Echoes of Family Lost

by Clayton Barnett

  “Of course.”

  Lily stood slower, trying to make it look realistic. “Thank you very much for your company, tonight.” She deliberately stumbled as she stepped over the bench. Fausta caught her and scooped her up into her arms.

  “We go.”

  The three watched them leave. Orloff saw the Carell’s exchange a look. John’s lopsided grin returned. His eyes remained hard.

  “I’ll be here at ten thirty. And so will you.” He said. Orloff full well heard the threat.

  “Certainly. Good evening.” They all stood and shook hands.

  There was a single knock on the door. Orloff entered and sat down on the bed on the right. Across from him sat Lily and Fausta. He stared at the floor. One of the help must have been in earlier to start a fire in the stove.

  “Lily tells me that I made a mistake. I am sorry.”

  He continued to stare at the floor.

  “How bad is it, Orloff?” Lily asked.

  “We can’t leave, they made that clear,” he said to the floor. “If they really are installing a reactor here, I’d say there are at least two companies of them; call it 250 to 300 people.” He finally raised his head and looked at Fausta. “They are going to want to know how you knew that.”

  “Simple. We, too, have a pair of walkie-talkies. We shall tell them that we overheard them.”

  Orloff thought about that. “What frequency did you hear about the reactor?”

  “425 MHz.”

  He stood. “I’ll be going to the wagon to make sure what we have can reach that. Question, Fausta: what are your reserves right now?”

  “Eleven percent.” He shook his head.

  “We can’t run; we can’t fight. I suggest we start to think.” The door banged shut behind him.

  “I am sorry, Lily.” Fausta said without moving. Lily moved her left arm around her shoulders.

  “We’ll be fine. And for once the old man is right: let’s think our way out of this, okay? Now, if they buy the walkie-talkie story, it was them that brought up the reactor, so—”

  “Lily! Orloff just called me with the hand-held; they do get that frequency. He said he’s going back to the tavern to find out what he can from the locals.”

  “Great! That’s steps one and two! If these people from Knoxville have that many people here, there’s just no way to keep something like that a secret, so that rounds out the rest of our story!” This will work, she thought.

  “But,” Fausta said slowly, “having piqued their curiosity, they may demand we tell them everything.”

  “Oh, that’s not such a big deal, is it?” Lily asked. “So we’re on our way to their home town to look for my sister; heck, one of them might even know her!”

  “Lily.” Fausta was still worried. She pushed her glasses onto her head. “What if they point guns at us and demand I take my glasses off?”

  Crap.

  “At this power level, we become their prisoners, if that’s what they want. And, even were I at one hundred percent, and escaped, you and Mister Orloff are still caught.”

  They sat still for a few minutes, thinking.

  “Do those arrays come out?” Lily asked.

  “They can, for replacement and maintenance…”

  “Yeah!”

  “…but that takes tools we do not have.”

  “Dang!”

  Another minute.

  “If… if it is for the best, for you, friend Lily,” Fausta shook a little. “I can tear them out….”

  ”Don’t you dare!” Lily yelled at her as she jumped up. “I order you to never think of hurting yourself again!” Fausta gave another shudder.

  “Yes. Master.”

  Lily’s hands flew to her mouth in horror, realizing what she had just done. She held her friend. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I don’t mean it! I take it back; I rescind the order! Please forgive me!”

  Fausta let her arms enclose Lily. “Of course I do. It’s late, and we have to go to Mass tomorrow. You lie down.”

  Lily leaned back so she could see her friend’s face. “You’re right; we might have go a little early… I think I need to go to Confession after that.” She stood and blew out one of the lamps.

  “You scoot over by the wall,” Fausta said. “That puts me between the door and you. I will watch and listen.”

  “Fausta?” Lily said, sniffling. “Would you lie down, at least until I’m asleep?”

  “Of course.”

  St. Mary’s of the Visitation Church turned out to be closer than Lily had thought. A good thing: the morning air was just above freezing. Her breath made a small cloud before her; to her chagrin, she saw Fausta’s did not. Something else to worry about. Walking up the front steps, she noted the light gray blocks that made up the church were just about the same color as the morning sky. She asked an usher where the Confessionals were and told Fausta to find a place she felt comfortable. She had only a few minutes to wait for an older man to exit. She went in. Deep breath.

  “Forgive me, Father….”

  Shortly after, she went looking for her friend. The layout was similar to the church she grew up in, back in Ohio. This was a bit more light and airy. She liked it. When she spied Fausta’s braided hair, she smiled: front row.

  “Better?” Fausta asked.

  “Better.” The organ started. Lily picked up the hymnal next to her and stood.

  After Mass, as they walked back to the tavern, Fausta spoke up.

  “Lily?”

  “Yes?”

  “At that part, I think they called it Prayer Intentions, may I ask what you prayed for?” They walked on a bit more.

  “That… that all this work out. For everyone.”

  “Oh.”

  They were to the locked garage when she spoke up, again.

  “Lily? I prayed for you.” Orloff came out the front and towards them. She looked at her watch. Ten twenty-eight. She heard the sound of hooves on asphalt. She expected many, but this just sounded like one.

  A horse carrying John Carell came around the corner from the west. He pulled up and dismounted. Holding the reins, he walked over to them.

  “Good morning.” He’d only a faint smile.

  “Good morning,” they all replied. After a pause, he went on.

  “Before we head out, do you three have your story straight?” Now he was smiling. Orloff grinned back wryly.

  “We think so. Which version would you like?”

  “Just make sure they’re consistent; we’ll be comparing notes later.” He pointed at the garage. “You said you didn’t need your cart; why are we here?”

  “We need something; hang on.” Orloff opened the padlock and went in. A moment later, he returned with one of their smaller crates, which he handed to Fausta.

  “How far?” Orloff asked.

  “Just under four miles, for your charge.” He gave Orloff a sidelong glance. “After that will depend on a number of things.”

  “That’s quite a walk; give me a moment to hitch up our horse and we’ll follow you in our wagon.” He started across the street toward where Clyde was stabled.

  “Hang on; I’ve a better idea,” Carell called. “Get your horse, and we’ll just ride two each, in tandem.” Orloff stared at him.

  “And you’ll be taking…?”

  “Miss Fausta, of course!” Orloff smiled.

  “And how to we get back after your wife shoots you?”

  “You can keep my horse; his name’s Lightning.”

  “I see.”

  A few minutes later, Fausta behind Carell and Lily behind Orloff, they set off. Fausta held the box at her side.

  “What’s in that?” Lily whispered into Orloff’s ear. He turned away from Carell.

  “Nothing; just for show.”

  They trotted thought deserted suburbs. The houses seemed empty but largely undamaged. Lily voiced that question to Carell.

  “From what I’ve heard,” he dropped back to reply, “there was very little rioting here. But wi
th the first winter of the Breakup, then nothing moving later, there just wasn’t any food. Some starved in place, some starved as they went looking for food.” He shrugged.

  “That’s terrible!” Lily said. He stared at her.

  “Yes, but it’s also just how things are in a low-tech world. Something you’ve demonstrated you know very little about.” He pointed at Orloff. “He knows; he literally has the scars of bandit country written into him. Even the lovely lady behind me has seen things people like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “You… you’re right.” No more evasions. “I was out of the country, in Japan, for the first two years. These last four, I’ve been in Texas, which by-and-large held its own.”

  “I thought as much; kid like you wouldn’t last a week in the world.”

  Rather than get mad at his accusation, she actually smiled. That took him aback.

  “You think that’s funny?”

  “Not at all,” she said, shaking her head. “You just sounded exactly like my older cousin and Fausta’s brother when I proposed this expedition!”

  “And just what is your expedition?”

  “It’s…” she looked away. “Just… not yet? Please?” She looked back at him.

  “Fine,” he sighed.

  They turned south. Patton Road, Lily saw. All of the area to their right was fenced off. It must be part of Redstone Arsenal that Orloff talked about. They came up to a road leading west. Four men with rifles stood about. Three militia and one of Carell’s people. That one waved.

  “Hey, John. Meddling again?”

  “It’s what I do best, Rob,” he said, returning the wave. “If these three try to leave without me, shoot them.”

  “No problem. See ya.’”

  Past the four men, Lily spoke up. “So we’re your prisoners, after all?”

  “Doesn’t ‘guests’ sound better?” He asked, laughing.

  “You don’t normally shoot your guests!”

  “True. But did you hear what I told him? If you want to leave right now, we’ll go: I’ll escort you out. It’s just if you try to leave without me that won’t end well.” He looked serious. “We’ve a lot going on here. Maybe you see something you want, maybe you see something you shouldn’t; you shoot me and run for it. I’m just letting you know that’s not an option.”

  Lily wanted to ask just what those things might be, but knew it was better to keep her peace. They went back into a trot, passing offices on the left and some houses on the right. A large field opened up ahead on the left….

  “Wow!” She breathed.

  At least fifty large wagons, all evenly parked just so next to one another. She could both hear and smell the horses further to the south. The ground was all freshly turned, so these had only arrived recently.

  “Yours?” Orloff asked. He must have been thinking the same thing.

  “Yep,” Carell said. “That’s about half of them; the rest are running the last of our equipment to… where it needs to go.”

  “You brought all that from Knoxville? Intact?” Orloff continued.

  “Sure,” he said, back to his characteristic grin. “I’d rather an armed and armored column than two women!”

  There was something about that statement that Lily found familiar…. After another half mile with woods on each side, a break opened on the north. There were several buildings and pieces of what looked like pumps and pipes scattered about.

  “Here we are! One of our portable machine shops, so we’ve a diesel generator to use as we need.” He waved to a man in overalls walking out. “Hey, Brinkman! I need some juice!”

  On her own initiative, Fausta slid off the back of his horse, so Lily did the same from Clyde. She walked to her friend while they waited for the men to tie up the horses. Brinkman came up and shook Carell’s hand.

  “Morning, barely, John,” he said. An older man, with all white hair. They took someone like that through the badlands? Then again: Orloff.

  “This isn’t another of your wild ideas that comes to nothing, is it? There’s not that much fuel left.” Brinkman said.

  “Not at all! And all my ideas come to something!” They both laughed at some private joke. Carell gestured at the box held by Fausta. “Just need to help these folks out with whatever’s in there.”

  Brinkman now took a good look at the three of them. Lily tried to suppress a twitch as he did.

  “And just what is in there,” he asked. No one moved; no one spoke.

  “Well, Hell!” Carell said. “And we were all doing so well this morning! Brinkman, go fire up the generator, please!” The older man moved off, muttering.

  He could have taken us or shot us by now. He knows we know something, but he’s giving us all the rope he can…. Lily closed her eyes, please God… please Ai… help me!

  She opened them and took the box from Fausta and set it on the ground. She took Fausta’s left hand.

  “Will you promise me you won’t tell anyone about this?” Lily asked.

  “So very interesting!” His smile grew. “No, I won’t.”

  “What?!” Lily was staggered.

  “I don’t keep secrets from my wife; too dangerous. But I do promise to not tell anyone, except her.” He said. “But, she won’t be bound by my promise to you!”

  Lily thought for just a second. “Fine. Fausta? Please take off your glasses.”

  She easily pushed them up onto her head. Her array flashed in the noontime sun. Lily was secretly pleased that something finally shut Carell up. He took two steps towards them, but stopped as he heard the generator start. He pointed at Orloff.

  “Cybernetic?” He asked.

  “No,” Fausta replied. “This is an android.”

  “’This is…’” he mouthed. “So you are not?”

  Lily was shocked he caught that. He was clever.

  “No.”

  “You’re an AI.” A statement, not a question. Lily squeezed her hand when she growled at him.

  “We do not like that term.” She saw Brinkman just coming back and lowered her sunglasses. “We are machine civilization.”

  Brinkman ambled over to find them just standing there. Slowly, the smile came back to Carell’s face. This time, it even reached his eyes.

  “’Machine Civilization.’” He said, tasting the words. “Wonderful!”

  “Hey, John?” Brinkman asked, shaking his shoulder. “You okay?”

  “What’s that? Oh, yes. Yes.” He thought for a second. “Not meaning to be rude, but could you leave us alone for a bit?”

  “Geez.” He said. “Looks like it’s lunch time. See you, John.”

  “Shall we?” Carell waved at the building. Inside, Fausta indicated that a two-phase outlet would be ideal. Carell pointed one at the base of a power pole next to a lathe. Fausta starting taking her jacket off while Orloff looked about to make sure no one else was around. Carell didn’t even look away as she peeled off her tee shirt. Was this guy really a pervert?

  “That’s some kind of armor, isn’t it?” He asked.

  “Indeed. Lily?” Fausta waved at her back. Lily was sure she could do this by herself, but she wanted her help. She pulled the velcroed section up and eased the plug out.

  “I’d best sit—”

  “Like hell,” Lily said. Android or no, Lily would not demean Fausta like that. “Carell, find an extension cord, please.”

  “I’ll look over here,” she heard Orloff call.

  After only a minute, Carell won the scavenger hunt. He walked over to both of them and handed it to Lily without looking at her, his eyes fixed on Fausta.

  “You are very beautiful, Fausta. May I see your eyes again?”

  Her jaw dropped slightly in her silent laugh as she removed her glasses. Her face twitched a little as Lily plugged her in.

  “Let me show all of you something as well.” He unzipped his jacket and started on the buttons of his shirt underneath. What was he doing? With both hands, he pulled his shirt slightly open. Over his sternum was some
kind of tattoo… looped wavy lines…?

  “We call it ’entwined lightning;’ we all have one.” Carell said.

  “And ‘we’ are….?” Orloff asked. Carell laughed.

  “We call ourselves ‘the Society,’ but that’s just because no one has come up with anything better! We’re about five hundred, total, half of which are here in Huntsville right now.”

  “Doing what?” Lily asked.

  “Exactly what I said last night,” he replied, buttoning his shirt. “We are trying to re-boot technological civilization.”

  Orloff laughed at that. “One reactor at a time?”

  “Yes.” He said simply. “You might say, our goal is her.” He inclined his head at Fausta.

  “Miss Barrett?” He asked without taking his eyes off Fausta.

  “Yes?” And don’t be so creepy, she wanted to say.

  “You said you spoke with Fausta’s brother? He is a part of… machine civilization?”

  Lily reached up to rest her hand on Fausta’s shoulder. “Family is family, Mister Carell. I’ll not speak for my friend about hers.”

  He finally dragged his eyes off of her and looked at Lily.

  “You’re exactly right. That was stupid of me.” He looked back to Fausta. “How much time do you need?”

  “About an hour.”

  “Let me get some chairs.”

  When he left, she told Fausta she was going to wander out for some fresh air.

  “But you yell if there’s a problem, okay?” A wolfy jaw drop. Fausta could handle herself just fine.

  Outside she found a stack of plastic shipping containers to sit on. She looked south at the hill that seemed to be in the middle of the base. It’s so flat here, I bet you can see for miles up there….

  The braying of a donkey interrupted her thoughts. Looking to the road in front of her, two men were leading said donkey down the road, it’s back loaded down with boxes and bags. When they saw her, they stopped. One was another old guy, like Brinkman: white hair and beard. The other was closer to her age, but also with a beard. Since she’d not seen any of Carell’s people bearded, they must be locals. May as well be nice; she waved.

  They said something to each other. With a tug, they started the donkey again. How rude! No, like Ai’s home, every place has their own culture and lots of cultures got badly shaken during the Breakup. She turned towards the sun and closed her eyes. A nap would be nice….