House of the Galactic Elevator

by Gerhard Gehrke

  “Hello?”

  The many desks sat empty, and he saw no one and no bot.

  Again came the groan, followed by a low shudder. The sound fell away, but Flemming could make out a continuing vibration. He cocked his head and walked through the office. Here he could hear the slightest hiss, all the more noticeable once he moved down the hallway towards the central computer vault. He put his head against a wall. The hissing sounded louder, and the deep groaning resumed. The floor shook ever so slightly.

  Flemming put a hand to the floor. There came a tremble.

  “Any security officer outside, report,” he said into his com.

  A half-dozen replies poured in.

  “Tell me what you see,” Flemming said.

  “Nothing to report,” came a reply.

  “There’s something,” said one officer. “At the base of the building. Looks like a rising cloud of dust.”

  The groan stopped. Flemming thought the sound was finished, and he had just begun to walk inside the vault to the central computers when the entire building shook violently. The lurch almost knocked him off his feet.

  “Sir, I see more dust,” the officer said. “It’s shooting up from the ground like a geyser!”

  “Get everyone back away from the building,” Flemming said. “Order the bots to sound an evacuation order around the nearest three blocks.”

  The orders were given, and the chatter of his repeated command came in across the com. His security app confirmed the bots’ new task: evacuate all Commons citizens from nearby streets and buildings.

  The walls creaked and another rumble came up from the floors beneath. Could this possibly be an earthquake? There were too many geological fail-safes against such an occurrence. A series of rattling sounds came from the walls. A low trembling began, a steady vibration that continued to build.

  Flemming ran for the grav lift. The lights around him flickered and went out. Emergency lights took over, casting a warm yellow glow throughout the office. Flemming checked the lift controls and saw that emergency power still worked. If it went out and there was some kind of compromise of the quadruple fail-safes, he would fall some forty floors to his death. He stepped into the lift. It was like stepping into nothing, his foot not finding a true purchase, yet the technology did its job as always and held him in place before starting his descent. In moments he stepped out into the spacious lobby in time to see the clear windows disintegrate into harmless bits of sand as the building above him shifted. He sprinted out the open door into a cloud of rising dust. He headed down the pedestrian walkway towards a distant group of bots with their flashing lights. The other security personnel beckoned him on. Above him he heard a crack that sounded like thunder. He paused to look upward. He could just make out the top of the security building swaying about. Then the entire structure began to fall in upon itself into a rising cone of yellow powder.

  He was too close, yet he couldn’t stop looking. He didn’t hear the shouts of the other officers. He only saw and heard the impossible. Buildings didn’t collapse here in the Galactic Commons. The talents of thousands of worlds built the city from its foundation up. These builders brought to bear their experience of construction on planets with crushing gravity, incessant mega-winds, hostile atmospheric chemistry, and flora and fauna that could break down a poorly built structure like it was a sheaf of dried grass. There were no earthquakes; this was a terraformed world of the highest design. No explosions broke the air around him. Yet there fell the security headquarters, one of the oldest buildings within the city, a bland rectangular structure in contrast to the beautiful skyline around it, yet appealing in its own right, a practical statement that spoke to the necessity of security within the disparate community.

  He had dedicated his all to the calling of protecting the city. But Captain Flemming couldn’t think of anything else to do but watch as it fell.

  ***

  The security alert on Jordan’s city app issued an evacuation order around the transportation terminal. Jeff was no longer online and had said he was on Earth. He needed help, but was safe at least for now. There was little she could do for him anyways at the moment. But whatever emergency was brewing in the city had to be connected, as once again the transportation system was at the center of the drama. That was where the elevators were, and Oliop must have gotten one working. Solving the transportation terminal problem might reveal a solution to helping Jeff.

  She used her com and called Detective Ceph on his personal communicator. She had to leave a message.

  “Call me back, Ceph,” Jordan said. “It’s important.”

  She next called Galactic Commons Security. The com line beeped once and a message said, “Welcome to Galactic Commons Security. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please contact an officer in person or call back later.”

  “What the hell,” Jordan said.

  “What’s wrong?” Shannanon asked.

  “Security is offline.”

  Shannanon put a hand to her head. Jordan felt jealous as Shannanon used a com device embedded in her skull. Jordan was saving up for one of those.

  “You’re right. It’s down. Good thing we’re way out here.”

  Jordan tried to find footage, news updates, or even a street blogger with eyes on the situation, but nothing came up.

  “I’m going to the city,” Jordan said. “I need to figure out what happened to Jeff. Can you wait here and keep an eye on Fang?”

  “No way. I’ve got friends stuck in their games with bots coming to put their bodies into hibernation or something. I’ll take you.”

  Fang warbled. They both looked at it.

  “Can you seat three?”

  “Sure.” Shannanon made a face as if she were tasting something strange. “Who’s Zachary?”

  “Decline friend!”

  “Fine. No problem. But who is he?”

  “Some kind of AI. Part of the game, but not mine. I really don’t know. It came from Jeff.”

  When Zachary spoke, Jordan thought he might be standing in the kitchen with them. “It? Please. Jordan, I’m just a friend of Jeff’s, looking out for his ass just like you are. You make it sound like that’s a bad thing. Give me a chance, and I’ll be your best friend too.”

  Jordan tried to unfriend, but the feature was somehow greyed out. Whoever this character was, he wasn’t real, he wasn’t there in the caretaker cabin, but was somehow in her head along with the rest of the unruly game program.

  “Shannanon,” Jordan said. “Keep an eye on me in case I start acting weird or pass out. This Zachary is connected to the game somehow. He’s in my head now. So whatever happens, don’t install anything new or accept any new friends. Let’s get out of here.”

  ***

  The throng of Galactic Commons exiles formed around the lone elevator like pilgrims arriving at a shrine deserving veneration. Some became giddy with excitement. At least a few wept or at least oozed various fluids due to their heightened emotional state.

  Several more sober-minded escapees wandered about the airfield and pondered the lack of additional elevators.

  Jeff found Toggs and had him lead the way through the crowd. Doctor Cochran stuck close behind. She kept a wary eye on the excited extraterrestrials all around her. Toggs had to push past the Commons citizens closest to the elevator, as these did not want to surrender their place in line.

  They found Oliop and Kwed at the center. Everyone started talking at the same time. Jeff gestured for Oliop to step into the elevator and tried to follow, but several in the crowd began to howl.

  “Why does he get to go first?” and “He’s a human! Let him stay here!” and “If you push me again, I’m going to drive this tentacle so far up your olfactory orifice you’ll be smelling me for weeks.”

  “Everybody shut up!” Toggs shouted.

  Toggs’ bellowed order worked, tamping the complaints down to a frothy murmur. Jeff grabbed Oliop’s arm and led him inside.

  “Tell me it works,”
Jeff said.

  Oliop shook his head. “Jeff Abel, the worm is missing.”

  Jeff’s heart sank. He was hoping the worm in the elevator was still there and that the one in his translator wasn’t the same one. He started to put a hand to his null-space pouch to remove the unit, but hesitated. Would this undo everything he had done in-game? Would removing the worm delete Zachary? He didn’t know why he cared. Then he remembered that inside the psych ward game he had been able to speak with his ex-wife. She wasn’t really in there. It hadn’t actually happened. So why did he hesitate?

  Doctor Cochran put her head inside the elevator and looked around. She touched the surface and ran her hands along one of the walls, a look of wonder on her face even though the machine was powered down and looked like an inert plastic and metal box.

  From outside, Toggs asked, “What worm?”

  “Apparently the reason the elevators stopped working is that they have pilots,” Jeff said. “When the AI broke down during the invasion, they stopped working and went away somewhere. We had one, though. That’s how we got here.”

  “I almost understood that,” Doctor Cochran said.

  “Oliop, where did the worm go?” Toggs asked.

  “I don’t know,” Oliop said. “I looked.”

  “We need to find it,” Toggs said.

  Jeff got down on his knees and scoured the elevator floor. The Grey begin to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Toggs asked.

  The Grey, still held tight under Toggs’ big arm, twisted about to be able to see Jeff. A big grin was spread across its face.

  “This human is funny,” Irving the Grey said. “If you want to get back to the Galactic Commons, you’ll need me.”

  “You have the worm?” Toggs asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “What are you talking about?” Toggs asked. Toggs held up the Grey and stared at it. “Are you withholding something that can get us all home?”

  “Not me,” the Grey said. He managed to get one hand free. He pointed at Jeff and said in a loud voice, “Him. The person that sets me free and retrieves the human’s translator gets to go home first. He has the worm we need to get the elevator going. He stole it to maroon all of you.”

  The crowd took a moment to look at one another, at the Grey, and at the elevator. Only Toggs stood in their way.

  “Put the Grey down,” a short, thick, violet-skinned humanoid said. He was waist-high to Toggs but looked like a fire hydrant with two arms. He stood at the front of the refugees, and at least a dozen faces behind him indicated that he had backup.

  “Everyone calm down and back off,” Toggs said with a growl.

  Toggs got the Grey back under control, and he hunkered down, ready to receive a charge.

  “The human’s the key,” the Grey said. “Get me free. Get him. Home we go. I’ll send elevators back for everyone! Don’t let them abandon you again!”

  Toggs gave the Grey a squeeze. The Grey gasped and let out a combo scent that smelled like sun-dried garbage.

  A buzzing sound descended on the crowd. From above, a large drone hovered just above their heads and did a spiraling circle. It got the crowd’s attention, but no one moved back from the elevator.

  Jeff saw Oliop enter commands into his wrist device.

  “Is that you?” Jeff hissed. As he looked out through the elevator’s portal, the drone made a sweeping pass over the heads of the crowd.

  Oliop smiled. “Won’t work for long, Jeff Abel. By the way, I think you actually do have a worm in your translator. I saw it earlier and only hoped it wasn’t our only one. It’s what explains your seizure. And if you take it out, you’ll die. Perhaps it has connected itself to your central nervous system. I just don't know.”

  Jeff paused for a second before reaching into the null-space pouch behind his head.

  “No, don’t!” Oliop shouted.

  Oliop reached for him, but not before Jeff found the translator and removed it. He held it up so Oliop could see the tail of the worm sticking up out of the little cube. At the same moment, all of Oliop’s words and gestures now came across as something foreign, and the chatter from the crowd outside sounded like a mixed buzz of random noises.

  “Don’t worry,” Jeff said with exaggerated emphasis on each word so Oliop could more easily understand him. “I had it out earlier. Didn’t die. I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

  Oliop said something that Jeff couldn’t understand, a soft hoot and a high-pitched squeak. A small price to pay, as he felt no small measure of relief seeing the worm and the infected translator sitting in his palm. He ignored the misgivings of losing his game data.

  Oliop took the translator from him and pulled the worm out by its tail. The worm curled up once it was pulled free and then gripped one of Oliop’s slender fingers. Oliop placed the worm on the console. The wriggling thing took a moment to orient itself, as if it were tasting the air with the sharp, almost invisible spike at the point of its head. Then it crawled along the console’s surface until it found the hole. It went inside, the smallest nub of its butt still showing. To the uninformed, the worm’s bottom would be mistaken for the end of a bolt, almost flush with the smooth console.

  Jeff returned the translator to its place. He felt a brief tingle. He was surprised that it immediately began working, no worse for wear in spite of the damage the worm had caused it.

  From outside came an explosive pop followed by a crash.

  “Someone broke the drone,” Toggs said.

  “Give us the human,” someone outside said with a growl. “Let us go home.”

  Kwed almost knocked Toggs down as he pushed his way into the elevator. He made his way to the console and twisted his body around its base.

  “It’s getting ugly out there,” Kwed said. “Seems reasonable, though. We don’t need the human, do we?”

  “Perfectly reasonable,” the Grey said with a strained voice. “Get rid of the human. Go home. What’s unreasonable about that?”

  Doctor Cochran screamed. One of the exiles was pulling her away from the elevator by one of her arms. The doctor wasn’t letting go of the elevator. Jeff moved to the elevator door and was about to go outside, when Toggs blocked his path.

  “Here,” Toggs said, “take this.”

  He shoved the Grey into Jeff’s arms. Without missing a beat, the Grey bit Jeff. Its little flat teeth couldn’t puncture Jeff’s sleeve or skin but it still hurt. Jeff grappled with the thing until he had it in both arms. The Grey was oozing and felt slippery, but Jeff kept it held fast.

  Toggs turned and waded into the crowd. He pushed, pulled, and boxed the nearest creatures until Doctor Cochran managed to pull free. Without hesitation, she climbed into the crowded elevator. Toggs backed up to the open portal, facing the crowd, his long arms spread wide. Angry faces glared at him, but no one pushed forward. The ruined drone lay in a wreck nearby.

  “No one is going home until we get the elevator working,” Toggs said. “This isn’t a human problem. This is an elevator problem. It means this elevator need to be fixed. When it is, we start bringing people home, a few at a time if we have to.”

  The Grey tried to say something, but Jeff put a hand across its mouth.

  “Why do you get to be at the front of the line?” the purple fireplug asked.

  “I’m just making sure you don’t break this thing before we get it working. And I’m not going anywhere until the rest of you go home. You all go before I do.”

  Doctor Cochran looked shaken from the tug-of-war with the crowd. She straightened herself out, adjusted the shower cap she was wearing with the translator inside, and took a good look at the Grey.

  She asked Jeff, “This little guy doesn’t like you, does he?”

  “You have no idea.”

  When Jeff saw that the assembled exiles weren’t about to storm the elevator, he returned his attention to Oliop. The technician was crouched behind the console, trying to get to the insides of an open panel. Kwed was in the way, his a
rms, legs, and body segments obstructing Oliop’s progress. The interior elevator walls had glowing orange lights running up them like ribbons. At least the power was now on.

  “It’s still not working,” Oliop said. “It’s like when we first got here. This is the last programmed destination. We still don’t have a guidance computer to bring us back home. So even if it worked, our arrival might be fatal.”

  Jeff saw that the large red button on the console was still dark. That was the go button. As advanced as the elevators were, even beyond the comprehension of the Galactic Commons technical experts, their operation was quite simple: enter predesignated destination and hit the button and presto, off you go.

  “The worm’s in place?” Jeff asked.

  Oliop pushed some of Kwed’s legs out of the way and checked.

  “Yup.”

  “And what about the AI you added? That’s still doing what it needs to do?”

  Oliop’s brow furrowed. He checked his device, pulled up a screen.

  “Oops.”

  Before Jeff could say anything, Kwed asked, “What’s oops?” with a tremble in his voice.

  “I guess the AI was on a trial period,” Oliop said. “The trial period ended one day after activation.”

  “What does that mean?” Jeff asked, although he had a good guess. He remembered the footage of Oliop stealing the AI. If something was that valuable, it wouldn’t be sitting open on a shelf like that without some kind of rights management to protect the seller.

  “It means that you need to purchase the item,” the Grey said, snapping at Jeff’s hand. “And that you are all idiots. Since we’re marooned on your backwater world, we can’t exactly access a Galactic Commons credit service, can we?”

  “Oh woes,” Kwed said with a groan. “We are stuck. The humans will get us. We’ll die here.”

  “Maybe,” Jeff said. “Maybe not. Doc, are you okay?”

  Doctor Cochran nodded. “What’s the plan?”