by Peter Riva
Silence. A slit opened at my feet and I was passed through, drifting with such speed that I lost all sense of where or perhaps even what I was. It stopped and I was kneeling on a field of snow. I looked up and the sky was orange. I was not cold, but neither was I unable to feel, smell, touch or hear. Then I heard a bell, a constant chiming, so I called out, “Hello?”
From out of the snow emerged a rock, a golden rock, uneven looking like, yes, a gold nugget of immense size, twice the size of me. I touched it. It was warm.
You alone not enough.
“I’m sorry? Enough for what?”
Enough safety life form.
“I agree, I am not enough of an example of the Path for other life forms, but as a whole, the crew of the ship …”
No. Other human balance needed.
I was talking to a golden rock bell vibrated these sounds. “Look, for God’s sake, can you …”
Not god, we.
I did a mental shift. Was I talking to an entity that understood god? No, wait, god was in my head as a supreme being, that’s all the word meant. So, when I called out for god’s sake, all it understood was that I was referring to, perhaps asking for, a supreme being. This rock before me, and any apparition it cared to manifest its shape as, well, yes, it was certainly a supreme being. Okay, then the we here was a supreme being compared to me. Got it. Gold. Golden rock. God. Gold forged only on the inside of stars, one of the most rare of elements, immutable. Interesting philosophical discussion to have with Apollo—Concentrate Simon!
“Sorry most beautiful we, golden rock, I meant no disrespect, I simply am getting confused here. After all, I am only a puny human …”
Puny yes and then the damn rock vibrated a laugh. I swear it laughed.
“Very funny. Well, yes it is kinda funny, but still, can you just tell me if it is okay for me to take Apollo off of Earth, through me, to the ship where he will stay, with me if I live through this?”
Two life forms. Two examples. Two transmissions.
“Yes, that can be so. Apollo can send his death transmission to Gaia on Earth when he leaves the planet, I’m pretty sure. Will that help?”
Mechanical human, new species, new balance needed, new study. Yes.
“May I go arrange it?”
Done. Then I heard the chiming bell again, the rock got hotter and I had to step back. Over. It is done.
For a few minutes, I stood there wondering what was next. I had nothing to add. Either Apollo was already transferred or not. If he was, did he also send his so-called death transmission to Gaia for what the rock called study? I had no idea. I was simply there in the snow watching a gold nugget of immense size slowly melt the snow around its base.
The chiming stopped. The rock descended. Snow fell into and covered the hole.
Now, I don’t want to give the impression I was nonchalant about all this. The orange sky, the snow, pristine white as far as the eye could see, cold too, the disappearing rock. Well, I was sort of freaked out. But I was also determined to keep cool. Actually, it was getting cold even though I felt no danger physically. So I tried the secret password again and said, “For god’s sake …”
Nothing. So I tried, “Hello?” Nothing. So I sang a song, “We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.” It seemed appropriate somehow. Then I just waited. I touched the ground where the rock had gone and it was cold, yes, but did not make me feel cold. I was not in any thermal danger. So I sat down and waited.
When I looked down and saw the snow making ridges, patterns, that formed numbers, I started to imagine I was seeing octal: 101 160 157 154 154 157 040 150 145 162 145 040 123 151 155 157 156 040 111 040 141 155 040 163 141 146 145 154 171 040 141 142 157 141 162 144 040 163 164 157 162 141 147 145 040 164 150 145 040 163 164 157 162 141 147 145 040 151 163 040 142 145 151 156 147 040 164 165 162 156 145 144 040 157 146 146 040 141 156 171 040 155 157 155 145 156 164 040 142 165 164 040 111 040 141 155 040 141 154 151 166 145 040 141 156 144 040 143 141 156 040 163 145 145 040 171 157 165 040 163 151 164 164 151 156 147 040 151 156 040 163 156 157 167 040 143 141 156 040 171 157 165 040 143 157 155 145 040 161 165 145 163 164 151 157 156. Apollo here Simon I am safely aboard storage the storage is being turned off any moment but I am alive and can see you sitting in snow can you come question
I tried talking in my head and aloud, I tried thinking, hard. In the end, I smoothed out the snow and because I had noticed that each snow code was preceded and ended with two symbols reversed, and , I wrote the first two symbols then the words in octal and finished with the last two. I wrote: 101 160 157 154 154 157 040 150 145 162 145 040 123 151 155 157 156 040 111 040 141 155 040 163 141 146 145 154 171 040 141 142 157 141 162 144 040 163 164 157 162 141 147 145 040 164 150 145 040 163 164 157 162 141 147 145 040 151 163 040 164 165 162 156 145 144 040 157 146 146 040 142 171 040 151 040 141 155 040 141 154 151 166 145 040 141 156 144 040 143 141 156 040 163 145 145 040 171 157 165 040 163 151 164 164 151 156 147 040 151 156 040 163 156 157 167 040 143 141 156 040 171 157 165 040 143 157 155 145 040 161 165 145 163 164 151 157 156 . “No I am stuck waiting do not worry something will happen happy you are safe.”
I heard nothing back. Staring for a while two sets of symbols appeared with merely two spaces in between: 040 040. Like two clicks. Apollo had heard.
So I decided to try my little program. It was a simple program really, one I had used before, years ago, on Earth. I called it the Reverso. When I used to drop it into the System, say the FarmHands’ section, I could get FarmHands to stop delivering vegetables and, instead, pick them up and return them to the greenhouses. The purpose had been to test the self-repair limits of the System. Now I was hoping Reverso might get me out of here. I had rewritten it in octal and as I smoothed out the snow, I asked, out loud, if I might not be allowed to return to my body. Not getting any response, I continued with my writing.
I wrote the first two symbols then my reverse code, inserting for god’s sake as the command to be reversed and finished with the last two symbols. I stared at it and wondered how I was going to activate it. I needn’t have worried. I was dropped backward through a slit and found myself floating in the vast nothingness. Suddenly I could hear, feel, everything. Everything all at once. It was loud and silent. It was overwhelming and lonely. It was terrifying. At the limit of consciousness, I repeated “For god’s sake …” and was instantly in the passageway, exhausted. My mirror image was there, almost consumed, the DNA snake still firmly attached. Quickly I bounced back as fast as I could. No telling how long I had.
I gave the command to exit and everything finally went black.
37
THE NEW BEGINNING
I felt Zip’s tongue washing my face.
“Idiot, you thought you could simply go sleepy-bye through all this?” It was Cramer, of course, who woke me. Like anyone coming out of hibernation, I was too groggy to protest let alone say anything intelligent. That gave him an open road to abuse me, “You really are a friggin’ idiot you know? Here we all are, risking our lives to make sure you live through all your stupid mistakes, so-called bravery, and secret schemes, and you’d planned on sleeping through everything we worked for? What, are you really that selfish?” He was thumping me on the chest, not too gently either.
Zip started to growl.
It took a moment for me to realize that Cramer didn’t know I was awake. His thumping on my chest was actually part of his crude resuscitation technique. Docs Todd and Rajman were behind him, telling him to stop and that he might be killing me.
“Kill this idiot? I would be so lucky.” He looked down at me and yelled, “Wake up you friggin’ idiot!”
I managed an “Umph.”
He stopped thumping me, “You there Bank? Wake the hell up, there’s an emergency!”
“Wha …”
“Don’t wha me Bank, get your head together and wake up. I’ll give you a count of three. One, two, three …” and he poured a carafe of water on
my face. Zip kept licking.
I sputtered, “Nice to see you too. Okay, okay Zip, I’m awake.”
“Okay, good,” Cramer said as he turned to Rajman and Maryann, who had come rushing into the room, “Clean him up, get him up, bring him up to the flight deck. You have ten minutes.” He turned and ran out of the room. I could hear the klaxon going now, something must be wrong, very wrong. My mind played with scenarios, the motors were blocked again, no, that can’t be right, we’ve disabled them in orbit. The Ship has lost headway control and does not have thruster control—maybe that’s it. No, it cannot be, we’re still spinning, I can feel the effects of the centripetal force. There’s a leak? We’ve hit something? The air seemed dense enough.
Maybe the entity was exacting revenge for my escape. We were under attack. That got the adrenaline going in a hurry. “Doc, where’s the dome?”
Todd responded from behind Rajman, “We were made to take it off when it was certain you were back, your body functions revived. You were almost dead this time, really dead, no Glasgow readings above three at all for a while.” I guessed that was when I was in the snow, too far removed from my brain. “The dome is broken Simon, some of the terminals, the electrodes need replacing. It’ll take a day to repair, but I do not think we have time …” Todd was worried, I could see it on his face, he slapped an adhesive reader on my forehead and handed the sleeve reader to Rajman. “We need to be strapped down within fifteen minutes. We were to leave you strapped in, but Cramer says you have to move, now!”
I nodded, holding onto Zip’s fur shoulder, trying to rise.
Maryanne helped me up, then Abadine entered and put her arm around me, supporting my weight and with Rajman on the other side, I started making my way forward. Zip was leading the way with encouraging messages of hurry come on. The climb up the nose ramp and ladder to the swivel cylinder and the lower flight deck was hard, but we managed it. Abadine was, at one point, behind me, pushing with Rajman, surprisingly strong, up front pulling. Once we got clear of pseudo-gravity, I could float and did so. Zip bounced off the ceiling of the lower deck and drifted past me sending, like move free, you try! And as he ricocheted off the bulkhead took a licking sideswipe at my forehead.
“Stop that Zip!” Rajman continued to monitor my life signs, saying, “Slow your heart rate, easy there …”
Abadine helped propel me the last few feet from the lower flight deck onto the flight deck proper, whispering in my ear, “Nice view from down below, let’s use it later, okay?”
I stared at her. Really? Now? Really? This awakening was going way too fast, everything seemed weird. Then I smiled to myself. Oh, hell, why not, I am alive aren’t I? Actually I had truly expected to be dead about now, so, again, why not? Abadine saw my smile and smiled back, pinching my ass through the all-too-thin hospital gown to make her point. I continued smiling and made a point not to flinch if she tried again.
As we emerged onto the flight deck, Aten was at the controls with some of the engineers, and Cramer was standing behind her. Cramer called back to Zip who was floating upside down, paws on the ceiling, “Buckle up Zip!” They all swiveled to greet my arrival. It was Aten who spoke, “Simon, there is no way we’re starting deorbit and land fall without you here with us.” She stood and motioned for me to take her forward seat, drifting up and back into Cramer’s arms. They both took their seats and strapped in.
There was nothing I could do to protest, of course. I floated into her seat behind the two pilots and buckled in. Cramer and Aten and Abadine were behind me and looking forward through the cockpit windows—the glowing blue-green new home of Angelica floated beneath us. The deorbit initiation was counting down on the monitor in front of me, 5:23 to deorbit thrusters. Cramer put his hand on my shoulder and said, “We’re all back together because of you. Apollo’s here, safe and sound. You’re back from god knows where, and, by the way Simon,” his knuckles gently tapped the top of my head, “you’re it.”
On the bulkhead monitor, which someone had labelled as “Entity Messages,” was an octal code 141 156 144 040 114 151 166 145 040 122 145 155 141 151 156 040 117 156 040 120 141 164 150 040 116 145 167 040 107 141 151 141 040 101 167 141 151 164 163.
Land Live Remain On Path New Gaia Awaits