by Steven Oaks
As I hunted for a book to pull from the shelves, all hidden behind glass, I noticed some books I could not recall having read. They did not even appear to be books I would read, and authors I was not familiar with. I shook my head, Athene must have been making books for me once she discovered she could create them. She had said she had downloaded a vast number of novels before we had left Earth, and this might have been her way of giving me a present. I do prefer to read physical books, and I had worried about consuming them differently than I was used to.
Seeing a book I had never seen before I reached out to open the glass bookcase to pull it free. It was a paperback and had what looked to be a figure covered in spikes staring off into a purple and yellow sunset. The spine read Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and I wondered what it was about.
Being careful I flipped it over to read its synopsis and found there was none. Perhaps Athene had wanted to surprise me again. Walking over to the couch which was the lone piece of furniture in the room I sat down to start this new journey. I was immediately swept away into a universe where the Earth no longer existed and was reading along with someone named the Consul.
As I was getting into it though Athene announced, “Michale I have completed making the Adam copy. Would you like to see him before I send him out into the hangar?”
I was unsure if I would be okay with looking at someone's face that so recently had been killed. Then again I was curious and I said, “I'll be right out,” and set the book down on the coffee table. I had hoped I would remember what page I was on.
I stepped into the lounge, and was greeted by a smiling Adam. He appeared no different from when he had first entered Athene that day, save his smile seemed genuine.
“Michael, it is so nice to see you again. How are you this fine day?” it greeted me.
“Athene from what little contact I've had with Adam that's definitely not how he would talk. Wipe that smile off your face, and learn to be upset by everything,” I smirked.
“What do you know of me Michael? All you are is a lackey. You should focus on your job of collecting the dead for us. Now get back to work,” Adam snarled. This time he was wearing a frown with deep lines of agitation running all around his attractive face.
“That's more like it, but it still seems forced. I said nothing to set him off, but you are getting there. Remember he is violent under a calm exterior that explodes outwards unpredictably,” I smiled. This might work.
“If he is unpredictable then how can you say what I just said would not be said by him?” Athene asked from the surrounding room.
“Good question. Uh, I think it still has to relate to what is going on. If you were to just complain about things not spoken of, then that would not make sense. However, you've got his frown down,” I elaborated, trying to think of how to act like Adam.
“I had plenty of time to witness it. However, a smiling Adam was hard to create. You seemed to think the one I generated to greet you did not work. He has smiled before however,” she recalled, puzzled.
“I think he only smiles when he's getting his way. Make sure you don't do it often and you might pass as him. It's a shame that you weren't able to get more from him, it will make it very hard for you once he leaves us. I don't even know where he goes when he isn't here,” I professed.
“As no one is waiting for him outside I will have him return from where he came previously. I have observed him from where he usually makes his way to us, and it seems to be an area along the far wall to the south. As he has kindly left the transport vehicle outside, I will use that to return there. However, since I have no notion of what he does when out of my sight I am unsure what to do after I reach that area,” Adam's duplicate said in front of me.
“If there is anyone in the area you could ask,” I said, unsure.
“Would that not give me away?” Adam said gruffly.
“Only if you do it in a way that's passive,” I advised.
“What do you mean Michael?” he inquired.
“There are ways to ask a question without having it sound like a request. You might say, 'Shouldn't you be working?' Using that you might learn what that person is doing,” I snarled in a gruff voice trying to duplicate Adam's voice.
“How about I say, 'You there, guide me to my office. I have things to think about',” Adam growled harshly.
“That might work, but we don't know if there will be anyone to meet you. If there isn't, you would be left to wander the halls until you located the appropriate place. And if for some reason Abihail is here we have no idea how they interact. Is Adam the leader, is Abihail, or is it Ava? Might none of them be in charge? We're left with too many unknowns. Perhaps we should just leave while we can,” I said growing worried.
“I have confidence in this body. It is more advanced than either Adam or Mr. Thompson, and now with the new feature to be able to turn liquid I do not think I can be stopped. The only one who might give me issue is yourself, save I now know I can encompass you to keep you from damaging me,” the copy of Adam boasted smugly.
“Would you be able to capture another Outsider on your own then?” I asked, somewhat taken aback by his forceful nature.
“I could hold one until it ran out of power, but I do not think I could return it here without risking losing my grasp upon them,” he said.
“If you were to convince Abihail or Ava to come here would you be able to do what we failed to do with Adam?” I asked.
“Given enough time it is probable. However, since we only have so much time given us I am unsure of success. Adam's mind was powerful and I was unable to restrain his thoughts from overwhelming my own. If the other two are similar then it may never be possible as long as they are alive. Also, once they lose power they lose cohesion and melt away and we would lose their memories. I am surprised by this as I would still be able to be return to full functioning after a power loss; however, it may be some defense against capture,” Athene's voice said.
“Do you think we should let our Adam try to leave then?” I asked cautiously.
“I see no reason for much concern. I could easily explain I was deep in thought while wandering the corridors. If I run into another Outsider, I will request them to meet with you. If they are the only ones controlling the operation here, then once all are under our control nothing adverse should happen,” the body of Adam spoke.
“And if there is another entity in power we would alert them to our plans. Though we have seen no sign of it, it may still be a possibility,” I pondered.
“If we make no announcement of success then it should not know about us,” Athene said.
“I still think it would notice when the Outsiders go missing. We can hope if we capture the other two we'll be able to gain their memories and be able to make complete duplicates. If we are successful we'll know if there is another to worry about. If not, we will have won without risking the other Athenes. If there is another, we will be able to stall until they reach Earth. Very well, let's do it. Adam make your way to the south wall and see if you can infiltrate without being suspicious,” I ordered looking at him.
“Yes ma'am,” he saluted. Then he turned away to walk towards the exit.
As it slid open to reveal the hangar I said, “Good luck Athene.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it. I will use skill and utilize my surroundings. I will see you later Michael,” he smiled, and this time it seemed genuine.
I watched him walk down the steps arrogantly with his head held high as Adam always had. When he reached the little electric transport the door irised shut and I was left alone with Athene.
“Are you able to communicate with him while he's out there?” I asked.
“That would be unwise as we do not know what they can detect,” Athene explained.
“So we won't know if he fails until we are being surrounded?” I observed, upset.
“If he comes under attack and thinks he is going to either be captured or destroyed he will signal us. If that time comes, we
will flee quickly. I do not even think this building made by Outsider technology can hold us anymore. While I may appear to be the same ship they created, I have made myself even more sturdy. I can easily crash through its comparatively thin walls and we will be on our way. However, if we do such a thing we are at risk from the Outsider's main ship. We will have to keep the Earth and it between us and hope they do not simply destroy this planet,” she said simply.
“If they need humans for something then it's unlikely they'll just kill everyone,” I pointed out trying to sound unconcerned.
“If only we knew where Abihail was. We can assume an Ava has been restored and is aboard their main vessel. However, we know little about Abihail and its motives. It could be anywhere, and at any facility. I find it unusual that Adam was placed here while other facilities do not have an Outsider. What might this mean?” Athene asked.
“The U.S. did attack them the hardest, though they certainly weren't alone. Perhaps they think of it as more of a threat and it needed more attention,” I said, unsure if this made sense.
“Would they not have the same interviewing process for the other facilities? Who would have conducted them? It seems improbable Adam would have been able to do so. Perhaps Abihail did as well, though that does not seem likely either,” she speculated.
“Could there be multiple Adams? I mean maybe he is a type that is used to run things from each facility, and is only a copy. Like how you have many versions of yourself now,” I said, growing concerned.
“Then why does it appear to us that Adam was in charge of everything?” she said.
“When Abihail visited with Adam it seemed that he wanted to yell at me but refrained from doing so in front of it. Perhaps Abihail is in charge of him, and then Ava is in charge on their main ship. Damn, I wish we had been able to get more information from Adam before he was destroyed,” I said in frustration.
“I have little insight for you. However, you may be correct,” she said calmly.
“Then we should focus on locating Abihail. It will have the information we need, though I hope we are better prepared for it this time,” I said feeling that I had caused our own failure.
“We did gain the knowledge of their differences from Mr. Thompson. With that in place I should be able to contain any other version of Outsider we find. That is if Adam is the best they have been able to construct,” she said in a worried tone.
“Do you think the others will be harder to capture then?” I said concerned.
“If I can make a better version they are likely able to as well, though it is unusual that Adam was not at least as strong as you are. Perhaps it has something to do with your rigidity, but I was able to still produce a superior Adam. I am unsure what to expect now,” she said puzzled.
“We must expect the unexpected. Meaning we should prepare for the worst. Assume they are as strong as you are, or stronger, and continue to strive for a better way to contain them. If you never stop improving yourself we're more likely to succeed,” I suggested.
“You are correct, that is the best plan. However, we still have several days until our fleet arrives. I hope the other versions of myself are doing the same, though I doubt it. Once I find that I can do something, I do not go out of my way to improve it unless some outside force compels it. Perhaps that is my programing so as not to waste energy. But if that is the case it should be the same for the Outsiders. If they think they are already able to handle any situation, they would not think to continue to develop new ways to handle situations. Also, that would explain why Adam was not as powerful as my version,” Athene explained.
“Well, let's not rely on that hypothesis. Continue to enhance yourself just in case you're wrong. We can hope that our Adam will find Abihail and then maybe we'll learn something about these Outsiders,” I advised.
“Of course Michael,” she conceded.
Unsure what to do now while we waited for something to happen I began to walk to the library once more. Finding the book I had been reading on the coffee table, I picked it up and began flipping through the pages trying to find where I left off. The page number had slipped my mind but I was able to locate where I left off by what had been going on.
I had grown tired from the eventful day, and as I was turning pages my eyes began to drift shut. I must have fallen asleep then as I was awoken from my rest by Athene.
“Michael, it seems our Adam is returning,” she announced.
The abruptness of her announcement caused me to take a sharp breath and the book I had been reading fell to the ground. Being slightly unsure where I was I looked around and noticed the stand where Athene had placed my signed copies of Heinlein's novels was gone.
At the time; however, I was more concerned with what she had just said and asked, “How soon will he get here?”
“He is approaching rapidly and it appears that Abihail is with him,” she said excitedly.
Standing up and straightening my uniform I said, “Alright, do you think we can do it this time?”
“If he is like Adam I can almost guarantee success,” she said pleased with herself.
“Good. I suppose I should go greet them,” I said taking a deep breath. I walked rapidly to the lounge once more and tried to wait patiently.
“They are here,” Athene announced.
I stood straighter, unsure what I should say. When the door finally slid aside to reveal both of them approaching, Abihail was leading Adam.
It walked forward and extended its hand to me, and I took it unsure if it would be safe.
“Hello Michael. Adam tells me you wish to speak to me,” it said in its familiar flat voice.
“Of course. If you would please have a seat I think we can get to the point,” I said thinking rapidly.
I guided it to the old familiar chair I had been resting in when not in the library since I had arrived in Athene. We sat down facing each other as I took the couch, and the copy of Adam joined me.
“What is it you need to talk about?” Abihail asked me.
“You see, I'm concerned with how the new colony is set up,” I said.
“Is there something wrong?” it asked flatly.
“I had Athene modify the records of what we saw so as not to cause panic, but I did want to talk to you about their mayor. He refused to begin farming and intended to use me as the source of all food and services they needed,” I said, trying to outline a subject that would hold Abihail's interest.
“That is very unlikely. He was picked specifically for his reliability,” it said.
“Be that as it may, it appears that he has no intention of becoming self sufficient. When I had dinner with him the entire town was having a party, celebrating my arrival. Apparently all they do is have parties every night, but during the day they sit around and do nothing. Without Mr. Thompson's directives they appear to do nothing at all. I find the whole situation very strange, and not productive to colonial life,” I explained.
“Then what are they doing with the animals we sent with them?” it asked, for the first time showing an emotion, and it was concern.
“I saw no animals in the village until it was time for me to return. At first only birds wandered in after the short winter, but eventually the cattle made their way too,” I said calmly.
“And what did they do with them?” it asked.
“Athene, if you would be so kind as to show Abihail what happened.” I asked, and hoped Athene realized it was time to capture Abihail.
“Certainly Michael. If you would please sit still I will show you what we saw,” she said calmly as the same white pillar descended slowly to encompass Abihail.
Abihail did not move, nor show any signs of distress as this was happening, but as soon as the pillar nearly reached the floor it began to scream. The shrieks of anguish were cut off suddenly when it was fully encompassed, but my ears still rang with the power of its shout.
“Do you think it'll be okay this time?” I asked Adam.
“More than likely.
What I was able to get from Athene before she cut herself off from me was confidence. We should not interrupt her. She will let us know when it is completed,” he said.
“How did you convince Abihail to return with you?” I asked, surprised at his ability.
“It was simple enough. I had just found my office with the help of a guard or employee, I'm unsure what his role was, and it was waiting for me. It wanted to be briefed on our conversation, and I said it would be best to come and see. That and I said you had a question to ask it. It seems the Outsiders have curiosity, and I was able to use that to entice it,” he explained.
“I'm glad you were able to return here with Abihail. I'd hate to think what would have happened had you tried to overpower it. Whomever of you would have tried to absorb the other first would have won, and you might not have had time to alert us,” I said relieved.
“That was my thinking as well. The path of least resistance lead me to ponder a way to entice it to come here. It seems that was the correct action, and now we may learn more about the Outsiders,” he said smiling.
“I only hope that Abihail is not hiding some tricks up its sleeve. You are here now to help me, but I don't wish to have another incident like we had with Adam,” I said, becoming worried again.
“If Athene can alert us to any issue this time with both of us we can overwhelm it. Abihail must be confused that I have not tried to come to its rescue. Perhaps it is waiting on that instead of using its energy to release itself,” he said.
“How long should we wait before we ask Athene if she's okay?” I asked.
“Once more we were unable to try to feed our enemy the poison I had formulated. It may be some time. We did not even injure it for an avenue of entry, though the scream we heard was Athene trying to penetrate its skin. This happened right before Athene disconnected from me so I do not know if it was a success. As we have heard nothing from her, I would like to assume it was. However, we should be ready for any activity that might show Abihail successfully resisting Athene,” he explained.