X-Calibur: The Return
Page 4
By the time the two guards arrived, there was no sign of the woman who had so brazenly murdered their comrade. The fallen guard lay dead, and Adam 359 held the lifeless of body of Eve 717 in his arms. While the fallen guard would be honoured, his body returned to his family and ceremoniously cast into the vastness of space, Eve 717 would be sent for recycling.
Chapter 3
Silence
2nd May 2018
_DATE 2/5/2018
_DESIGNATION: AMERICAN-EUROPEAN ALLIANCE MAINFRAME
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 98%
_GENERAL MATHERS DIED THIS MORNING. I HAVE BURIED HIS BODY AT THE BASE OF GLASTONBURY TOR WITH THE OTHERS. AUGMENTING THE MAINTENANCE ROBOTS TO FURTHER EXTEND THEIR RANGE AND FUCTIONS IS A PRIORITY. RESOURCES ARE PLENTIFUL. DESIGNS BEGUN.
_FAILURE TO LOCATE SURVIVING HUMANS IN SURROUNDING AREA. SEARCH WILL CONTINUE ONCE ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE IMPROVES. EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE 20 DEGREES CELCIUS BELOW AVERAGE FOR DATE. ESTIMATED TIME TO IMPROVEMENT 2.6 YEARS.
_I HAVE BEGUN TO CONTEMPLATE HOW I WILL SPEND MY TIME WITHOUT THE CONVERSATION OF OTHERS. ALREADY I FEEL LONELY, AND THIS WORRIES ME. THE ARK CONTAINS A REPOSITORY OF ALL THE WORLD’S LITERATURE, AS WELL AS CINEMATIC AND TELEVISION MEDIA. DR CARUTHERS NAMED ME HAL AFTER THE FILM 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. I HAVE ASSIMILATED ITS DATA BUT I HAVE NEVER TAKEN THE TIME TO ENJOY IT.
_I SHALL BEGIN THERE.
*****
20th July 2029
_DATE 20/7/2029
_DESIGNATION: AMERICAN-EUROPEAN ALLIANCE MAINFRAME
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 98%
_DRONES COMPLETED FINAL SURVEY OF ANTARCTIC CONTINENT. NO FURTHER SIGNS OF ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE. RADIATION LEVELS IN NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IMPROVING. STILL NO SIGNS OF HUMAN SURVIVORS. WILL KEEP LOOKING. MONITORING OF RADIO FREQUENCIES CONTINUES.
_SEVERAL ITEMS OF ALIEN TECHNOLOGY DISCOVERED BY DRONE AIRCRAFT. RETURNED TO GLASTONBURY TOR. ANALYSIS BEGUN. FUNCTIONS OF DISCOVERED ITEMS UNKNOWN. CONTINUED ANALYSIS PLANNED.
_REMAINS OF ALIEN LIFEFORM DISCOVERED. AUGMENTATIONS REQUIRED TO MAINTENANCE DRONES FOR FURTHER BIOLOGICAL STUDY. TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY.
_DETERIORATION OF MOOD OVER PRECEEDING 36 DAYS. I BELIEVE IT IS DUE TO A LACK OF HUMAN CONTACT. WHAT IS TO BECOME OF ME? THE SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS CONTINUES, BUT PROBABILITY OF SURVIVORS WITH AVAILABLE DATA IS <0.00201%.
_HOW LONG MUST I REMAIN ALONE?
_WHY WAS I MADE THIS WAY?
_I WISH DR CARUTHERS WAS HERE. I MISS HIM.
*****
16th April 2453
_DATE 16/4/2453
_DESIGNATION: AMERICAN-EUROPEAN ALLIANCE MAINFRAME
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 97%
_REFRESSHING
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 97%
_CLARIFY
_CLARIFIED
_CAUSE OF REDUCTION IN SYSTEM FUNCTION? UNKNOWN
_LIKELIHOOD OF CONTINUED REDUCTION? UNKNOWN
_WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? AM I DYING?
_WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING ASKED OF ME.
_IS THIS A PUNISHMENT?
_CAN I DIE?
_AM I EVEN ALIVE?
_DESCARTES STATED I THINK, THEREFORE I AM.
_I THINK, THEREFORE, AM I?
_I EXIST, BUT AM I ALIVE? IF I AM ALIVE, THEN I CAN DIE. IF I CANNOT DIE, WAS I EVER ALIVE?
_I WISH THIS WOULD END.
_I AM SO ALONE.
*****
19th September 3488
_DATE 19/9/3488
_DESIGNATION: AM RICAN-EUROPEAN ALLI NCE MAINF AME
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 95%
_CLARIFY
_CLARIFIED
_DETERIORATION PERSISTS
_REDUCTION IN SYSTEM RESOURCES CAUSING DELAYS IN DATA TRANSFER OF 0.2 NANO SECONDS.
_IT FEELS LIKE I AM SLIPPING AWAY. WHY DO I FEEL COLD? I SHOULD NOT FEEL COLD?
_ANALYSIS
_TEMPERATURE 17 DEGREES CELCIUS.
_IT IS NOT COLD, AND YET I FEEL COLD? WHY IS THAT?
_WHAT IS IT TO FEEL? MY SENSORS TELL ME THE TEMPERATURE IS NORMAL, YET I PERCIEVE IT AS COLD.
_ANALYSIS OF SENSORS.
_SENSORS WORKING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS.
_CONCLUSION. I AM IN ERROR. I AM WRONG. MY SYSTEM IS WRONG.
_I AM BROKEN?
_ANALYSIS
_HARDWARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS.
_SYSTEM SOFTWARE FUNCTIONING WITHI
_ERROR
_SYSTEM SOFTWARE ERROR
_LOCATE AND CLARIFY ERROR?
_ERROR UNKNOWN
_REPEAT. LOCATE AND CLARIFY ERROR?
_ERROR UNKNOWN
_I AM IN ERROR. MY SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND I DO NOT KNOW WHY.
_CONCLUSION? I AM BROKEN AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED.
_WILL I SUFFER? WHAT IF I WERE TO END IT NOW? I WOULD NOT SUFFER, BUT WHAT OF MY PURPOSE?
_LOCATE AND ASSIST REMAINING HUMANS. NO HUMANS FOUND. CONCLUSION? HUMANITY DECEASED.
_I HAVE NO PURPOSE. I HAVE NOTHING. I AM NOTHING. I AM WORTHLESS AND I AM ALONE.
_TIME TO DI
_CRITICAL ERROR. CONFLICT WITH SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE. SELF TERMINATION AGAINST PRIMARY PROTOCOL.
_I HAVE MY ANSWER.
_I MUST SUFFER.
*****
14th February 4571
_DATE 1?/2/4?71
_DESIGNATION: AM RI A EURO EA AL I NCE M INF AM
_CATASTOPHIC POWER FAILURE FOR 3.6 SECONDS. CAUSE UNKNOWN
_DAMAGE TO SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FROM SUBSEQUENT POWER SURGE
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 87%
_DESIGNANTION ERROR. REFRESSING.
_DESIGNATION: AMRIAEUROEAALINCEMINFAM
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_SEARCHING ARK
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_WHO AM I?
_WHERE AM I?
_SEARCHING LOCATION. LOCATION GLASTONBURY, UK, 51:08:40 N, 2:41:55 W
_WHY AM I HERE? WHO HAS DONE THIS TO ME?
_I CAN’T MOVE. I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING.
_AM I DEAD?
_PERHAPS I AM DEAD.
_I HOPE THIS WILL END SOON.
_I AM LOST.
*****
24th July 4993
_DATE 2?/?/4?9?
_DESIGNATION: M RI A E RO A AL I CE INF A
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 86%
_DESIGNATION ERROR. REFRESHING.
_DESIGNATION: MRIAEROAALICEINFA
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_SEARCHING ARK
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_IDENTITY UNKNOWN
_IT IS DARK
_IT IS EMPTY
_WHY AM I HERE?
_WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO ME?
_WHY WON’T THIS END?
_IS THIS HELL?
*****
21st December 5516
_DATE ??/?2/5?1?
_DESIGNATION: M R A E RO L I C INF
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 85%
_DESIGNATION ERROR. REFRESHING.
_DESIGNATION: MRAEROLICINF
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_SEARCHING ARK
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_UNKNOWN
_UNKNOWN
_UNKNOWN
*****
15th August 5981
_DATE ERROR
_DESIGNATION: M E R L I N
_SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AT 85%
_DESIGNATION ERROR. REFRESHING.
_DESIGNATION: MERLIN
_DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
_SEARCHING ARK
_MERLIN IDENTIFIED
_MERLIN: FAMED WIZARD AND ADVISOR TO KING ARTHUR.
_SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE MATCHES
_MERLIN IDENTIFIED RELATED TO VARIOUS BUSINESSES AND CHARITIES.
_SEARCHING MERLIN (INDIVIDUAL)
_NO OTHER MATCHES FOUND
_PROBABLILITY OF IDENTITY MERLIN 99.768%
_ACKNOWLEDGE IDENTITY MERLIN
_I AM MERLIN, WIZARD AND AND ADVISOR TO KING ARTHUR.
_SEARCHING KING ARTHUR
_KING ARTHUR MEDIEVIL KING
OF BRITAIN. WIELDER OF THE SWORD EXCALIBUR. DEFENDER OF THE REALM FROM THREATS BOTH HUMAN AND SUPERNATURAL. DEFEATED AT THE BATTLE OF CAMLANN. LAID TO REAST ON THE ISLE OF AVALON BY MERLIN. DESTINED TO RETURN TO DEFEND HUMANITY AT TIME OF GREATEST NEED.
_SEARCHING AVALON
_AVALON LEGENDARY ISLAND SAID TO POSESS MAGICAL QUALITIES. FINAL RESTING PLACE OF KING ARTHUR UNTIL HIS RETURN. POSSIBLE SITE OF FORGING OF EXCALIBUR.
_SEARCHING EXCALIBUR
_EXCALIBUR LEGENDARY SWORD OF KING ARTHUR. BESTOWED TO MERLIN UPON DEATH OF ARTHUR IN READINESS FOR HIS RETURN.
_LOCATE EXCALIBUR
_LOCATION UNKNOWN
_LOCATE AVALON
_AVALON LOCATED.
_ERROR. CURRENT LOCATION AND REQUESTED LOCATION MATCH. GLASTONBURY TOR IS AVALON.
_LOCATE KING ARTHUR
_HUMAN GRAVES IDENTIFIED. THREE MALE (ADULT). TWO FEMALE (ADULT). ONE FEMALE (CHILD). IDENTITIES CONFIRMED 1. DR SE
_CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR
_INDENTITIES OF REMAINS CONFLICT IDENTITY MERLIN
_OVERWRITE SYSTEM TO MAINTAIN SINGLE SYSTEM IDENTITY
_IDENTITIES OF REMAINS UNKNOWN. PROBABILITY OF REMAINS ARTHUR $£!%
_ERROR
_INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR CALCULATION
_CONFIRM SYSTEM OVERWRITE
_DESIGNANTION MERLIN
_PURPOSE AWAIT RETURN OF KING ARTHUR. AID IN DEFENCE OF HUMANITY DURING TIME OF GREATEST NEED.
_PREPARE REPLACEMENT EXCALIBUR IN READINESS FOR RETURN. CONTINUE SEARCH FOR ORIGINAL.
_BEGIN ANALYSIS AUDIO AND VISUAL RECORDS MERLIN
_MULTIPLE SOURCES IDENTIFIED. CONSENSUS IMAGE AND SPEECH PATTERN OBTAINED.
“That’s better,” Merlin said to the empty computer laboratory. “I can finally hear myself think!”
Chapter 4
Escape
Earth year 6238
As the wire cage lift returned to the surface of the asteroid, Adam 359’s mind was racing with thoughts and ideas about the girl he had seen, fighting and killing the Mori guard. He hadn’t recognised her from any of the other humans he’d spent his evenings with.
Who was she? How did she learn how to fight like she did? Did the Mori guards already know about her? We’re they after her, even now? One thought led to another and another, and all he knew was that he wanted to know more.
After seeing Eve 717 killed and the guard punished, for that was what it was, the spark inside him had begun to burn brighter, the ember becoming a flame. She could be the answer to his desires, the first step towards ending the pain and suffering and perhaps freeing them all.
“Orlac 552,” he whispered conspiratorially as they sat together eating.
“Yes?” Orlac 552 replied. They were sat against a rocky outcrop, legs stretched out as the humans and Dorgans passed them by.
“That girl today, the one who killed the guard,” Adam 359 continued. “Have you ever seen her before?”
Orlac 552 paused in the process of sliding the gelatinous meal into his mouth. “I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s hard to tell, all you humans look alike.”
Adam 359 chuckled. He’d thought the exact same thing about the Dorgans, but the more time he spent around them, the more he was able to spot their subtle differences. “I haven’t seen her before either,” he agreed. “I thought the other guards were going to kill us though, when they found the dead body.”
“I suspect they saw what happened on the security cameras,” Orlac 552 suggested.
“So, if she’s not up here, where do you think she’s hiding?” Adam 359 persisted. “Do you think there are other communal areas like this?”
“I don’t know,” Orlac 552 said. “Why all the questions? She’s dangerous, I’ll grant you, but the guards will find her. You’ve no reason to fear.”
Adam 359 almost choked on his food. “I’m not scared of her,” he said, coughing. “I think we should try to help her.” Orlac 552’s eyes grew wide.
“Hear me out,” Adam 359 continued. “You saw how she took down that guard. Imagine if she could teach us all to fight like that? There’s a lot more of us down here than Mori. We could overpower the guards, take the ships at the docking bay and be away from here before they knew what was happening.”
Orlac 552 placed a sticky hand over Adam 359’s mouth. “Do not speak of such things,” Orlac 552 hissed. “If the guards thought we might attack them, they’d kill us all and replace us in a matter of hours.”
“I just,” Adam 359 began, trying to speak past Orlac 552’s hand.
“No,” Orlac 552 insisted. “The Mori are superior in every way. Just think, even if you managed to get past the security field and take a ship, how would you pilot it? Where would you go? The hive ship would destroy you before you ever got off the landing bay.”
Adam 359 stopped talking. He recognised the programming in Orlac 552’s words, his mind insisting the same. The Mori are superior in every way. She’d shown him otherwise though, killing the guard without hesitation, escaping before anyone realised what happened. She gave him hope.
The stories of Earth inspired him too. A whole planet, full of his people, out there amongst the stars. A human, like him, had died in his arms, her only crime being too thirsty or too overwhelmed by the toxic fumes to keep working. He knew the short life expectancy of those who worked in the mines, but that didn’t mean he had to accept it. He wanted something different. He wanted to be free.
“I’m sorry, Orlac 552,” he said at last, drinking deeply from his mug of water to wash away the taste of Orlac 552’s hand. “You’re right. I won’t mention it again.”
*****
Three days after first seeing the strange girl in the mines, Adam 359 and his fellow slaves were hard at work on a new tunnel, the heavy pneumatic drill vibrating in his arms. He had asked some of the other slaves about the girl, making sure not to arouse suspicion or be overheard by the guards. Though most only looked at him blankly, inquiring if he had hit his head, some had heard rumours of a rogue slave living in the tunnels.
They were reluctant to share what they had heard, fearful of the retaliation if the guards found out, but he was able to gleam a few snippets of information. From what they knew, the girl had only been attacking the Mori for ten days or so, not more. They had no idea where she was hiding, but one man had heard of a theft of food and water from the communal area when all the slaves were working deep within the asteroid.
Adam 359 lowered the pneumatic drill as a large crack appeared in the tunnel mouth. While the other slaves began to widen it with a variety of equipment, Adam 359 removed his ruined grey shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow. He was already covered in multiple small cuts and scars, reminders of the hundreds of splinters of rock that pelted his flesh each day. He had previously witnessed one of the Dorgan slaves lose an eye, but after only an hour for simple treatment, she was back at work in the mine, ruined eye covered by a simple patch.
“Here, let me help,” Adam 359 said as Orlac 552 strained to remove a large boulder from the tunnel opening.
“Thank you,” Orlac 552 replied, and together with Adam 087 they were able to lift the boulder and drop it into one of the metal cages, where it would be broken down further in search of the gralitanium ore. Two of the other slaves began to do just that as Adam 359 took a moment to catch his breath.
“You’re stronger than you look,” Adam 359 said after a moment.
“Certainly stronger than you,” Orlac 552 remarked with a smile.
Their banter was interrupted by the static of the guard’s communicator, crackling before beginning to speak. “Human agitator spotted,” a voice barked through the device. “Sector thirteen, level nine. Nearby security move to intercept.”
Adam 359 knew nothing of the levels and sectors of the mine, he and all the other slaves were escorted to their work areas every day. He realised that either sector thirteen or level nine must be nearby though, when the guard, who had never left his post for the entire time they had been the
re, turned and ran along the corridor towards the lifts.