Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel
Page 9
"Is this your first ride in a space elevator?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Splendid. You will never forget it."
Unfortunately, she was right...
29
982 meters per second.
That's how fast the climber module shot down the plasto-nanotube system.
Bellrock could see the entry into Mars' thin atmosphere through the transparent walls.
Well, as much as his EVA suit allowed him to crane his neck.
To be honest, it didn't look that fast at all—more like a cozy flight through the orbit. Maybe it was the ergo pod that wrapped around his suit, or some other stabilizing technology of the climber module, but Bellrock could swear he didn't even feel one G on his body. He straightened his neck and glanced at the 'invisible' ceiling and saw the Ares Nexus ringstation shrinking in size. Before he knew it, only its iconic, white halo remained visible, piercing through the black of space like a beacon.
Soon, the clouds of Mars swallowed it up, too.
Red Planet, here I come.
30
"Entering the Ares Midlands spaceport in T-minus 53 seconds," eLoom said from her pod.
Bellrock, unable to look down due to the restrictions of his ergo wrap, noticed white structures emerging. Dagger-shaped skyscrapers scratched at the Martian atmosphere.
"Please breathe in responsibly and enjoy the planet with care."
eLoom automatically skewed the seats to a 30 degree angle and deactivated them. The vibrations stopped. Bellrock was free to stand up again. The hatch of the climber module opened sideways. eLoom stretched her limbs and stepped out first, followed by her asset.
"How was the lift flight?"
Even eVax cocked his eyebrow. Guess he was just as curious as her, although he tried his best to hide that fact. Bellrock said,
“We’ve made it in one piece, that's all that matters."
Rao answered, too.
"It reminded me of sleeping in an aqua pod. I have to say—your liquid seating is amazing. It seemed to absorb at least 50% of the vibrations."
eVax rolled his eyes.
"88.6 percent to be accurate. That's the power of Newtype engineering."
He started to sound like the PR department of a megacorp. Even eLoom must have grown tired of his constant snarks, because she completely ignored his jabberings. She focused on Bellrock and waved him and the doctor over like a maid welcoming boys to a frat party.
"We are taking the tube to the MagLev station, from where we will travel toward the outpost nearest to the biomorph. As you can see, we have everything planned for you."
"Well, that's the deal," Bellrock said and followed her into the spaceport's tube system. Hundreds of Newtype marched through the hall, accompanied by their assets, low-flying drones and walkers. Most of which looked like oversized, cybernetic insects. Despite the traffic, every one seemed to follow a pattern where each unit fitted into the greater whole.
eLoom took charge and rotated her head.
"Oh, and you can take off your helmet. Like the climber unit, we have made this a welcoming place for humanoids like you—in fact, we wanted this planet to be a center for a cultural encounter. We believe that humans and Newtype alike will live and work in peace on Mars."
If there's a future for this planet, that is.
Bellrock flipped open his helmet and stopped the oxygen recycler. Dr. Rao followed up and breathed in the air from the spaceport's life support system. The oxygen tasted sweet and refreshing. It reminded Bellrock of bubblegum with mint flavor. Asset eKazumi schlepped the mobile creates and gearbacks with her exoskeleton. She stuffed them into the capsule of the nearby tube opening before she flushed with it. Bellrock was just about to enter the tube when he felt eVax' breath on his back.
"Please don't vomit over eLoom again."
Dr. Rao whispered something but Bellrock decided to ignore it.
"Don't worry. If I feel something creeping up my gamut, I make sure I aim at your direction first."
Facepalm on Dr. Rao right there. eVax groaned as he climbed into the one-man capsule in a melodramatic way. Bellrock followed up with his partner and traveled through the pipelined transportation system. Before he could even think about his destination, he was already there.
A whoosh was all it took.
The second he stepped out in front of the spaceport's many exists, eLoom and eKazumi greeted him like interplanetary tour guide sisters. Bellrock noticed a platform with dozens of Newtype in different gears traversing the deck. Some wore regular skintight tech uniforms, others owned some kind of bulky attachments or even extra arms that seemed to merge with their body. When the Earthlings approached the platform, every Newtype in the area craned their necks and gazed at the duo with mouths wide open. A genderless unit touched Dr. Rao's curly hair and grinned with bewilderment.
"Magnificent. I have never seen a primate with my own optical sensors."
"Nice to meet you, too."
A half-circle gathered around the travelers from Earth. It was surreal for Bellrock, to say the least. Here he was, on a planet millions of miles away from home, standing on their MagLev platform with a hostile alien not too far away, and he and the doc were the most exotic organisms around. The young scientist seemed smitten, almost enamored with the units that looked like females. They touched his skin and hair—Dr. Rao's little groupie moment.
Bellrock stepped next to him and entered his whispering range.
"I have to disappoint you, doc. Not a single one of them carries genitals. You have more luck impregnating a crowbar."
The doc frowned and sent Bellrock a stare filled with vitriol.
"I'm a xenologist, remember? I probably know more about Newtype than you do, sir."
Bellrock was surprised by the aggression of his statement. The doc must have realized that too, because he quickly shifted his attention back to the Newtype group. One unit of the androgynous-looking crowd stepped forward and focused on the captain exclusively.
"Hello Mr. Bellrock, is that the proper way to address you?"
His actual rank was that of a captain, so a 'sir' was more adequate, but who cared. The Newtype didn't seem to have any chain of command anyways.
"Yeah."
The genderless unit said,
"We are pleased to meet you, Mr. Bellrock and Dr. Rao. We hope your arrival will mark the beginning of a new harmonious relationship between our races.”
"Well, we see how it goes."
He faced eLoom and whispered.
"How do they know our names?"
"Through the network. Every active unit is connected to it."
Bellrock nodded. Their version of the net must have been some kind of omnipresent cloud that stored every Newtype's consciousness in real-time. Basically the commlink on steroids.
Interesting...
And twice as scary, which it didn't feel like, since every Newtype looked so pleasant on the surface. All of them sported Caucasian, Asian and African features. As if a mad scientist took every human ethnicity on Earth, mashed them together and added some cybernetic upgrades to their bodies.
"What is the matter?" eVax said.
His question came with a sliver of hostility.
"Nothing. I just realized every Newtype looks basically like a Brazilian."
eLoom's sharp ears wiggled.
"What is a Brazilian?"
"Ah, it's someone from Brazil, a territory back on Earth. Famous for its melting pot culture. My ancestors on my mother's side came from there. If you ever want to visit my home planet, you should check it out."
"That sounds lovely. I am going to check out the data points on the network and learn all about it."
"Do that."
eVax approached him from behind and deepened his voice.
"I do not want to interrupt your little superficial chit-chat, but let me remind you that we are on a high-priority mission to gauge the biomorph's threat level."
The sucker was right for once.
Almost.
eLoom updated the announcement. Since the Earthlings weren't connected to their network, she had to voice every status to them.
"MagLev inbound in T-minus 24 seconds. Target Destination: FO.”
eLoom clapped her hands.
She was so easy to excite.
"We will hover to a station close to the biomorph's impact crater—we call it the Farsight Optimal. And even though it springs from the conflict-ridden days, it is still an impressive outlet with many upgrades and production facilities, allowing for intensive R&D."
Dr. Rao seemed to be the only one impressed about it.
"I can't wait to check it out."
Me too, Bellrock thought, albeit for different reasons...
31
Distance to the biomorph: 1.223 kilometers.
First the ringstation.
Then the tube transportation.
After that, the space elevator.
And now the MagLev.
Bellrock hated to admit it—the Newtype were brilliant at engineering. No wonder they had so many advantages in the Separatist War. As his favorite J-pop droned from his commlink, Bellrock inspected the interior design of his train which offered the same ergonomic design as the ringstation. It started to look samey samey, but this uniformity of tech would allow for maximum inter-connectedness between all the ground-and space-based vessels. But that was off-topic. This situation demanded his attention.
Group inspection time.
eLoom sat sandwiched between her asset and eVax. She eyed Bellrock with apparent amusement.
"You can close your mouth now."
"I wasn't drooling, I was just thinking about today's operation."
Little grey lie, but it was true.
The more he neared the creature, the more his enhanced muscles sizzled. All this sightseeing was revealing, but it mellowed his battle readiness.
This wasn't a tour trip.
There was a hostile organism on this planet, threatening intelligent life. Bellrock had to constantly remember that fact because everything was so clean and calm. He tilted his head toward Dr. Rao and whispered,
"Remember doc—we'll approach the biomorph within the safety perimeters, snap some hyper-resolution scans, do some basic analysis and send the information back to the AC's satellite network. Then we're out of here."
The young scientist looked out of the transparent wall and nodded. He seemed still upset about the previous Newtype comment. Bellrock ignored his little spiel and addressed eLoom. She even crossed her legs and had her arms spread, demanding more of the seating space around her. Despite her artificial talking style, she almost seemed human.
Bellrock said,
"You're going to help us with the long-distance transmission, right?"
"Of course," she said matter-of-factly.
"We can transmit data via the extranet, which is a series of buoys placed across our sector. They were specifically designed to enable real-time communication between vast distances."
"Sounds like a plan."
Good.
Bellrock watched the surface of Mars flashing by. It wasn't as terraformed as he had thought. The landscape still appeared canyon-like, colored in various red tones. But he recognized domes and gravball field-sized parcels fitted with massive solar panels. He also detected factory-styled buildings in organic shapes, maybe refineries for the Martian resources. He knew the red planet was rich in carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, available in readily accessible forms such as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, water ice and permafrost. In the far distance, Bellrock recognized sharp, mechanical structures that protruded from the crimson soil like giant thorns. He had no idea what their purpose was, but it wouldn't surprise him if they carried a military function.
"What is the matter?"
eVax again, carrying a low-level of acid in his voice.
The Newtype couldn't probably read his mind, but he must have sniffed out Bellrock's suspicion.
"What do you have inside these giant domes?"
"These are life habitats for our compeers which also store cargo."
"And those streamlined structures that look like antennas with rifle barrels?"
eLoom wanted to answer that one, but eVax intervened.
"I fail to see how that is relevant for your mission success."
"It isn't. I was just making smalltalk."
"According to our agreement, we are required to assist your biomorph assessment. We do not need to disclose any information about our colony that is not related to the operation."
What a douchecrack, blabbering straight from the book of conduct. It was both scary and hilarious to see that bureaucratic jargon flourished even over 55,000,000 kilometers away from Earth.
"If you say so."
Bellrock's fingers were itching.
Enough with the blahblah.
Bring on the big sensation. All this smalltalk and sightseeing tired him more than the sleep inside the Pilgrim II. Besides, it was remarkable how everyone stayed calm around here—not a single Newtype in the spaceport seemed worried about a hostile life form having crash-landed on their planet. Either they were all incapable of feeling emotions, or they were so divorced from reality that they couldn't gauge the real danger. Or maybe they did really possess the know-how and technology to deal with it.
Well, he was going to find out very soon.
During his pondering, eLoom translated the latest update from her B2B connection.
"We'll be arriving at the Farsight facility shortly. ETA: 19 minutes and 34 seconds."
Finally.
Bellrock addressed Dr. Rao to his right and winked.
Secret speech for Get Ready.
Conflict was incoming...
32
Distance to the biomorph: 277.5 kilometers.
The MagLev came to a humming halt at the outpost's platform which was shielded from the Martian atmosphere. The Earthlings and Newtype stepped through the slide door and touched ground. Bellrock scanned the perimeter—the station was embedded into the facility itself. eLoom took charge and led everyone to the main corridor which opened up its shutter gate. Dr. Rao arrived last and touched the surface of the white hull.
"I'm curious—how does it function?"
eVax wanted to speak again, but eLoom was faster.
"It is a smart bioplast. It can change its consistency on the nano level, depending on the temperature."
"Can it absorb sunlight?"
"Of course."
Dr. Rao nodded with an approving smile.
"So the entire surface structure is basically an endless array of morphable solar cells?"
"That is correct," eLoom said. "Every Newtype cluster is self-sustainable. That is why a lot of the structures can be set apart thousands of kilometers without being connected to a centralized power grid."
Bellrock soaked up all the information.
This was the hotzone now, and he had to become vigilant. Every information about the perimeter would help him deal with the real threat. eLoom concluded the tour by guiding them to the central intersection of the Farsight Optimal facility.
Curved corridors wherever he looked.
"You have only a handful of folks operating the entire facility?"
"As you may know, we believe in sustainability. The majority of the station is automatized, and with the assistance of the Exec, a couple of Newtype can handle the workload of at least a hundred humans. Efficiency, you see."
eVax grinned next to her.
Bellrock swore, every time these shells boasted with their so-called superiority, he moved one step closer to punching their smug faces with an enhanced fist.
"Let's just get moving."
They strolled by a room with rows of displays and dashboards. A couple of Newtype were hooked to the system and seemed to remote-control unmanned robots.
eLoom clarifie
d.
"They are operating the droids that supervise the biomorph inside the containment area. Do you want to see the footage?"
"I want to see the biomorph with my own eyes. We've wasted enough time with the traveling."
"But don't you need time to prepare?"
Bellrock looked at the doctor who unpacked his drone equipment.
"You're all geared up?"
"Ready to recon, sir."
Bellrock faced eLoom with the brightest smile.
"You see? My man is fit for action. I guess that's human passion."
He paused.
"Besides, Earth is dying to know what's going on with the creature. Let's not disappoint billions of people by wasting any more of their tax money."
"Very well," eLoom said, "I'll lead you right there."
She waved her asset and eVax over but Bellrock intervened.
"I think Mr. Passive-Aggressive over here can cool down inside the station. He's a bit too wired up for a field trip. I can't have an unpredictable bomb joining this high priority operation."
eVax stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. His blue orbs shone through the slits.
"Whom do you call a bomb you monkey?"
"See?"
eLoom mediated.
"The Exec have assigned eVax to our mission."
"Well, he can stay here and protect the facility or something. You and your asset, that's all we need."
She looked at eVax who ignored the duo from Earth. As far as Bellrock could tell, the shell was infuriated.
Let's see if his rage could cook up his plastic body.
"You can not be serious. You do not have the authority to make that request."
eLoom nudged his left arm.
Bellrock watched them. The Newtype stared at each other without moving lips or eyes. He guessed that they spoke via their internal B2B connection again, arguing whether to accept his request or not. eVax twitched, which put a smile on Bellrock's face. He realized who had won the discussion.
eVax moved away and spoke to eLoom in a clear voice.
"If that human causes any trouble, send me one ping and I come to your aid."