walked over to the communications station. “Meagan, please replay that message you received.”
Timothy listened as the message started, but the language was different and unintelligible. “Can you translate?”
“Yes,” Meagan said. Meagan’s voice translated, as the other voice was relegated to the background. “Greetings! We, the people of Russia welcome you as new-found friends! Please reply.”
“When was this broadcast?” Timothy asked Ruth.
“I don’t know. Meagan informed me of the broadcast and then I came to you.”
“I see. Meagan, can you tell me anything else about this message?”
“Actually, I can,” HAL said. Since that part of Meagan’s communication system just came online recently, she was not aware that the message has been transmitting continuously since the end of the war with the aliens.”
“Why wasn’t I told of this before?”
“For a number of reasons. First off, you were not ready for it. Time was needed as this information would generate curiosity and more questions of even greater importance.
“You also had much to accomplish – for your Tribe, for Base Freedom USA and Canada Base. More information at the time could have proved to be too much information, distracting you from important goals. There is more, but perhaps the first order of business is to communicate with the people at this Russian base.”
Timothy didn’t think so but he decided to let it go for now. He certainly had many more questions that HAL needed to answer, and he didn’t like the fact that HAL was guiding him on his every move. He sensed another confrontation coming up, one that would define his role and position once and for all. He also had this issue of Darlee’s child to look after. Something somehow didn’t seem quite right, but for now he turned his attention to Meagan.
“Meagan, transmit this to them, “Greetings! My name is Timothy, and…” Timothy thought it best not to be too informative, “… my group and I have been responsible for initiating operations at Base Canada and Base Freedom USA. It is a pleasure to hear a friendly voice. We should arrange a meeting for our mutual benefit. Please come and enjoy our hospitality here at Base Canada.”
A few seconds passed with no answer. Ruth looked at Timothy and said, “Maybe the communications station isn’t manned, or perhaps they check it only once a day…”
“Maybe there’s no one there,” Sam said, having come in just behind Timothy. They waited a few more minutes and Timothy again said to Meagan, “Continue transmitting the message until someone…” At that moment a voice cut in, obviously excited.
“Dis is Captain Nevlouski. Answer please!”
“Captain! It is a real pleasure to speak with you,” Timothy said.
“It is wery same here,” the Captain said in a heavily accented voice. “My Command Officer is been notified, he will be here in short time. I must wait for him before I speak more.”
“I completely understand, Captain. Please inform me when he has arrived.” Timothy said and waited. A few minutes later, a new out of breath voice came on. “Mister Timothy! My name is Commander Livanovich. I must admit it is a real surprise to hear your voice!”
“As it is ours too, Commander. A nice surprise. My name is Timothy Paul, but you can call me Timothy. I am responsible for my Tribe here and also for both Base USA and Canada Base.”
“Two Bases! Are they fully operational Sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Timothy looked at Ruth, and after cutting the communication he asked, “What do you think? Should we tell them our status?”
Ruth thought for a moment as Sam looked on. “What would it hurt? If they really are potential friends, it would mean something if they came and confirmed for themselves what you said verbally.”
“You’re right,” Timothy said. Turning on the microphone he replied, “One Base will be fully operational by tomorrow, the other one is up and running now. What is your status?”
“Excellent! It will be good to have defenses running! Our computer projects the strong possibility of an imminent attack by aliens.
“Our Base has been running at full capacity since the beginning uninterrupted, and most of our equipment is worn out. Although our defensive equipment is functional, our overall efficiency is dropping and we’ve had to start cannibalizing some parts from secondary equipment. I wouldn’t suppose you have any spares, parts or equipment available?”
Timothy was surprised that the Base had been permanently occupied, and that it appeared to be under good leadership. He thought for a moment. “Commander, I’d like to offer more than just spares. Would you be our guests here at Canada Base?”
“I’d love to, Sir. Unfortunately our gravplanes have all been cannibalized. Perhaps you can be our guests?�
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“Certainly,” Timothy said. “It would have to be within the next few hours. We’ve scheduled the positron emitter test for tomorrow and it must not be delayed considering the circumstances. In the meantime, please arrange a list of your most important necessities and we’ll see what we can do.”
“Absolutely, and thank you for your assistance! Just one more question. What is your rank?” Before Timothy could answer, Ruth stepped up to the microphone and said, “Hello Commander, my name is Ruth. I am First Lady and assistant to the person you were just speaking to, The New World Leader.”
There was a pause as Ruth had finished saying those words, and she could feel Timothy glaring at her. After a few seconds, Commander Livanovich said, “I haven’t heard that term used except in school, Sir. I must say I am quite surprised. Has Earth Alliance contacted you then?”
Timothy paused, not knowing what to say. He looked at Ruth, the one who put him in this position, and as he was about to start explaining, Ruth interrupted again. “Not in any official way, Commander. Our Base A.I. has informed us of this decision. Have you received any communication recently?”
They waited for an answer, and it took a few seconds before it arrived. “No, First Lady. Legend has it that the last time the Council communicated with us was when our first ships headed out for space, and that they would communicate with us when a New World Leader was established.”
Timothy stepped back up to the microphone. “Then you don’t know where Earth Alliance is stationed…?”
“No, Sir. We were hoping they were with you. Nevertheless, please be our guests! It will be an honor!”
Timothy could hear no hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Very well then,” he said. “We’ll be there within…”
HAL spoke up and said, “Two point three hours if we leave now.”
“Within three hours,” he concluded. “Send us your list, my team will do what they can and will send another ship after us with the supplies. Until then, Commander.”
Timothy shut off the mike. “HAL, you’ve kept more information from me! You made it clear about the New World Leader thing, and now there’s this issue of a Council.”