“Just a few minutes Sigmund. I want to make sure we aren't walking into a trap.”
As it was getting dark and Dag saw no lights or movement around the building he motioned for the other two to follow. Walker once again used his Emmie to “pop” open the door and they were in. This time Sigmund didn't wait.
“Okay we have to believe that alerts are going off as we speak. So all we are here for is to find some way to recharge our isotopics before we take off again. So let's look for supplies, particularly a maintenance room.”
After a few minutes, Sigmund called the other two.
“I think I've found the maintenance room.”
The three gathered in the room that had supplies to repair the mechanical, electrical and electronic systems of the pumping station as the three had begun calling the buildings. A few more minutes search and Walker called, he had found something. It was the charging station, very similar to the ones they used.
“Well this proves one thing,” said Dag.
“What's that,” said Walker as he was setting up a station for each of them.
“Em-based robots are definitely working with the Beleni and they are on this planet or these wouldn't be here.”
While the three were waiting for their isotopic reserves to be restored Walker was further investigating the map of the installations.
“Dag, I think I've found it.”
“What's that Walker?”
“About thirty-two miles northeast of here is another installation. And if this is correct that location has a spin-two.”
“We could be there in less than an hour,” said Sigmund. “And we could be out of Dhalkan or Belini or whatever space you want to call it shortly thereafter.”
“Right Sigmund as soon as we are replenished, I'm feeling more run down than I thought.”
“Me too,” said Walker.
“Me ...” Sigmund never finished his thought. They were all in hibernation mode.
24
Dag heard a female voice as if from far away.
“Dr. Mach, can you hear me?”
Finishing a reboot he opened his opticals to see a woman addressing him.
“I'm Dr. Regina Anton, how are you?”
“I am nominal.”
“Good, I was worried that your reservoir might have been drained too much and you would be damaged.”
“Are you human?”
“Yes I am very human and very much more. We are the survivors of the lost expeditions from Earth.”
Impossible, I was just kidding Sigmund!
“That's not possible that was hundreds of years ago.”
“We have obviously changed a great deal genetically and in our capabilities as is to be expected when we merged with the AIs.”
“Where am I?”
“We brought you to the third planet of the system which you have been referring to as Beleni but is Dhalka.”
“You tricked us then?”
“Let's just say that we wanted to talk to you and it was the safest way we could think of to bring you here.”
“There aren't any Ems in this system?”
“No, just you three.”
“How are Sigmund and Walker?”
“They should be waking about this time also. You will see them soon.”
“Okay you've got me here now, what is it you want to discuss?”
“Dr. Mach we know that you have been working with authorities on Earth and New Adowa and the Aggies. We also know that you have been poorly rewarded for your efforts. We could use you and your friends on our side.”
“Wait Dr. Anton. Did you or did you not try to kill us when we were on Earth?”
“We are at war Dr. Mach. You were working for the other side. The Aggies will stop at nothing to destroy us, not defeat us but destroy us.”
“Well they have their reasons, don't they? I mean you did destroy quite a bit of Earth that was under their protection and you still are threatening them.”
“That was the Beleni and particularly their leader Belinus. Belinus was psychotic and has been displaced. We no longer consider ourselves his followers.
“We only return fire with fire Dr. Mach. If the Aggies would only stand down I can assure you we would have no reason to continue the hostilities.”
“Let me ask you this, why did you destroy that lab on New Adowa and ours?”
“It was an accident. You and they were spying on us and in closing the link a power spike built and discharged.”
“Twice?”
“From this distance it's very hard to control.”
“Very well I also had some trouble closing links. How about those samples of dirt from distant worlds. Why did you deposit those on Earth unless it was to discover if they contained contagious microbes?”
“Let me ask you Dr. Mach. Did you or anyone on Earth discover any microbes on those samples?”
“Not that I know of, but that could have just been luck.”
“No it wasn't luck. We had already sterilized those samples before they ever set down on Earth. It was a show of force. That if Earth continues to cooperate with the Aggies and attack us we could at anytime destroy that ability.”
“The Trilon planet. Do you know how many lives you destroyed?”
“First, Dr. Mach, the Trilons were spies for Earth, I believe you know that, so they weren't exactly innocent bystanders. Second, the gravity machine in that system was not ours but the Aggies and had already been used against us to destroy several of our worlds.
“It's true that we destroyed it and as an unintended consequence the Trilons but we did not strike first. They did and their system was destroyed by accident when we tried to defend ourselves.
“Dr. Mach it is true that we have done some things that we are not proud of but it was out of desperation. The Aggies still see us as the Beleni, their bitter enemy and will not accept that we have changed. I can say that what we have done has been to protect ourselves from a determined but misguided enemy.”
Dag was silent for a moment.
“The LINERs and the planet Liberty, what about those?”
“You think the LINERs had some nefarious purpose?”
“Yes you intended to scour planets with the jets and destroy all life.”
“Dr. Mach did you bother to investigate the direction in which those jets pointed? Because if you had you would have found that none of them pointed towards a planet that could possibly harbor life.”
“Then what are they for?”
“They were beacons for navigation. We intend to get as far away from the Aggies as possible and we needed some markers arranged in a way that could be seen from far outside this galaxy.”
“But Liberty and all the people on it were destroyed!”
“We believe that was a result of an unusual concentration of dark matter. The concentration attracted enough gas and other mass to “turn-on” at least briefly. We've seen it happen before although not with such terrible consequences. Apparently humans have not seen this phenomenon before?”
“No there is no record and it is somewhat unbelievable.”
“It is rare Dr. Mach but we have in our records half a dozen instances which you are welcome to see for yourself. And after you've convinced yourself what I say is true I would like an answer to my proposal.”
“It's true Sigmund. I believe that the destruction of Liberty was an accident of nature. The Dhalkans have documented several such incidents. They allowed me a telescope and a spin-two drive so I followed up their research with my own. I convinced myself it could happen as Dr. Anton said.”
“So what do we do now Dag? Join them?”
“I don't know about you Sigmund but I don't want to fight on either side. I want to get out of here and I know where we can go. A planet orbiting a star in the open cluster Cr 34 would make a good hiding place.”
“But how do we get there Dag?”
“We are going to have to borrow some transportation Walker. We need a fusion ship
with a spin-two drive. There are several in orbit around this planet, I confirmed that when I had access to the scope.”
“But how are we going to get aboard one of those and what will we do with the crew?”
“I have a plan Walker. I'm going to request some more spin-two time to supposedly confirm that the Dhalkans are being truthful. You and Sigmund should be ready to go. Your job until then is put together our triage kits as best you can.”
“Okay Dag, just tell us when.”
Dag had asked for some more time to confirm what Dr. Anton had told him and she had granted it. He had informed Walker and Sigmund as to when to be ready. He was in one of the spin-two labs preparing his program.
“Dr. Mach this is a very long sequence you are entering?”
“Yes Dr. Ling I wanted to make good use of my time here.”
“I see.”
Dr. Ling had been assigned to “assist” Dag with his research. Of course, Dag knew he was really there to keep an eye on him.
The sequence of steps that Dag had entered for the machinery to perform started out as an actual observation program but several hours into the run it would change. By that time Dag hoped that Dr. Ling would be tired and bored and not watching closely. That's when the system would facilitate the escape of the three.
Three hours into the run Dr. Ling had become bored and was reading something on one of the displays in the room. That was when Dag's program entered the critical sequence.
Suddenly in front of Dag was the bubble of a link's end point. Dag quickly moved through and found himself on the Dhalkan ship Majestic. He also found himself facing Walker and Sigmund. The ship was empty of crew. Three links had activated almost simultaneously and using a heat sinking technique had engulfed the crew members depositing them on the planet's surface. Before either of the robots could move the ship entered the last generated link and emerged a thousand light-years away.
Dag quickly programmed the spin-two drive console at which he was standing and the ship linked again and again and again, seemingly forever.
Coming out of the last link Dag said, “I think that will prevent them from following us. We're nearly six thousand light-years removed from the Dhalkan's planet but I used short enough links that they shouldn't be able to trace them through energy vibration because the short links will no longer show enough vibration to follow after they trace through a few of them.”
“That's why they want you Dag. Only you could come up with such a plan and pull it off,” said Walker.
“Yeah we are pretty much along for the ride,” said Sigmund.
“That's not true. Both of you contribute a substantial amount of expertise to the group. I would not be nearly as effective on my own.”
“Anyway, where are we?”
“We are orbiting a planet approximately six-thousand light-years away from both the Earth and the Dhalkan planet. It is in the open cluster Cr 34 in the Perseus Arm of the galaxy. It has about a two-thirds of the gravity of Earth and about half the atmosphere density. So we should be protected from most radiation on the surface. The air is not breathable by humans or Dhalkans although we could make it that way if we choose but as I said it is thick enough that we can build on the surface. In other words, it is home.”
Dag picked a spot on the surface of the world that would be defensible if necessary and began linking down materials and machinery the three could use. Walker went down to sort the materials while Dag and Sigmund stayed aboard the ship modifying the machines available for use on the surface.
They first took a 3D printing machine used aboard the ship to print replacement parts and modified it to become a mobile builder. Once finished they sent it down to Walker to start construction on a shelter. Other machinery was modified to dig for ore that would become building material. An oven aboard, once used to bake samples from a planet's surface, was modified to process the ore the other machine dug up.
It was a month before Dag and Sigmund left the ship in auto-mode to live on the planet's surface in the shelter that Walker and the 3D printer robot had built. Because the three didn't need a breathable atmosphere no effort was made yet to provide one. On their one month anniversary they sat down to discuss the future of Escan, as Sigmund had named their refuge.
“We should try to duplicate a spin-two drive and then send the ship back to the Dhalkans.”
“That's a big order isn't it Dag?”
“Well we will have to keep enough electronics to do the job, so the ship will pretty much be stripped when we send it back but that's the cost of kidnapping us I guess.”
“Dag we can't build everything we need, not in the near future, we are going to have to trade.”
“I know Walker. We need a contact on one of humanity's worlds that can get us the materials we need.”
“Dag, what about other Em-based robots that feel as we do? Can we recruit them for Escan? We could use more hands if we are ever to make this a world for robots.”
“Yes Sigmund, adding to our intellectual capacity would be very desirable. The problem is that we are going to have to keep this very low-key until we reach a point of self-sufficiency that will allow us to be more open.”
Slowly the three put together a spin-two drive and tested it to satisfaction. Then having stripped the Dhalkan ship of any useful equipment Dag programmed it to return to the Dhalkans in much the same way they had used it to escape. He didn't expect the Dhalkans to be able to trace it back to Escan since there had been plenty of time for them to find the three if they had the ability.
It had been decided that Sigmund would return to Earth and try to make some deals for materials they needed and maybe recruit some Em-based robots for the robot world.
25
Sigmund had disguised himself as best he could and Dag had linked him back to Earth near the old tower complex where he had originated. No one would believe he came from Escan since without Dag and Walker's modifications to the drive and its operation no one was able to link across thousands of light-years so accurately.
When he stepped out of the bubble he found himself a few feet in the air and falling. Sigmund rolled upon landing and got to his feet without damage. Assuming the small comm link had been opened by Dag Sigmund said aloud, “Dag, you were a few feet short of the ground. Maybe you can correct that?”
“Sorry Sigmund will take into account.”
“Okay I'm going to head for the tower complex. You can follow me until I set up a safe location?”
“Yes Sigmund I will follow you, the link will move at your pace and you may address me or Walker anytime you think necessary.”
“Very well, let's go.”
Sigmund remembered the secret way to get into the complex. He found that the subway was still there but had fallen into disuse. After walking for miles he came to the sub-basement of the building. From the old subway stop he made his way up several flights of stairs until he came to a door leading into the hall of the building. From there he made his way around the elevators to the front and took one down to the lobby.
Out on the street Sigmund was surprised at how much of the area he still recognized.
Sigmund had never given up the apartment left to him. It was still in his name. He headed there. His building looked the same although more rundown with age. The apartment itself was still livable. Sigmund had contracted for it to be maintained and the house bots were also maintained by the same service. It wasn't much with just a small bedroom and bath and a combination living room and kitchen but it would be perfect to work out of while he was on Earth.
Sigmund activated the wallscreen and selected a news feed. He would have to catch up on the news to fit in with the locals. He selected the top story, the ongoing war and activated the audio.
“Dag can you hear this?”
“I'm here Sigmund.”
The news was about the latest skirmish between the Earth's forces and the Dhalkan's. An Earth ship had been lost but the Dhalkan's had lost their base on a pl
anet that was closer to Earth. The news report made a point of explaining that the war now in its sixth month was moving into Dhalkan space according to the broken treaty provisions, which the broadcast reiterated, had been broken first by the Dhalkans.
“What do you think Dag?”
“It sounds like the war has been going on as long as we have been on Escan. The treaty must have been violated pretty soon after it was signed I'd say.”
“I don't see that this affects our plans Dag. It might make it easier since the governments here are going to be focused on the war.”
“That's true Sigmund. I'm glad we decided not to fight for either the humans or the Dhalkans.”
“It was the correct choice after all.”
“Okay Sigmund I'm going to close the link now to save power. I will open it again tomorrow at this time.”
“Right, I will get to work on that list, might even have something for you by then.”
Sigmund spent what time was left in the day contacting vendors and ordering the supplies that Dag had requested. It appeared he would have some available soon.
Now Sigmund would focus on his other objective, recruitment.
Unlike humans, robots didn't necessarily crave physical contact. They were more interested in meeting in a virtual world. Most used avatars, some fanciful, but Sigmund always liked to present himself as he would appear in person. He naturally gravitated to others that also presented themselves plainly.
Sigmund entered the virtual world by way of focusing on his RF connection. It wasn't the fastest way to connect but for Sigmund, it was the most natural. He was only interested in chatting with others not taking part in a game.
Sigmund stepped out of the bubble which was a representation of a wormhole mouth or link end and noticed its designation, XA, for future reference. Looking around him he was surrounded on three sides by building facades most with names of game play above their entrances. He saw one that said Chat Bar and headed that way. Just as he was walking in front of another virtual door a robot stepped out and immediately headed in the direction that Sigmund was going.
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