Lenders

by Johnson, John

  “What’s going on?” Alex asked upon opening his eyes to see Ted above him.

  “We’re on emergency power. The control room has been hijacked, there isn’t much time.”

  Everyone finished logging out without issue and the buffer did manage to get fully topped off. The status was high-green but with every single lender suddenly logged out the status plummeted. And it put a dynamically increasing burden on the buffer. Ted scrambled to put together a time-line, wondering how he could have miscalculated by such drastic margins.

  Broadcast feed status: mid green and dropping rapidly.

  Remaining buffer estimate: 28 minutes until full depletion.

  48. Fusion Room

  The elevator stopped but the hole didn’t. Probably continues to hell, Jim thought. Sliding the metal gate aside he stepped out the opposite side into a rocky cavern about twice the length of is apartment. Rico followed. Depth changed the composition of the earth: rocks were grey and no other color, and jagged half-formed stalagmites and stalactites adorned the edges and walls. There were two yellow lights, one dangling from the ceiling, and another above the steel door incongruently inserted into the stone ahead. Through a cave that resembled a rocky throat they walked to the door. Shivering, cool down here, both felt it; a big change from the desert above. Rico wiped moist dust from the touch pad and entered the code again on yet another illuminated panel. The thick steel door opened slowly, disappearing into the wall exactly like the one far above.

  It was a change like black to white: brightly lit and immaculately clean; the fusion power room. It was spotless and dry and the walls gleamed like pearls. Three of four reactors hummed with a shifting green glow emanating from their every seam, the fourth was inanimate and silent.

  Rico examined one. It was twelve feet in length with a five foot diameter and looked like knots of ten-inch wide platinum tubes intertwining into each other. The outer shape as a whole broadly resembled rows of inflated inner-tubes. A fluctuating light was intense at the first big donut and worked its way to the last, then back again, through every curve in a rhythmic flow not unlike water sloshing back and forth. A control screen centered the first of its paradoxically-shaped oddities and a diagram that demonstrated the flow of the inner substances using orange and green. The display also graphed efficiency and had other detailed status information. Above each generator was more gleaming platinum: oval-shaped portals hanging like upside-down funnels; perhaps used to inhale contaminants in the event of a meltdown.

  Maybe this one is a backup, Rico thought walking in between the off and working one. He examined the technology with wide-open eyes. “Hard to believe these generators power the entire town,” he said fascinated by the hidden room and its contents. “We take it for granted that we always have power. Most wouldn’t don’t even wonder why yet here it is, far underground, hidden from view.”

  “Everyone’s oblivious to something I guess,” Jim said looking around, walking deeper inside. “Technology is amazing. I bet they power more than the town, likely our outer ships through some means of transference. We had it all once upon a time, and it was great—until the damn machines turned on us. Let’s find those controls get the power on and get—” He quickly found it behind the last generator. “Look Rico, over here.” Past the last machine a light flickered and under it against the back wall was a control panel similar to those in the control room, beside it on the right a door, and on the left a dark hallway. Jim stood above the control panel examining it up and down.

  Rico was still walking between the generators running his hand along them. An alien-green electric discharge ghosted outward tingling his skin. His eyes widened as he played with the energy, moving his hand around and about the machine. He inserted his fingers into a seam between two platinum tubes and they—appeared translucent! He could feel the energy flowing. He wanted to put his face against it, hell, get naked and climb on top of it. The call was alluring and every hair on his body stood up, like an orgasmic field activating his skin, sinking to his core, getting more and more intense with every pass of the green glow.

  “Rico, come on already,” Jim yelled. “I think you got this.”

  “Sorry Jim.” He snapped out of it blinking his eyes rapidly then headed over. “My father told me stories about this room. He also told me about—”

  “What Rico?” Jim said very impatiently. “Can you get it turned back on or what? We have absolutely no time to mess around.”

  “Right.” Rico slapped his own face, rather hard, and sat at the panel. Jim shook his head, about to remind him not to lose it again. The panel was clean as if someone had just wiped it, the whole room was that way, a spotless sterile white. The forty-inch curved screen lit up with reds, purples, and bright greens as he put his hand near it.

  “Fuck!” Jim jolted. A man stepped out from the dark hallway to their left. “A machine!”

  Rico looked up as well, not quite shocked, just dazed by the surreality of it. Pleased to see the machine he smiled “A bot. It must be Nel—”

  “Rico watch out!” Jim shoved him aside and lifted his crowbar. The glossy-white plastic man put an arm up to shield his head, cowered, and peered in fright with a squint. Jim brought the crowbar down hard. Millimeters before the steel made contact Rico caught his arm turning the would be devastating blow into a mere tap on the robots forearm.

  “Jim No!” Rico held his arm tight with all he had. Jim pushed. Rico, still grabbing his forearm forced it back. The catch was a stroke of luck because Jim was athletically fast and strong. The tension between the two flared in the confusion of the moment while the bot continued crouching—watching the two. He had large beautiful, human-like eyes. They emitted only the slightest glow and gleamed spring-green; at a different angle they twinkled with a harmonious blue. And his face could morph to make perfect human-like expressions. There was a look in Rico’s eyes as if he knew something Jim didn’t, and he conveyed it passionately. They stared each other down, then Jim turned bitterly to the robot with a pulse of power. Rico countered once again. “Jim, please. He’s friendly.” They exchanged tenacious breaths, their gaze mere inches apart, and slowly both withdrew.

  They both looked to the robotic man. Jim held stiff keeping his defensive, offensive, and animosity. Deep down he still hated all machines—what they had taken. Everything.

  “Are you—Nelman?” Rico asked slowly.

  “Who the fuck is Nelman?” Jim asked quickly, still tensely roused.

  “I am.” The machine spoke and stood up. “May I ask who you—” His brow lifted and he tilted his head. “—you must be Rico.” It sounded somewhat similar to Ted’s voice, very calm and gentle in its demeanor, but with a more youthful, less raspy, yet somber tone.

  “Yes, and this is my good friend Jim. How did you know my name?”

  Nelman walked over to the room aside the control panel and opened it. Inside were two chairs and a small round table with a chess board on it. Above was a ventilation system. On the sides were drawers, there was a work bench, a few lockers, and various tools hanging from the wall. Everything, like the fusion room itself, was immaculately clean.

  “Your father is a good man with much experience. We talked a great deal before the many survivors started to arrive. We played chess together, right here, long ago. Then his visits stopped and I’ve been alone down here ever since. I am so very pleased to have company once again. Will you join me for a game?”

  “My father told me stories about a man named Nelman,” Rico said leaning to Jim. “I thought he was just entertaining me. But, it’s all true.” Jim nodded, half sideways. “Nelman what are you doing way down here?”

  “It is my job to service the reactors,” Nelman explained. “And when one becomes unstable I attempt to equalize the reaction. If I cannot I must perform a power-down sequence and disable it, permanently. They will not last forever. The one nearest the door nearly exploded four years ago. If I hadn’t been here your home above would be a crater now. Rico, do you
know why Felix never came back to visit me? He was the only one that ever came down here.”

  “I’m very sorry to tell you this Nelman, but Felix died. There was an attack—”

  “Oh no,” Nelman lamented putting his head down.

  “He saved a lot of lives. Had I known I would’ve visited you. He kept many things a secret, per orders we assume. He did tell me about you, sort of, but I never had the codes for this place. And I—guess I didn’t quite believe him either. He did like to joke around a lot and tell tall tales about the past—stories.”

  Jim interrupted. “I hate to cut short the reunion Nelman, but we have to redirect power to our broadcast room. We are on emergency power which won’t last long. The lender feed is off, sending out only what’s in the buffer. We have only minutes, if that.”

  “I have waited for this day, for a long time,” Nelman said with a sigh. He turned his head up happily; his plastic face formed a smile of relief. “I have been lonely down here, for so many years. It’s my duty to keep these generators running at all costs. But—if the problem is something above—then I will, finally be able to die.” Nelman broke down, relieved and elated, then put his arms up in joy.

  “Wait,” Rico said, “you want to die?”

  “It’s so lonely here. I cannot bear it any longer. If the feed stops I will die. This machine that holds me—” He waved his hands down along his body. “—it will have a new ego if you reinstate the feed. I have control of my backups and I deleted them all. I, can finally end. My existence—” He put a hand were a human heart would be. “—I was so, so alone. I cannot take another— I’m sure you can understand.”

  “Rico enough of this bullshit,” Jim exclaimed. “Get on that control panel and reroute the power right fucking now. We have to get it back or we’re all fucked!”

  Rico was taken aback by the deep feelings of Nelman, a machine. He could see the real and genuine desire for him to end it, and this was a chance for him to do so without abandoning his assignment—his programming? Alone down here, all this time… He understood but had to get the power rerouted for the safety of their town above. He turned away from Nelman toward the control panel.

  “Nelman, will you help us?” Rico asked looking up a final time from the seat. Nelman held still, then crossed his arms, so Rico attempted the relatively simple modifications himself. The panel was very similar to the one in the control room and Rico found he had no problem working with it. He needed to monetarily cease power to the control room, hopefully forcing the reset, and reroute uninterruptible power to the broadcast room. He easily managed to get the sequence outlined but before it would initiate it asked for a password. Rico hesitated in thought for a moment.

  “The same code!” Jim said, looking over his shoulder. Rico tried the code but it wouldn’t take. The display noted: 9 attempts remaining. Jim was very distressed now and puffed his cheeks. He was so overloaded with anxiety he felt like he had to take a shit and couldn’t stand still.

  “Just try it again,” Jim said. Reluctantly Rico tried it again, although he knew he’d entered it correctly the first time. 8 attempts remaining.

  “Shit,” Jim said, and he turned to Nelman. “Nelman. We need the password.”

  “I have been lonely for too long. I’m very depressed. I cannot. I must end.” Nelman turned his head away.

  Pressured, Rico suddenly had an alarming realization, “Jim, if the power does go down—” He turned to Nelman. “Felix, my father! He will die as well.” Nelman turned his head and uncrossed his arms and placed them on his hips.

  “You told me my friend had been killed. Did you lie to me?” Nelman cocked his head in a fast quirky manner.

  “Rico is right,” Jim said. “It didn’t occur to me but if power goes down his consciousness could be erased—or perhaps after time it'll find the main system as Q told us. Or get lost altogether.”

  “Nelman,” Rico said, “a copy of him was made in one of the special maps of our system, named Old Town. Upon his death his consciousness somehow rooted itself into that copy.” Nelman thought about it. He recalled Felix telling him stories of the map Rico mentioned—and before that. He remembered how Felix told him he was also someone else long ago—someone who’d self-wiped after becoming hopelessly depressed. Someone named Rafael, who could do that kind of thing, someone with unlocked and special capacities, someone who was also a very good friend of his.

  “Felix. My friend—alive. But, he cannot visit me,” Nelman said. He pondered for a moment. “I will do it for him, but I really wish he could visit me again. Can either of you visit with me once in a while? Play chess with me perhaps?”

  “We’ll do better than that Nelman!” Jim stated in a loud and powerful voice. “You get this power on right now, and after that, you’re coming up to the surface with us.”

  “But I, my orders—”

  “We’re bringing you up if we have to carry you. Things are finally going to change in our town.” Jim looked to Rico. Rico nodded and a good feeling went through his bones. “It’s time to get back to humanity, make decisions, unite together—and build once again.” Jim wanted technology, like it was, more than anything—and he was tired of being a sheep. He had decided, just then—it was time to create once again!

  “No more secrets,” Rico said proudly with a smile.

  “Move aside please sir,” Nelman said decisively. His plastic face formed serious brows. They watched as he commanded the panel. He entered the code: AMIGOS-PARA-SIEMPRE. The program executed shutting all power to the control room momentarily. He continued tapping away and a line illuminated on the screen’s schematic, brightly squiggling its way up the diagram. The broadcast room received full power bypassing the control room.

  “It’s done.”

  “You’re the man Nelman,” Jim said putting a strong hand on his shoulder. “Now let’s get out of here—together.”

  “But, the reactor,” Nelman worried.

  “It’s gonna be on a rotation from now on. For now you're with us.” Jim shook his hand solidly.

  Nelman reached for a remote alarm device and the three headed to the surface, once again sealing the fusion power room. Nelman looked up with the largest smile as the evaluator creaked upward through the shaft. Jim and Rico were emotionally infected by his elation and smiled at each other. They had hope and ambition to make something great. The dull day-in day-out routine, listening to someone, somewhere, from long ago—things were going to change. It was time to take back control.

  49. Retribution

  The lights flickered then everything went dark. A crescendo was Abell’s breathing, and the color changed on his normally white face. He began his transformation. The ventilation systems just as soon started flooding the hallway with fresh air, and everything got bright once again. The reboot began.

  “It’s opening,” Ron whispered, peaking around the corner. It had taken longer than he expected and for a moment he thought Rico and Jim might have failed in their attempt. Abell’s eyes opened wide then squinted, almost as if they were huffing along with his lungs. Blood vessels burst filling his whites with a spiderweb of red. He was ready. He straight-armed Ron forcing him aside, unintentionally and harder than was nice. In the center of the hall facing the slowly opening control room door he took his stance. Wait for it. His face became turgid, boiling blood swelling it to that of a red raging bull and he remembered what Jim had said, for Amy. His nostrils blew hot steam. The door was now halfway open. His calves pulsed like a piston ballooning his brown slacks, testing their threads. Then he let it rip. The calve muscles initiated the launch and his tree-trunk legs exploded with the power of a bulldozer on nitrous oxide.

  Ron could feel the tremor of Abell’s charge travel up his arm and he blinked his eyes in disbelief. He was holding onto the wall, and the vibration of it, added with the unbelievable sight, shocked him into a momentary stupor. His eyes rounded and his thin jaw dropped. He’d known Abell had been genetically modified in the past, made able t
o build muscle with ease, but this? He’d never seen such an explosion of power from any organic being. Of course he’d heard others talk about Abell’s unstoppable bull charge before, but he’d always thought it was just talk. Far from it.

  David lumbered to the four-foot tall control panels split between the sliding door. He’d decided to end it, with his alcohol induced false bravado, and had killed the power. But now, what! He expected the machines to be drilling, eventually—perhaps for a long long time. His drunken reasoning was simple: no freedom if he opened it outright, they’d toss him outside the wall, and he’d be dead. Yes, they would eventually get it open. So, kill the power, kill ‘em all, and sit tight for who knows how long, maybe a year, maybe the machines would leave and forget about him. Yes, maybe they’d drill and cut and eventually get in, but it’d still buy him more time than he’d get by giving up. But now, it can’t be, its opening!

  The door had yet to fully open but Abell timed it perfectly, and he would reach it just in time. He likely built up enough speed to go straight through the great wall and emerge in the quarantined desert on the other side. Almost there. He let out a deep roar, “Arrhhh Ruuurhhh!” Every muscle in his body was steel, his head was about to explode; the noise was involuntary, a pressure release, for surely something would’ve popped, like a neglected pressure cooker. Ready for impact! His vision distorted at the edges like a lens, for the square-inch pressure throughout his body was like that of a deep sea diver. He was an erupting volcano. His mind focused on one thing, with two laconic words: neutralize traitor. And, he could see the target.

  Yellow light from the rebooting screens was a slow strobe flashing onto the walls. He heard the door but he couldn’t quite force his body cooperate. As he exited the supply bunker tripping over the mess he slipped on Chang’s blood and barely managed to catch himself. He was drunk on the ancient supplies, stored whiskey and wine, but still coherent enough to know the door was opening, and knew, he was in for it. Bracing his wobble, crutch-armed above the panel, he plastered the buttons. Gotta, re-activate the yellow status. But he couldn’t see clear enough to get the right combination; the system was in the reboot process and until it finished there was nothing he could do anyway. The roar echoed throughout the hall—his bloodshot eyes gaped followed by two hard blinks. Abell charging! A triple shot of panic jolted his nervous system giving him a large dose of sobriety. Last resort: the gun he found in the storage room—easy way out. He stood front and center facing the enormous rage runner and put the cold rusty steel deep into his mouth—click, click, click. Old bullets—useless.