Eternals Among Us: Book one

by Larry W. Miller Jr.

  Lock sat back from the terminal and let out a sigh. “So, who would benefit from the main area venting into space?” He said aloud. He was only thinking to himself, but the computer did not recognize this as it processed his request.

  “The individuals most likely to profit from the venting of internal space…” The computer began to speak.

  “Stop computer!” He shouted at it and it obediently silenced. “The information is dangerous.” He said to himself.

  The computer shut down. Lock blinked at it. He hadn’t turned it off or anything, it just went dead. Then smoke began to pour out of the thing, and he backed away. “What is happening?” He asked nobody in particular.

  The smoke began to fill the tiny compartment and he opened the door to his room to let the smoke out. There, before him, was the largest man he had ever seen. His metal leg looked like it could kill without him even kicking.

  “You gotta big nose and you been stickin’ it inta the wrong places.” He said. He reached out and grabbed Lock by the shirt. The poor kid tried to wriggle away but the man had a grip as strong as his size suggested. Lock dangled helplessly from the one arm holding him up. A hypo hit him and the world tunneled and went black.

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  Lock awoke to bright lights. They seemed to be all around him so no matter how he squinted, he could not see anything. He was sitting in a chair. His arms were tied behind him and they felt cold. It must have been good and tight. He was in his underwear and his belongings were strewn out in front of him on a metal table that he could only see if he looked straight down. His brain was foggy and there was some pain, like a distant warning but he could not yet localize it.

  “Where am I?” He asked. His voice sounded slurred, even to his own ears.

  A voice over a speaker system spoke. “Ah, you are back with us again.” There was a pause as if deciding who was going to speak next. When it came over the speaker it sounded like the same person talking. “You have a lot to answer for.” The voice said.

  “I’ve done nothing wrong.” Lock replied. “I have rights.” He added.

  “Rights? You do not have the right to enter forbidden areas of the ship or tamper with official equipment. You do not have the right to enable or disable lights on decks for which access is not granted to you.” The voice continued for some time.

  “Look, I was only trying to…” The voice cut him off.

  “Why were you trying to sabotage the hydraulic system?” The voice said and Lock’s face turned pale.

  “You think I did that?” He replied. “I was investigating the strange sensor readings that had been reported on the maintenance channel. I wanted to get to the bottom of it and become the hero.” He admitted.

  “What did you hope to gain by disabling a secondary system?” The voice continued as if he hadn’t even spoken.

  “I didn’t do it. I understand that the door system was disabled, and I still do not know why. I thought you had done it.” Lock replied. His stress levels were off the roof.

  “Why would we disable our own system?” The voice asked. Whoever was speaking had not considered this line of questioning.

  Lock was shaking. “I honestly don’t know. I was about to ask who would benefit from the main door opening and venting out into space? But I was afraid who was watching me. I thought whoever did it had come for me when your man took me.” Lock told them directly. “I was investigating the disturbance when I found this sabotaged system. I am not the culprit, only an interested citizen.” He declared.

  “Interested citizens do not have passkeys to every system on board this ship.” The voice countered.

  Lock dropped his eyes. “I made that from one I borrowed a long time ago. You see people call me Lock. It only made sense to be able to open any lock on board.”

  “So, will you testify that you were investigating the sensor anomaly and were not a part of the sabotage to our systems?” The voice asked. The tone was strange.

  “Yes, that is the truth.” He looked up again. “Wait a minute… testify? Testify where?” He asked.

  The walls suddenly shifted and dropped down into the floor. Lock was seated in the middle of a round metallic courtroom. The people gazed down at the poor shackled boy in his underwear and judged from their high seats.

  “We have determined from your testimony and the truth drugs that have been administered to you that you are telling the truth. You are not the saboteur.” The voice announced. This time Lock could see the grim looking man addressing him. He kind of preferred the faceless voice to this condescending man in black robes.

  The maintenance man that had accosted and taken him was there watching with light interest. Lock made eye contact with him and he nodded ever so slightly to indicate the connection.

  “Okay, with that settled, then can I resume my investigation? We do have a saboteur on board somewhere.” Lock asked. “And can someone untie me?” He pressed after that, thinking he had won.

  “You are not free yet.” The man said with a grin that could hardly be mistaken for pleasant. “You committed trespass on our systems, and your friends are also guilty of this. You have been in possession of a passkey and have used it to commit these crimes and God knows how many others. To the charge of trespass, how do you plea?” He asked.

  Lock knew that he was trapped. This was the moment he knew that his life was forever changed. “Guilty.” He said. Then his head popped up defiantly. “With conditions.” He added.

  “Conditions?” The man’s face wrinkled even more which Lock would have thought was impossible. “What sort of conditions?” He asked, not sure where this was heading.

  “First of all, my friends were only investigating this issue because I asked them to. It was my idea and I did indeed help them to get to the corridor where the infraction occurred.” He said.

  “Ah, an admission of guilt to be sure.” The man said with glee.

  “But why we were doing it is just as important as what we were doing.” Lock continued, ignoring the outburst from above. “We were trying to safeguard the Nostos and all those on board. The records concerning these sensor readings and subsequent maintenance calls led to dead ends. That means that whoever is sabotaging your systems either knows your system intimately or they are simply smarter than you and have avoided being caught. As an outsider of that system, I thought I could possibly succeed in finding out who it was without them suspecting me. I did not expect the maintenance man to catch me and that is my fault. I should have.” Lock said nodding to the half-mechanical man. “But my mission is not complete. I still do not know who did it or why. This has become too important to ignore. The safety of the ship and its inhabitants are at stake here. I need to be able to proceed with my investigation.” He declared.

  “Your argument is strong, but not credibly substantiated. What training do you have in criminal investigation?” He asked the bound teenager.

  “None.” Lock replied softly.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t hear your response for the records.” The interrogator pressed.

  Lock looked up angrily. “I said none!” He shouted.

  “Then what makes you qualified to rummage through the interior of the ship with no training on what to look for?” He asked now.

  Lock looked back defiantly. “I found the sabotaged system on my first trip out; can you say the same?” He asked. His words were an undeniable challenge.

  There were murmurs in the group around the defendant. The moment started to get out of hand and an old-fashioned gavel sound rang out across the assemblage. Of course, it had been produced electronically, but the result was the same.

  “Look here young man.” The interrogator began.

  Someone behind the man silenced him. That someone stood up and the crowd hushed instantly. The figure stepped forward and it was a man, tall but powerful. He had a scar down his left cheek.

  “Young man, your point is valid. You must understand that we can’t have you running around unsupervised th
rough the bowels of our illustrious ship. Therefore, you must work for us.” He said. There were sharp breaths taken in across the group. Lock was startled and his jaw fell open. But the man was not finished. “You will report to me directly. I will give you the means to do so. You will be given back your key, but now it will be officially licensed. Your friends can assist you so long as you do not endanger the ship further by including them. You will be given a new pad with greater access and harsh security measures. You will allow no one, not even a member of the maintenance crew to see it. Your status as working for me must also remain in the strictest of confidences. Do you understand?”

  He said the last words very slowly and carefully.

  Lock looked up at the man and his obvious power. “Yes, sir, I understand.”

  The man smiled. It was a thin one but probably more than he allowed anyone else to ever see. “Then do you take the job?”

  Lock looked around and even met eyes with the maintenance guy again. “Yes sir!” He replied. Then he looked at the others once more. “Now can someone untie me?” He asked in an almost whine.

  There were chuckles in the group, and someone did move quickly to release the captive teenager. Lock began taking his stuff back. The key was suspiciously absent. He got dressed again and the crowd seemed to have dispersed. Even the tall man was not there. He began to head for the door when another hatch opened up to reveal the tall man waiting for him.

  Lock did as he was instructed and followed the man out of the court chamber.

  “You must be something special.” The man said as if discussing a moth fluttering by a light. “The court was ready to lock you away for life. You handled yourself well in there.” He informed the young man. But you are correct, we still have a saboteur on the loose and it is imperative that we find out who it is and why.” He said, the sternness of his voice contrasted greatly with the musing he had just had moments ago.

  “Yes sir, I was thinking the same way.” Lock agreed.

  “I know.” The man said with a slight chuckle to himself. “Your attitude surprised them. They expected some reckless fanatic who went into hiding places to get away from society. What they got was a dedicated individual who was not even on their radar. You are a rare piece in this game son.” He said. It sounded like the tall man was warming up to Lock, but his body language showed none of that. Could the words have been manipulative? Lock was uncertain.

  “The last thing is to give you your pad device. Here, put your hand on it like this…” He said, placing his hand on the screen. Nothing happened when he did it. He handed the pad over to Lock. It was a little heavier than his regular one. Of course, that one was no longer available to him. He did as he was told and placed his hand on the screen.

  The tall man spoke to the pad. “Register new user.” He said.

  The pad lit up and a line scanned Lock’s hand. The pad was looking up his fingerprints.

  “Personnel record found, Lachlan Carpenter. You now have access to this pad.” The device said.

  Lock looked at it in amazement. “It’s just Lock.” He replied, not sure why he was talking to a machine like it was a person. But to his further astonishment, it replied.

  “Noted, user Lock initiated for level three access.” Lock stared at the tall man for a brief instant.

  “Those have come a long way if you can afford the high-end ones.” He said in explanation. “Use it to find what you are looking for. Use it to report to me what you have found. Just ask it what you need, and the device will comply if it is able.” He explained.

  “What name do I give it to report?” Lock asked.

  “Just tell it to report your findings. The device will keep track of what you find, and it will automatically tag me when you tell it to send.” The man turned away as if to go but then turned back. “One more thing, when you are among your friends or casual observers, tell the pad to be in normal mode. It will hide all of its higher functions and behave like your old one.”

  “Okay, final question.” Lock said. “What if I get arrested again for being somewhere that normal me is not allowed to be?” He asked.

  “That’s fine, do not give yourself away. Let them take you and things will be handled on this end like they were today.” He replied simply.

  “You mean I’ll have to have a trial again?” He asked. “And truth drugs?” He pressed forward now.

  “Yes, but you are armed with the truth. You will be fine.” The tall man stated and then did turn and leave. The door slid shut behind him and Lock was left alone in this side chamber. He looked around, suddenly feeling abandoned.

  He looked at his new pad and smiled. “Show me the way out of here.” He commanded. The pad lit up and a route began to appear on it. The wall opened up to a regular looking corridor. This had been a hidden door. Lock stepped through it and the door closed back up to become the wall once more. There were no markings to show that this was not really a solid wall. There were no scratches on the seams or mark of any kind to reveal its hidden truth. “Interesting.” He said softly to himself and then he continued to follow the directions back to his home. Closer to his home, the walls and corridors looked familiar and Lock made sure to put his pad in normal mode. The turn by turn directions disappeared. He slipped the pad into his backpack and walked the rest of the way home. How long had he been gone? What happened to his friends? Is there food in the fridge? That last one made him remember that he hadn’t eaten in a while. He went to the appliance and grabbed a bite. The stuff he grabbed was typical for a teenager. It was just quick and of questionable nutrition. Still, he was content. He moved to the terminal in his room, knowing that it had been fried. He tapped the screen and it came on!

  “What?” He heard himself say in alarm. “They even changed the terminal out?” He said softly. He didn’t want to be overheard by the neighbors with these paper-thin walls. His life was so secret now. Anyway, he browsed to his message board and found a message from Kian.

  Lock:

  Bro, I got the sensors just like you wanted.

  We can place them whenever you are ready.

  This playing adventure detective is pretty cool.

  Kian

  “Well, that was interesting.” Lock remarked, “But you have no idea just how cool it is.” He added, then he switched off the terminal. They would expect him at school tomorrow, and he would be there. Anything he needed to say to them could be handled there. He kept picturing that trial. He had been close to just disappearing then. It was a reality that he had never expected existed on board this ship that was his entire world. He was now in a very large game of intrigue. He was a very small part of it, to be sure, but still he was there, and he was important at least to his employer. His next moves would have to be carried out very carefully. His friends must not know what he was now. The secret had to be kept. There were no options here, it just had to.

  The food was gone before he realized it and soon Lock was yawning. This had been a busy day. He trudged himself off to bed. The new day would see him to his next mission. It was funny that it was the mission he had chosen for himself. There had to be some kind of karma involved for that one. Either way, he would have to be on his guard all the time now. The tired boy fell asleep amidst thoughts of sneaking around the bowels of the ship. All in all, he was happy.

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  The next morning was just like every other aboard ship. A tone rang out that signified the passing of night into day and the lights came up to reflect that change. The system was automated and had not failed in over a generation. Research had determined that a normal night-day cycle was crucial to long-term psychological health while in the vastness of space. Of course, none of that mattered just now, Lock was up and getting ready for school. He was ahead on most of his classes. He enjoyed looking into why things worked. He figured to be an engineer once he was of age to select a vocation. He showered and dressed and ate a cinnamon roll heavy with sugary icing. The stickiness had always appealed to him and besid
es, this was sort of celebratory. He was not gone. He was not missing. He was returning to his normal life, at least on the surface. His book bag still had the high-tech pad in it. He would not go anywhere without that. It wasn’t like anybody else could use it anyway, the security protocols saw to that. It was just that the small device represented his new life as well as his old one. Everyone was used to seeing him with a pad. They just wouldn’t know this one was different.

  “Switch to normal mode.” He told it as he hefted the backpack onto his back and headed to the door. The door opened as he pressed the button and the large maintenance man was there again. Lock startled.

  “Look, I’m sorry.” The gruff man said in his deep voice. It was not as deep as the man in court, but it was still a bass. “I misjudged you.” He added.

  Lock nodded, but he wanted to be free of this and get along to school.

  “It wasn’t your fault. I was in a place that made you suspicious. You were right to follow up. What if I had been the one you were after? You would have been the hero.” He said in consolation.

  “Nice of you to say, I won’t keep you any longer. I just wanted to apologize and to tell you that if you need something in your investigation, just let me know.” He said the last bit quieter than all the rest.

  “Of course.” Lock replied. “I don’t want to be late for school so…” He said, no longer being subtle.

  The maintenance guy stepped aside. “My apologies again, must maintain that normal image.” He said with a wink.

  Lock shook his head. “I need to finish school. This is not all that abnormal.” He said and then he drew away at a bit of a jog and then mounted his hoverboard and was gone.