“Nor is it likely you will ever see me act like that again. Acting like that disgusts me,” Larissa replied. She was her usual cold, rational, and controlled self again. “But I learned what I needed to know. That was not a person.”
“What?” Brinley asked in shock. “I was about to tell you that that Chief Gefreiter is the person that the androids, at least one of them, was modeled upon.”
“Indeed, it does match those mechanicals we discovered. However that thing which spoke to us was an android, to use your term, a mechanical construct imitating a person,” Larissa responded. “You too noted how it was the same as the bodies in that workshop? That confirms it.”
“That workshop is where you murdered Zoya and her mother,” Brinley said in anger. “How can I forget that?”
“Do not forget that. Brinley, never forget that. But now consider what we have just learned. The Central Planning Office is using mechanical constructs in its staff,” Larissa said. “That midshipman and that Chief Gefreiter were not people.”
“How do you know that was not the original person, and the androids are just copies? She looked genuine and sounded real to me. They both looked real to me. They are probably just the original people who the androids are copies of, right?”
Larissa’s cold blue eyes looked at Brinley. “I have interrogated many people under a variety of stress situations, many people. I know what to look for in emotional responses. There are many markers which a person cannot hide: pupil dilation, breath rate, sweating, and so many others. That mechanical construct superficially looked and acted real enough, but when I used emotional manipulation the responses were wrong, flat, inappropriate. It is a mechanical construct, not a person, I am certain of that. No real person responds to tragedy, personal’s gratitude, or praise like that.”
“You are confident of that?” Brinley stated. “The CPO, they are androids? That would fit with the midshipman not recognizing me, even though I have interacted with him before.” Brinley paused. “Or perhaps it was an identical duplicate android.”
“I suppose you will insist on using that antiquated word, android. Yes, the two officers of the CPO we just spoke with are androids. I have not personally interacted with the Commander level staff or the Captain. I do wonder if any of them are real people. Remember, these are the ones who ordered the replacement of the macroactinid capacitor enhancers which caused your shuttles to be shot down. I did not order that, those mechanical constructs did.”
“You have more deaths on your hands than I can count,” Brinley spat out in anger.
“True. I readily admit to that. However, those things, the androids, are what ordered the Free Ranger shuttles to be shot apart, not me.” Larissa was confident in her words and body language. “The CPO controls the lattice, and the AIs only do what they are told to do.”
“The controlling organization for the Vanguard… they are…are not people? The CPO, they are all androids?” Brinley was astounded. “How could that be?”
“The origins do not matter much right now. With these Jellie enemies, stopping them is our main focus. Now it remains to be seen if the CPO is an ally or another enemy. We will learn soon enough whether they give us our supplies or not,” Larissa stated. She walked away down the corridor following the map in her mind.
Brinley followed, unsure of what was happening, and even more uncertain of just who was the real enemy.
13 bridging the gap
Paul, Gretchen, and the automacube with Tiffany took the elevator down only one level and then got off.
“We cannot trust that elevator. It might trap us inside,” Paul said. “I need time to think and figure out what to do. We got our supplies, but then that AI turned on us. Why does this always happen? Nothing ever works right for me. I get some supplies, and then get chased away. We even lost the data stick. I am so frustrated!”
“Why did we get off here,” Gretchen asked. “We need to be looking for Brinley.
“It was my doing that led us here,” Tiffany replied. “I had to override the elevator’s controls just to get it to open and bring us here. The nonphysicality is difficult to traverse at this time. Something very large and complicated is happening.
“I still need to load this pistol,” Paul said. He then looked around at where they had gotten off the elevator. The corridor that led away from the elevator doors was narrow and odd shaped. The ceiling was canted at about a twenty degree angle and the side walls were not vertical, but rather bowed out a bit at the center, and then angled to meet the slanted ceiling. The side walls were a reddish gold color with struts of a brown. The struts were located about even three meters. There was blue colored light shining from beside the struts and that cast light over the hallway.
They proceeded down the corridor and came to where it divided and went two separate ways. There was graffiti on the wall in green hand painted letters. ‘No Escape’ was written in one style on the corridor wall which turned to the left, and in the other direction was written, ‘We are doomed’ both in different styles, but in the same green color.
“Wonderful,” Paul said. “What does that tell us? Do the Roe write messages now? Or is this from the aliens? Maybe Larissa is sending us a message?”
“Paul, I have no way to decipher those messages, beyond the surface meaning,” Tiffany replied. “We have not seen any evidence than the Roe can write.”
“Tiffany, you said that Brinley was in another cylinder or habitat. How do we try to get there from here?” Gretchen asked.
“Gretchen,” Paul answered, “We can try to fly there in a shuttle and get shot apart, or we can drive there in some bubble cuboid on the surface of the Vanguard, or take one of the oh so reliable transport vehicles. There are lots of ways we can try to get somewhere. Maybe we could even rebuild our own teleportation system and go back to Dome 17? How would that be?”
“Paul, I am very stressed too,” Gretchen said as carefully and gently as she could. “But we need to try to rescue Brinley.”
“Yes,” Paul said. “I am sorry. I am just so overwhelmed. Tiffany, how do we get to Brinley?”
“All the methods of transportation are valid considerations, even the teleportation one,” The AI replied. “However, our options are limited. I am hoping we can find an external repair station and actually get a visualization on where we are in relation to the other habitat. The limited deck plans I have, compared to the directional tracking of the communication link, are giving me information which is hard to harmonize.”
“We could really teleport to her location?” Paul asked with a small measure of enthusiasm.
“That would require the building of a sending pad as well as a receiving pad. The receiving pad would need to be at Brinley’s location already. The problem is similar to what we faced coming here to the Vanguard,” Tiffany stated.
“So do we chose, ‘No Escape’ or ‘We are doomed’?” Paul asked. “Neither is appealing.”
Gretchen pulled off her backpack and removed the molecular torch. She shaved off an edge from the corner of the walls. “Here, be sure to load the pistol. It will make this into ammunition. We have not seen a Roe for a while, and whoever wrote those things did it as a warning.”
Paul took the chunk of permalloy and fed it into the ammunition chamber. The pistol snapped shut. He wondered how long it would take before it was functional, there was a small green indicator light on the side of the pistol. If he recalled Willie’s instructions correctly, that showed its ammunition supply level. It was now full. Near that was the selector lever which controlled projectile strength, set now at medium.
“Tiffany, does the tracking suggest either one as a better choice?” Gretchen asked as she packed the molecular torch away.
“The right hand turn is slightly closer to the trajectory, but the amount is minimal.
“Then ‘We are doomed’ it is,” said Paul and he led them down that corridor.
Blam!
A bullet ricocheted off the wall near where Paul was standing. He fe
ll to the deck, as did Gretchen.
“Who is trying to kill me now?” Paul cried out as he looked to the sides of the corridor.
The corridor appeared empty for as far as he could see. It came to an end roughly twenty meters ahead, but there were pillars, and a few doorways between there and where Paul was lying prone on the deck.
Tiffany had the orange automacube quickly roll beyond where Paul and Gretchen were to place it between them and whatever was firing. “I will provide as much cover with this automacube as possible. I suggest we back away.”
Paul and Gretchen scurried to crouch down behind the automacube.
“Who is out there?” a voice came from down the corridor.
“I see an automacube.” The second voice stated, but sounded like she was answering the first voice.
Gretchen whispered to Paul, “They are not Roe, nor those aliens. I do not think the aliens can speak, at least the spheres were silent in battle.”
“Maybe they are Larissa’s troops?” Paul whispered back.
Tiffany took the initiative. “Please identify yourselves!” Tiffany called out in a loud mechanical voice. The AI made the voice sound as much like a Vanguard AI as possible.
There was muttered speaking, but none of the words were discernable from the distance.
“Stay where you are!” a high and songlike voice called out. “Maintenance automacubes are not known to speak. Who are you?”
“We are not here to hurt anyone,” Tiffany called out. “We are refugees.”
There was another smattering of voices. The last one, a man’s voice said, “I will go ask Jodie.”
Paul heard that. “Is that Jodie the Minstrel? I promise I am not Feegin the Thief!”
There was a small chuckle of relief. Then the woman’s singsong voice came back. “What do you know of Feegin the Thief?”
Gretchen answered, “I like the music, but I will not tell you where I am from.” She hoped she was remembering the play correctly.
Again there were low voices, and then the singsong female voice responded, “You must be Free Rangers. Come ahead slowly, and no tricks.”
Gretchen started to get up. Paul grabbed her by the arm and held her down. “I will go. If they kill me, you can still get away.”
Before Gretchen could say anything, Paul leaped to his feet and started to walk forward. “I am Paul the Comedian. I come from the dying Earth looking for a place of refuge. I can pilot a ship in faster-than-light speed, and know lots of great things.”
“Jillian, I know that man. I have heard him on Inaccessible Island. He is not very funny,” the male voice stated. “He is a Free Ranger, I am sure of it.”
“What do you mean I am not very funny? I am telling you the truth. I flew to the Vanguard in a small scout ship and since then animals, people, and monsters have been trying to kill me. Even you have shot at me. I think that is very funny indeed. Oh yes, life is so very funny!” Paul laughed a bit, but not in humor.
“I do see what you mean, Sebastian. He is not very funny at all,” Jillian replied with her musical voice. She then yelled, “You can all come forward, but if this is a CPO trick you will all die.”
Paul walked forward toward where he heard the voices. He still had not seen their place of concealment.
Gretchen stood up behind the automacube and called out, “I am Gretchen. We are not with the CPO.”
“Jillian, I remember that beautiful woman too! She is also a Free Ranger,” Sebastian stated.
“Yes, I am not surprised you remember a beautiful woman,” Jillian said.
Paul had reached the point where he could now see that these people had set up their defense inside of two doorways which were each just behind a pillar set in the wall. The rooms had some with supplies and bedding and other implements, but there were more empty containers than full ones. Jillian was on one side, and the man Sebastian was on the other.
“Sorry about shooting at you,” Jillian said. “I thought you were another Roe.” Jillian was short, slender, and petite with very pale skin, large eyes, and blonde hair. She held a handgun and wore a light blouse and kaki colored pants. “The Roe were thick here, and it took much of our effort to secure this into a semi-safe area. We lost several good people. Always save one for yourself.” Jillian said and nodded at her handgun.
Gretchen and the automacube approached.
“Is that all? Just you two and a worthless automacube?” Sebastian asked of Gretchen.
“Yes, just us three,” Gretchen answered.
“Well, there are about a dozen of us left,” Sebastian stated. He was an older man with large round nose, jowls, and ruddy skin. He carried a carbine. “We crashed into the hanger bay near here after escaping from Herric’s troopers across the way. Unfortunately, it is worse here that back there. Jodie should be here shortly, Hector ran to get her when we saw you. It has been…”
Jillian interrupted him, “Yes, we are working to get back to around Oasis. Those corridors and areas are familiar to us, and here, besides the threat of more Roe, there is very little by way of supplies and equipment, and not much food at all. Our shuttle and the hanger bay here were ruined by the crash. There may be others who need to escape here as well. Like you two.”
Paul opened his backpack and took out a couple of food ration bars, “Here, this will supply your nutritional needs.”
Jillian looked at the food ration, and then returned it to Paul. “No, but thank you anyway. We need real food.”
Paul looked stunned.
Gretchen then asked, “You have a way to get to Inaccessible Island? Or to Oasis?”
“Perhaps,” Jillian responded. “We have been working to initiate the extension of a causeway. It was designed to span the distance between the end of a cylinder and the ground after planet-fall is made. We think we can get it extended and connect to A Cylinder. We saw several other shuttles crashing on this cylinder, the survivors will need a way to get back. We hope to provide that, not just for us, but for anyone who survived.”
“That is an intriguing potential,” Tiffany replied, “May I assist?”
Sebastian turned and looked at the orange automacube, “We do not need the floors polished or some rat dropping cleaned up, so no, we do not need a maintenance automacube.”
“Tiffany is more than an automacube. Tiffany is the most sophisticated artificial intelligence aboard this old ship,” Paul stated.
“More of your jokes? Just because you programmed a maintenance automacube to parrot some speech does not make it intelligent, or funny,” Sebastian snapped back.
Jodie came walking briskly down the corridor. When she saw Paul and Gretchen, she dashed forward with a huge smile on her pretty face.
“It really is you? Hector told me, but I truly doubted, with all the tragedy that has happened. “It is so good to see you both.” Her beautiful voice, seemed almost out of place amidst all the suffering and problems which had happened. She pushed a strand back over her ear of the straight black hair which hung down to her chin.
“Jodie!” Gretchen grabbed her and held her tightly.
Paul started to explain all that had been happening, but Jodie cut him short and pulled him into a group hug. The three of them held each other for a few moments.
“Zoya, and Eleonora are dead. I saw children get pulled underwater, I have been chased by wild beasts, burned by toxic plants, and now some weird sphere things have taken Brinley away,” Paul began to sob.
“More of his silly fantasy tales,” Sebastian scoffed. “It is not funny.”
Jodie broke the hug and turned to Sebastian. “It is not funny. It is not meant to be. It is the truth. I trust these people with my life.”
Sebastian did not respond but looked to Hector. The look they exchanged conveyed serious doubt about their belief in Jodie.
“Jillian, you are one of the few performers left from my minstrels. Please work with this AI Tiffany. I believe you will find she offers immense help in our project to get back to the
corridors around Oasis.” Jodie walked past Sebastian and Hector and headed along the corridor. Paul and Gretchen followed.
“You say Brinley was taken?” Jodie asked.
Gretchen quickly and accurately explained what had been happening. Jodie was shocked and very concerned.
“So you are tracking Brinley’s location, and she was taken into the Oasis cylinder?” Jodie asked.
“The communication link is there, yes,” Tiffany replied. “I am getting occasional and sporadic images back from that link, but the most recent have not added to our understanding of what has happened. I continue to transmit, but have not received a reply.”
“Hector, Sebastian, please get everyone, except the guards on duty at the open corridors, and have them meet us at the muster station by the extension causeway. Allow Tiffany to access anything that can help us,” Jodie commanded.
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 109