Upload

by Chris Gladstone

  "Why the hell is that?" Tiani responded, sounding abrupt and upset.

  "I don't know anything about that, Jack," I said.

  "Need-to-know basis. Only the emergency team leaders were briefed on this particular protocol." He had that officious, smug expression of his I found particularly annoying.

  "Hey, Uncle Jack, we do need to know so tell us."

  Jack sighed. "Apart from the ageing factor, the longer you stay awake the less likely you are to want to go back to sleep. The ship isn't equipped to handle that. Experimental studies have proved psychological problems occur if a couple of people are cooped up together for more than short periods. They begin to become unstable, and for that reason it's not allowed."

  "But surely finding Mum is an emergency isn't it? Besides, there's four of us and we're all family. We're used to being together." I could hear the strain in Tiani's voice, it wouldn't be too long before she started to cry.

  "Since there is no threat to life, or to the ship, there's no real justification for us conducting this search."

  "Great Universe, Jack, this may be the only chance we'll have to find her. We won't be able to scan people once everybody's out of hiber-sleep. Having extra chips or whatever is probably not illegal, and since we wouldn't be in an emergency situation, we wouldn't be allowed to scan people without their permission. They're certainly not going to give us that if they're hiding something are they?"

  "I'm sorry, Luke, kids, but my original timetable has to stand."

  "That's not fair, Uncle Jack." I heard Tiani start to sniffle.

  "Life's not fair. That's the way it is. Here's the lift," Jack said tersely, as the fire doors parted, and the lift door slid open in front of us.

  "Dad," Julian's tone was angry, "do something."

  "I can't. End of discussion." Tiani started to sob, and I listened as Julian tried to calm her down. I swallowed down my feelings and was struggling with my own anger. Jack had been placed in charge, and I had to respect that.

  "We are going to suit-to-suit com. We'll check with you in ten minutes." I saw Jack press the isolation switch, and he motioned for me to do the same. I hesitated before I reluctantly pressed my own.

  "Why have we gone suit-to-suit, Jack?"

  "I didn't want to listen to the two of them. I hated…bloody hell…let's get on with it."

  We stepped into the lift, surrounded only by the sound of our breathing.

  #

  I removed my helmet and took a deep breath; Jack did the same. Since our suits were easy to get in and out of, we shed them and left them lying by the airlock in readiness for our return. As we headed down to module five, I noticed the air held a slight tang I couldn't place. Jack located Peter Cales. To save time, he'd already initiated the reanimation process before we'd started down, so he only needed to check its progress using the module's touch screen.

  I wandered down to the living unit and made myself a cup of tea. As I sat, I contemplated the simulated picture window on the opposite wall. This unit had a view of a stormy ocean with white caps that had been whipped up by a fierce gale—and a sky pierced by lightning. The reality was so stunning I could almost hear the thunder. It finally struck me; that puzzling tang in the air––was the smell of salt.

  I made Jack some tea and took it out to him. He turned as I approached.

  "We're getting there."

  I passed him the tea.

  "Thanks, K…sorry, Luke," he frowned and took several sips from his cup.

  "It's okay, I still freak every time I catch a glimpse of myself. How much longer?" Jack turned back to the screen.

  "Forty minutes."

  "I'll check with Julian and Tiani while we wait."

  Back in the living unit, I sat down at the serenity blue table. I noticed a small panel inset into its edge, on my left. I carefully lifted its lid, not knowing what to expect. Inside, I discovered a mini screen showing a number of icons. One looked suspiciously like a ship. I cautiously tapped, and the tabletop transformed into a translucent display of a huge star chart. Blinking, roughly a third of the way from the right-hand edge, a tiny icon appeared. I realised it represented our ship. Mesmerised, I tapped another icon that appeared to be a blue star. It immediately displayed near the far-left-hand edge of the chart; it had to be the Kalgarin solar system, our destination. My pulse quickened, as I pressed the general com button.

  "Julian, Tiani you won't believe this."

  "You've found her?" Tiani's voice, full of hope, rang in my ear. Bloody Zark. I should have chosen my words more carefully.

  "Not yet, but what I have found is a chart showing the ship's location relative to our destination." I hoped I'd provided enough of a distraction.

  "Hey, Dad, that's really something! Is it accessible from the computer? I'd love to see it." I could hear the excitement in Julian's voice. I explained how to activate the display via the panel inset into the table.

  "So how far along are we?" Tiani asked.

  "About a third."

  "So," she said, "we've been asleep for around fifty years…only another hundred to go." The sarcasm in her tone was unmistakable.

  At least I'd diverted her focus onto something else "Well, I don't know about you but I don't feel any older." Great Universe, what a tactless comment to make. Julian and Tiani, as sapioids, would never feel physically older ever again. I braced myself for the response.

  "How could you possibly know? You're not even in your own body," Tiani shouted in my ear, followed by sniffing sounds. She'd always been oversensitive––she used to drive Kiera insane. She often referred to her as 'my little drama queen'. In truth, Tiani was a lot like me, except perhaps more extreme. Julian, on the other hand, was sensible, quiet and balanced, like Kiera. My mind went blank. Julian came to my rescue.

  "We've got some news too. We found another target on deck twenty-seven S, do you want the location now?"

  How many more of these things were going to turn up? "No, not yet, let's wait and see what we find here. I'd better check and see what progress Jack's made. I'll get back to you again in ten minutes." Before either of them could reply, I switched back to suit-to-suit com.

  I couldn't find an off switch for the table display, so I just flipped the panel lid down. The table immediately became opaque, and the chart vanished. I got up and headed out the door.

  Chapter 34

  I stood next to Jack and watched the capsule slide forward. The canopy released with a hiss and glided out of sight beneath the left-hand side of the unit. Peter Cales, its occupant, although awake, still appeared out of it. I remembered how I'd felt. It seemed like weeks ago. All the various leads had detached, and I could hear the familiar sound of the soothing female voice I had experienced. The capsule began to tilt upwards. I remembered that feeling, too, as the only time during the revival process that I'd felt afraid.

  I went to reach out, but Jack grabbed my hand and put one finger to his lips.

  We stood in silence and waited. The straps released, and Peter Cales slid into an upright position. He regarded each of us in turn with frightened eyes.

  "It's okay," Jack said, as he reached out and took him by the arm. I followed suit and took his other arm. "We'll take you into the living unit, where you can sit down and get your bearings, Peter," Jack said.

  "Are…are we there?" Peter's face took on a slightly bewildered expression.

  "No, there's been…a problem," Jack said, glancing across at me, "Nothing to worry about," he added.

  "Problem? There's…been something go wrong?" Peter said, as we guided him down the deck towards the living quarters.

  "Yes," Jack said, "but not in this section. We'll explain once you've had a drink and you're fully awake."

  We wobbled him through the door and sat him down at the table. Jack got him a cup of water, and Peter guzzled it down while we sat next to him. After he finished, he put the cup down and studied us intently.

  "Well?" he said, "What exactly is going on?"

 
"That's what we'd like to know, Peter. Can you explain why you have what appears to be a storage device concealed on your person?" Jack said, holding his gaze and looking serious.

  Peter's face flushed. "I don't know what you're talking about, and who the hell are you guys, anyway?"

  "I'm Jack Summers, emergency team leader from deck twenty-six P, section seven. I'm in command for the duration of this waking period. No games, Peter, we don't have time. Answer my question, please."

  Peter, uncomfortable and flustered now, turned to me and asked, "So who are you?"

  "I'm…Kiera Proud. I'm second in charge." I glanced at Jack, he raised his eyebrows quizzically.

  "Answer my question," Jack said, more forcefully.

  Peter Cales held up both hands, "Okay, okay. The chip contains holographic, audio-visual material of animal surgical techniques. I didn't want to have to go to the trouble of searching the ship's computer for data in an emergency."

  "Animal surgical techniques, so what's your designation?" Jack asked.

  "I'm a veterinary surgeon."

  Jack and I exchanged glances. "We should have checked his file, Jack," I shook my head.

  "So where is the chip located?" Jack asked, frowning.

  "Why?" There was annoyance in his voice.

  "Because we need to access it."

  "Why? I've told you what's on it. Are you calling me a liar?" Peter's expression became angry and defensive.

  "We need to check. There have been some major security breaches, necessitating the examination of anyone with extra chips. You're the first one on the list. Show me where the chip is located." Jack's face held an expression of authoritative determination. "Once we check that everything is okay, we can put you back to sleep. Let's get on with it. Do I need to remind you I have the authority? "

  "Okay, but I'm not happy. The chip's embedded in my wrist." He held out his right hand, palm up, for Jack to examine.

  Jack took hold of it and, using his fingers, located the chip. "Okay, Peter. I've brought a portable linkup to connect the chip to the ship's computer so we can see what's on it. I need you come outside and sit down at one of the consoles. Once you've linked, I'll give you instructions on how to bypass your identity spherule to allow the computer to interrogate your chip. Let's go." Jack got to his feet and, taking Peter by one arm, helped him navigate out to the deck and over to the nearest computer console chair.

  Peter only grudgingly complied. No one spoke as the headband engaged, and Peter's eyes glazed over.

  "Somewhat excessive, don't you think, Jack?" I was getting sick of his smug, dictatorial attitude. This wasn't the Jack I knew. "Was the linking necessary?"

  "No, but it will keep him occupied while I check the chip." He attached one end of the lead via a gel patch to Peter's wrist, then connected the other end to a small jack in the side of the headband of the chair opposite Peter. "Okay, I'm going to link and examine the chip. It shouldn't take long. Oh," Jack said, turning to me, "I'll instruct the computer to disconnect him, before I come out. Okay?"

  "Yes," I said, a little hesitantly. Great Universe, I hope nothing goes wrong. I watched Jack's headband engage and his expression go blank. I noticed my fingernails were digging into my palms, so I took a deep breath and relaxed my hands. In spite of my efforts, restlessness still compelled me to pace from one end of the deck to the other while keeping a wary eye on both of them. Minutes dragged by like hours, and my pacing became more rapid as my anxiety rose. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and spotted Peter's headband disengaging. As I hurried over to him, Jack's headband began separating. That sight made me feel better.

  "What happened?" Peter Cales asked, once the headband had slid away. He pushed himself out of the chair and stood up.

  "I don't know yet," I said, coming to a halt in front of him.

  Jack stood up. "Your chip’s fine, Peter. Thanks for that. Now," he came around to our side of the console, "let's get you back to sleep." He went to take Peter's arm, but Peter pulled it away.

  "I can manage by myself, thank you," he said, tersely. "I'm going to report this when we get to Kalgarin." He stalked off in the direction of his capsule.

  "Fine," Jack called after him, "Everything I've done will have been recorded in the ship's computer logs."

  We followed Peter to the capsule.

  "So, what happens now?" Peter asked.

  "I'll reactivate the system. Once it reverts to the horizontal position, you can lie down, and I'll reattach all the leads to your sleep suit. They won't engage until after you're asleep, so you won't feel anything, okay?" Jack pressed various buttons on the small panel embedded in the side of the unit. When he'd finished, the upright sleep unit began to tilt and slide out towards us as it reverted to the horizontal position. We moved out of its way.

  Peter turned to Jack, "I haven't done anything illegal, so I don't think your actions were warranted or justified. You will be hearing from my solicitors once we get to our destination. You won't get away with this." He turned away from us and laid down in the unit.

  "I'm sorry you feel like that." Jack stepped in and began to reconnect the colour-coded leads to Peter's sleep suit. Peter remained silent during the process but glared directly at me. After Jack had finished, he leant across and pressed a button inside the unit, "It was necessary, Peter."

  Seconds later, the canopy slid out from under the unit and sealed into place with a thud. We heard a hissing sound, as the capsule began to fill with a colourless gas. We watched as Peter's eyes drooped and finally closed. The capsule slid backwards and slowly glided back into its original position.

  "Is that it?"

  "Yes," Jack replied, while keeping his eyes on the monitor panel attached to the section.

  I stood eyeing him, unsure of what I should do next.

  "You go and get suited up, I'll only be a few more minutes here."

  I walked down to where we'd left our suits. They lay on the ground like two beheaded corpses, the heads (our two helmets) neatly by their sides. I picked up my suit and began to get into it. I hadn't finished when Jack appeared beside me and began scrambling into his. He grinned, "Well, that went well."

  "Oh, absolutely Zarking great! We'll probably have a posse of solicitors waiting in ambush for us when we wake up."

  "Probably aren't any. Admin may have decided they'd spend too much time arguing the legalities of everything after we arrived, and nothing would get done. We could locate them all and turn them off," Jack said, looking deadly serious.

  My jaw dropped, as I froze and stared in disbelief.

  "For God's sake, Luke, I'm joking. Look, I'm well within my rights. There's nothing to worry about." He picked up his helmet.

  "You might be, but what about me?" I said, as I did the same.

  "You were acting under my authority, so you're protected." He donned his helmet and the seal hissed shut. He gave me the thumbs up signal. I put my helmet on and followed him into the airlock.

  I heard him say through my suit com, "Hey kids, we're back. No luck I'm afraid. Just a vet with his precious surgical files. The next FB is one deck up on the port side, is that right?"

  "Hey, Uncle Jack, hey Dad. Yes, that's correct, she's in section one." I could hear the disappointment in Julian's voice in spite of his valiant effort to hide it.

  "Okay, initiate the pressurisation and wake-up process please, Julian."

  "Will do. So, how did it go?" He added.

  "Great. Just great. How are you two going?"

  "We're okay. Tiani is having a nap."

  "Good to hear you, Julian," I said. The fact he was sounding so normal buoyed me up.

  "Okay, we'll switch to in-suit com, and check with you when we get there," I heard Jack say. I pressed my button, and my icon turned red in the HUD, just as the airlock door slid closed.

  "On to the next one," Jack said, as he pressed the de-pressurising button.

  Chapter 35

  Our next victim, Sarah Jane, paramedic, couldn't be
ar to part with her second cat, Tilda. She had paid to have Tilda's stem cells preserved in a tiny phial and planned to reconstitute her pet once we had settled on a planet in the Kalgarin system. Pets preserved by that particular process were allowed, provided they had had their genes altered to render them infertile. People were restricted to one pet only, per person.

  Sarah Jane, embarrassed and apologetic, had already put one cat in storage but couldn't bear to part with the second, so she'd resorted to subterfuge. We found her to be a sweet, gentle lady, and we knew there wouldn't be any complaints about us from her.

  We travelled down then across to deck twenty-seven S, where there were two males with FBs. The first, Gerrard Colebatch, bio electrician, behaved in a docile and compliant manner. His FB held two beloved pets, a dog and a cat. He'd been conned into paying an excessive amount for his pets' consciousnesses to be uploaded onto chips. The chips were, of course, blank, and to cover ourselves we had to tell him. He was devastated.

  Our second male, Paul Tozer, a robotics expert, turned out to be a handful. Jack and I were forced to restrain him. After tying both his hands and feet together, Jack sedated him. We'd half dragged and half carried the unconscious man to the console chair. When Jack scanned his FB, he found it held the schematics for hundreds of unpatented robotic prototypes. Afterwards, we lugged his tall, heavyset body back to the capsule. By the time we got him back to sleep, we were both nearing exhaustion. At 5:30 p.m., ship time, we'd gone to the living unit to grab something to eat and drink.

  "We've only got one left on deck thirty," I managed between mouthfuls of something purported to be a chicken sandwich. With our finds so far proving unfruitful, my hope was evaporating into despair. I found it hard to keep going, especially when talking with Julian and Tiani. They too were sounding tired and despondent, particularly Tiani.

  "I did warn you," Jack said, wiping his mouth with his hand. "I thought it would be a Higgs boson chase." He studied his plate. "But you never know, there's still one left."

  I didn't answer him. I sat and stared into space, worried sick about how Julian and Tiani would cope when we came up empty-handed.