Those Left Behind

by Alan Davenport

  Lucy, with the barest shake of her head indicated that she had no questions. James gulped and shook his head no as well. Ryan was the only one to pipe up. “Madam, I request that we be allowed to take a repair bot with us. You never know what we may encounter.”

  Martha nodded and said, “Request approved. You may take one robot of your choosing.” When the trio stood still waiting for her to continue, she turned to them and said, “Dismissed. You are to prepare and leave immediately.”

  With that the trio hurried out of the chamber. When they were just outside the door, they heard the room erupt into chaos again and Martha’s powerful voice bellowing. When they were far enough away that Martha couldn’t hear them any longer, James shouted vehemently, “Bloody hell!”

  Chapter 20

  Mary stared in awe of the machine that 12 and 41 had created. She expected something that looked cobbled together, however what sat before her was an elegant machine of gleaming stainless-steel tanks and shiny ceramic pipes. It emitted a faint whirring sound and the phosphoric acid it manufactured dripped from the end of one of the ceramic tubes into a blue plastic fifty-five-gallon barrel which sat in the bed of a utility vehicle.

  41 and 12 stood beside the machine adjusting valves. Mary walked up beside them and said, “This is amazing!” She ran her hand over its surface and said, “This does not look like something that was manufactured from scratch.”

  Mary laughed when both bots simultaneously bobbed their cameras up and down. 41 said, “Thank you for the kind words Mary.” With an unmistakable note of pride in his voice he added, “12 and I are very proud of our work.”

  12 piped up. “It is even more efficient than we initially predicted. It will only take one point two-seven days for it to fill that barrel.”

  Mary patted them both on their camera housings and said, “Good job.” She let out a little giggle when they both bobbed their cameras up and down at her words. Mary looked at the machine thoughtfully and asked, “Does it require constant monitoring?”

  12 nodded and said, “Yes, we did not build in automatic controls. That would have increased the build time considerably.”

  “Do both of you need to monitor it or can one of you handle the job?” she wanted to know.

  12 shook his head and said, “No. The machine only requires one of us to run it. Why do you ask?”

  Mary laughed and said, “I want to get to work on repairing the tunnel. I can only take so much more of the three-hundred-year-old food that had been rejected by the technical wing colonists.”

  303, who was standing alongside Mary laughed and said, “Yes, please let Mary begin.” He looked at 12 and 41 and said, “You are repair robots. You would not use fluids or components that would cause a malfunction. The old, poor quality food is causing my patient Mary gastric distress. The sooner we can get her back to the real food in the farming wing the better!”

  41 laughed and said, “I would be pleased to show you how to operate the machine Mary. The tunneling machine will be at 100% charge by now. Please follow me and we can begin immediately.”

  Mary did not have to be asked twice. She moved behind 41 and said, “Lead the way!”

  41 led Mary down a tunnel away from the place where the digging machine sat. Mary tapped him on his camera stalk and said, “Um, aren’t we going the wrong way?”

  41 nodded and said, “Yes, we are, however we need to acquire some safety gear first. Operating the digging machine is hazardous. I need to get you a hard hat, a respirator, safety goggles and steel-toed boots.”

  Mary giggled and said, “I will look like a construction worker from an old video.”

  “Perhaps Mary,” he said. “However, your safety is paramount. Rocks could hit you in the head or on the feet. Also, the machine produces a lot of dust and debris. That is the reason for the eye and lung protection.”

  “I understand,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong. I was not resisting your suggestions. I just laughed when I thought about how I would look. That is all.”

  41 nodded and led her to a large cabinet. “Please put the equipment on now. We need to ensure that it fits properly.”

  Mary quickly dressed in her new gear. “How do I look?” she asked 41. Before he could respond she burst out laughing. She reached out her arm, made a grasping motion with her hand and said, “I am your father, Luke!”

  41 looked at her curiously. “Are you alright, Mary?”

  This made Mary laugh even harder. “It’s just…” she sputtered out between giggles, “It’s just that I sound like Darth Vader with this respirator on.” When 41 continued to study her closely and said nothing, Mary laughed some more and said, “Never mind. What do we need to do next?”

  41, sounding relieved to change the subject said, “We need to go to the vehicle garage. I need to acquire a utility vehicle with a scoop on the front and a bin to hold the crushed rock that the digger produces. I will use it to haul away the debris and deposit it in an unused tunnel.”

  Mary nodded and said, “Makes sense.” She inclined her head and happily said, “Let’s go.”

  41 sat in a slot designed to fit him and Mary rode in a passenger seat on the trip to the digger. Mary’s face beamed with joy. “This is so much fun!” she exclaimed. She inclined her head back towards the vehicle garage and said, “If we had even a couple of those vehicles back in the farming wing we would have had it so much easier.”

  41 nodded and said, “Soon you shall, Mary.” He halted the excavator and said, “I need to instruct you on how to operate the digger. Are you ready to learn?”

  Mary was more than ready. “Yes please!” she said, hardly able to control her excitement.

  “Okay,” 41 began, “The first thing that you need to do is to switch it on. You already know how to do this. The machine has powerful work lights. A switch on the dashboard next to the power switch turns them on.”

  “To make it move, there are two long handled levers on either side of the driver’s seat. The left-hand lever controls the left-hand tread and the right-hand lever controls the right-hand tread. Each tread operates independently. The further you push each lever, the faster the tread will go. If you push the lever forward, that tread will move forward. If you pull it back, it will move in reverse. If you wish to move forward you will push both levers forward at the same time. If you wish to turn you can either push one lever more than the other or even push one forward and pull the other one in reverse. The machine can turn around in its own length if you do this.”

  “To start the counter-rotating tunnel boring heads there is a large lever on the dashboard. To the right of the lever is an adjustment control that controls whether or not you are going up, down or digging a level tunnel. Pay attention to the gauge next to this control to help you stay on course. When you wish to tunnel you will need to move as slowly as possible to allow the cutting heads time to chew away at the rock. They rotate towards each other. A chute with a conveyor belt in the center of the underside carries the debris and ejects it behind the machine. I will use this excavator to carry the ejecta off.” 41 looked at Mary and said, “Do you have any questions?”

  Wide eyed, Mary shook her head no. She was barely containing her excitement. 41 nodded and resumed driving. They shortly arrived and he got out of the excavator and disconnected the charge cable from the digging machine and moved it aside. “I have some further instructions for you before you begin Mary.” When she nodded he continued, “The machine has not moved in over three centuries. It very well may be rusted solid and will not be able to move and I will have to try lubricating the mechanisms in place. First, I want you to pull the levers backwards VERY GENTLY,” he emphasized. “If it does not move, pull them a little harder. If that still does not move, try pushing them FORWARD and then reverse. Repeat this several times. This rocking motion may break the rust and allow the digger to move. At no time should you push the levers all the way forward or back. Remember, GENTLE pushes and pulls on the levers. Do you have any questions?
”

  Mary, despite her excitement gulped and shook her head no.

  “Alright then Mary. Please enter the machine and begin.”

  Mary clambered up and into the driver’s seat. As she reached for the power switch 41 shouted up to her, “If at any time you smell smoke, immediately shut the machine off and exit as quickly as you can.” Mary looked over her shoulder and shook her head indicating understanding. “Well here goes nothing,” she said to herself and flicked on the power. Instantly the machine shuddered and emitted a series of clicks as it ran a battery of self-tests. A second later the screen flashed green and displayed ‘Ready’.

  Mary took a deep breath and switched on the work lights. She winced at their brilliance. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed both levers and gently pulled them back. The machine let out a deep hum, almost too low to hear. The hum was more of a vibration that she felt in the seat of her pants rather than a sound she heard with her ears. It did not move. She tried again, pulling harder this time. The only difference was this time that the deep hum was a bit louder. It still did not move. She tried pushing them forward and pulling them back several times. It still didn’t move. 41 called up to her, “Shut it off Mary. I am going to have to try and lubricate it where it sits.”

  Mary shook her head and called down, “I am not done yet.” Against 41’s instructions she began pushing and pulling the levers most of the way. 41 shouted at her, “Stop it Mary, you will burn out the motors!” Mary muttered, “All or nothing!” She ignored him and pulled both levers all the way back. The hum that the machine made was nearly deafening and then with a loud screech of tortured metal and a cloud of blood-red rust dust, the treads broke free and the machine rumbled backwards into the tunnel. She skillfully rotated the digger so that it faced in the direction of the cave-in, shut it off and climbed down. With a huge grin upon her face she said, “There you go 41, you may now service the lubrication ports.”

  Mary swore that 41 was in shock. He did not say anything for several seconds and then he lurched forward and said, “I shall get to work immediately,” and then went and fetched his tools from the excavator.

  For the next half-hour, 41 methodically checked over and lubricated each grease port and moving surface. Mary found the wait excruciating, however she understood his reasoning. After the half-hour of eternity passed, 41 rolled over to her and said, “The machine is now repaired. I have one further task to perform.” He took a USB cable and attached it to himself and to a similar jack near the digger’s charging cable port. After a few seconds, he removed the cable.

  “What was that?” Mary wanted to know.

  41 nodded at her and said, “I have uploaded the route from our end of the cave-in to where it connects with the cave-in in the farming wing. You will be able to see if you are deviating off course on the LCD screen on the dash. This way you may make corrections.”

  Mary nodded and said, “I was wondering about that. Thank you. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?”

  “Yes, there are a couple more things,” 41 said. “First, the machine will move a LOT easier now. Remember to use minimal pressure on the levers. Second, remember that the machine is LARGE. It barely fits inside the tunnels since it was this very machine that dug them in the first place. There may be obstructions. We may have to stop and move things out of the way on our way to the dig site.”

  “Understood.” Mary looked thoughtful. “How long will it take us to repair the tunnel?”

  “I can only give a rough estimate, Mary.” 41 paused a second and then said, “I have calculated that the cave-in is approximately two hundred and seventy meters long. This machine moves very slowly while in dig mode. We do not know the hardness of the rock we will be digging through. Also, since this is your first time driving it. You will not be at peak efficiency.” 41 paused again and then said, “Given these variables, my best estimate is that it will take seven hours and eighteen minutes to clear the blockage.”

  Mary laughed and said, “What? No seconds or tenths of seconds in your estimate?”

  41 looked at her for a couple seconds and then said, “Be serious, Mary.”

  She laughed and said, “Sorry,” and then she hopped into the driver’s seat.

  They had to stop twice to move items out of the way however soon they were at the cave-in. Some trash sat discarded at the end of the tunnel. 41 called up to Mary, “We will have to move that out of the way before you may begin.”

  “Nonsense,” Mary said, shaking her head. “I’ll just chew through it with the machine.” Mary tapped the LCD screen to bring up the navigation map and switched on the counter-rotating digging heads. The machine hummed with power as Mary, with a face-splitting grin, angled the machine towards the rock face and began chewing her way towards her home.

  Chapter 21

  Martha, Ryan, James, Lucy and the repair bot rode in silence in a small travel vehicle towards the train station. As soon as they arrived, Ryan tapped the station’s touch screen and called for a train. James thought to himself, “Oh this just keeps getting better and better. Good grief, The Dragon Lady is coming with us too?”

  Martha, as if reading his mind, looked at James and said, “No, I am not coming with you.” She turned and faced the small group and said, “I wanted to see you off personally because I have something to say to you that I did not want to be overheard by any others.” She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths and said, “The food crisis is a lot worse than is common knowledge. While the farmers have cured the blight that attacked our hydroponic farms, a serious food shortage will exist until they are able to bring in another harvest.” She looked them directly in the eyes and said, “This is why I started the initiative to create the outdoor farms. We need to diversify our food production so we are never put at risk again.” With a deep sigh, she finished up by saying, “Your number one priority, assuming that you cannot fulfill all of your goals, is to see if they can help us with our food shortfall. To summarize, your primary goal is to contact the leaders of colony number seventy-six and to offer our assistance, if they need it, in exchange for food.”

  Lucy gave the barest of nods to indicate her understanding. Ryan stood up straight and said, “I will do my best, Madam.” James, looking very uncomfortable, nodded as well. Martha walked up to him, smiled, laid her hand upon his shoulder and said, “Relax James. You are made of stronger stuff than you realize. You will be fine. I would not be sending you if I did not have complete faith in your abilities.” James’s face relaxed and he nodded. Martha finished up by saying, “Think of it as an adventure.”

  To everyone’s surprise, Martha walked up to the maintenance robot and said, “Eleven Oh Five, you may very well be the most important member of this expedition. If there are any mechanical problems with the train it will be up to you to save everybody.”

  1105 bobbed his cameras up and down and he said, “I shall do my best, Colony Leader Martha Turner.”

  Any further conversation was cut short when the train rumbled to a stop at the station. Its only similarity to the trains that used to travel upon the surface was that it ran on tracks. Sparks flew from its wheels and they squealed in protest as they rolled over the heavily rusted rails. The train itself was an aerodynamic cylinder with severely pointed front and back ends. After it rolled to a stop, a door in the side opened and swung upwards. A ramp extended and landed upon the platform with a squeak and a thud. Lights snapped on inside and a speaker said, “All aboard. Please press the red button when you are ready to depart.”

  Lucy immediately went aboard and scanned the interior. A few seconds later she stuck her head out and said, “All clear,” and everyone got onboard.

  James muttered, half under his breath, “Well, what did she expect? This bloody thing probably has not moved in a hundred years.”

  Ryan shook his head and said, “Relax James. You are too tense. She is just doing her job.”

  James sighed and admitted, “Yeah. I know that you are right. I AM nervous. W
hat I don’t understand is why you are not!”

  “Are you kidding?” asked Ryan incredulously, “This is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in my entire lifetime. I can’t wait to see colony number seventy-six!”

  James’s face lit up in surprise. He laughed and said, “As usual, my friend, you are correct. Let’s get going!”

  “Well, perhaps we should load our supplies first,” Ryan said, pointing to the back of the travel cart.”

  With a chuckle he said, “Of course!” and went and grabbed an armful of gear.

  1105 rolled aboard and moved to the front of the car. He immediately began running diagnostics from an engineer’s console. After several seconds he said, “The vehicle is not at 100% efficiency, however I have high confidence that despite the shortcomings it will be able to deliver us safely to colony number seventy-six.”

  Ryan, who was watching over 1105’s shoulders, said, “Thank you 1105. Please remain in the engineering position while we are underway. Especially monitor the obstruction detection radar for rocks and rubble on the rails.”

  1105 nodded his cameras and said, “I understand Ryan Grey. I will monitor the radar closely the whole way.”

  Ryan patted the robot on its camera stalk and said, “Good robot.”

  James laughed and said, “You always treat robots as if they were alive. It is just programming, Ryan.”

  1105 swung his cameras at James and said, “And you always yell at me, James Zeus. I do not appreciate that at all.” He bobbed his cameras up and down and said, “It is not just programming, James Zeus, I am fully self-aware.”