Starship (The Outsider Series Book 2)

by Steven Oaks

  “Would you be able to put a layer of fake skin over my exposed areas?” I asked.

  “Brilliant Michael. Why didn't I think of that? Yes, however unless you were bald I would be unable to cover the top of your head. So as long as she does not pat you on the head you would be safe,” she said.

  “Would the plugs be noticeable?” I asked.

  “The earplugs would be as small as the one you wear now in your right ear, so unless she was digging in there she would not see it. The nose plug would be similar. With you geared up like that you should have no more worry from her than you would would any other person. Save she is likely stronger than you are.” Athene said.

  “Well that is certainly a disadvantage. I'm glad that I'm working out though. Perhaps I should train more in the martial arts. If I become advanced enough my understanding is that strength plays only a small role during a fight,” I thought out loud.

  “The Outsiders are constructs, and would not feel pain like a human. They are made of material that would instantly heal, so you would be unable to injure one. The only way you might succeed is if you were somehow able to pierce their internal control unit. At least according to how I would construct a humanoid body to house my brain,” she said.

  “Well if they're made of the same material as the suit I wear it would be unlikely I could pierce any part of them anyway. Oh well, it was merely an idea,” I said with a sigh.

  “Michael there is something I should tell you. Perhaps I should have informed you when you returned. You seemed agitated, and I did not wish to cause you anymore stress,” Athene said softly.

  “Athene, what is it? You don't usually withhold information,” I said confused.

  “I was not withholding anything, I was merely waiting for the right moment. The mayor Stephen Thompson shows up as hotter on my sensors than anyone else that was in the crowd,” Athene said plainly.

  “What?” I exclaimed.

  “He is likely an Outsider, or at least a construct similar to them,” Athene explained.

  “But he has hair.” I said stupidly.

  “The Outsiders could have hair if they wanted too. I think they take that shape to differentiate themselves from the rest of humanity,” Athene said.

  “But Adam is bald.” I again said dumbly.

  “And yet he has eye lashes, and even arm hair. It is possible that Adam is not an Outsider, and that Mr. Thompson is not as well, but I find it unlikely. They both appear to be in good health, but if a normal human was to be as hot they would be most likely be bed ridden,” Athene explained.

  “Damn it. They're even watching us here. I thought maybe if we got further away from the main ship we could be free. Damn it,” I said, pounding a fist against the wall of the lounge, having not left it since I entered.

  I took a moment to cool down, and Athene let me. She said nothing until I had wandered over to the old familiar chair. Sitting down in its red cushions a calm enfolded me, and I began to breathe easier.

  “Michael, how now do you think you should handle the colony with this new information?” Athene asked quietly.

  “I really don't know. If there's already an Outsider here shouldn't we just comply with their wishes? Not only that, they would be more aware of any time we might be absent, meaning how are we going to unload our little rag tag group of freedom fighters?” I said in frustration.

  “Okay, so yes we have some disadvantages that we were not aware of before. Now think what are our advantages might be,” Athene asked in a gentle voice.

  I shifted my weight in the seat unsure how I would respond. Then I just shut off my emotions to the world and tried to work on the problem at hand.

  “Well, as far as we know Mr. Thompson is unaware that we know he's an Outsider. I have you and your abilities. Unless there is some sort of weapon I am unaware of, we are free to leave anytime we want. Certainly we would not be able to return to Earth, but we could settle these people we carry somewhere else. I can't think of anything else at this time,” I finished.

  “In having me, you have yourself. What I mean is that I can always supply you with armor and armament. You would be able to take out the Outsider with me on your side. It would be difficult, but I think together we could do it. Invite Mr. Stephen Thompson on board and I can isolate him, and will be able to absorb him and I can take all his memories into myself,” she said.

  “Athene, I am unsure I wish to destroy another life, even an Outsider life. Especially if I feel no immanent threat. Ava is the only one I feel imminent threat from as she can control anyone and use them as she wishes. The others don't seem to have that power.” I said.

  “Michael, if one can do it, the others certainly can as well. If they could not in the past, they could be modified to be able to do so in the future,” she said.

  “Athene, if you ever make a humanoid body for yourself would you be able to duplicate her abilities?” I asked.

  “From my limited exposure to her, I think I could make an adequate duplication of her power,” she said calmly.

  “Well if you think you can do it, they certainly can. I was hoping she was somehow a one-off or an experimental type they had not been able to duplicate. That just makes the Outsiders all the more dangerous,” I said with a heavy sigh.

  There were several minutes that passed as Athene let me ponder over this new complication. I sat in the chair and let my mind wander over what I knew about the Outsiders, and how I felt about bending my morals, or if I should do anything at all. All life has a right to try, but if it comes into conflict with another, there has to be either a winner, or some sort of agreement for mutual benefit.

  “Athene, would we be able to safely interrogate this so called Mayor, and edit his memories of the interrogation so that it never seemed to have happened to him?” I asked Athene as an idea struck me.

  “It might be possible. I would be dealing with perhaps an even more complex mind than my own. I would want to set up several safeties and backups to keep his mind from overwhelming me. If I were to interface directly it would be possible to retrieve all the information he possesses and also to edit out anything we would not want him to have,” Athene said, sounding only somewhat sure of herself.

  “If we do that are we any better than Ava forcing her own wants on another? However I really see no other way. I hate to compromise my own belief system though. I wish freedom for all thinking beings. I would assume he is a thinking being. It would be difficult to convince anyone to vote for you if you did not have some sort of personality,” I said.

  “Unless he hypnotized the entire populace here,” Athene said.

  I gritted my teeth and shook my head, “Yes that is possible too. This is all conjecture, we know again very little of anything. You are the only touchstone we have to knowing anything about the Outsiders. I think this might be the only thing we can do to make sure the plans we have in place can go through. While I think protecting everyone's autonomy is paramount, I think ours is being violated. Therefore we are free of any moral obligation to respect theirs at the cost of our own,” I said, trying to figure out how to deal with my own conscious after this.

  “I will begin preparing for our guest. If you can wait an hour before having him arrive, I should have everything in place for him,” Athene said, understanding that I had come to a conclusion.

  In my mind I was already thinking of the appropriate way to invite someone to board Athene, and the only thing we had to offer that they might not have might be food. So I decided I would invite this Mr. Thompson over for a dinner.

  I straightened my coat as I stood up from the chair and walked towards the door. It did not open, and for a moment I was worried Athene was never going to let me leave again. It must have been because she was busy working internally to get herself ready for this difficult task I had set before us.

  “Michael, are you leaving?” Athene asked.

  “I think I should invite our guest over. I'm not suggesting that I shall bring him straight b
ack, but since there is no communication here other than face to face, I thought it would be good manners to let him know before he has eaten elsewhere,” I said.

  “Alright Michael, just be safe,” Athene said and the door slowly spiraled open.

  I looked out upon this town once more and thought of the possibilities. This was a new world, and a fresh start for humanity. If I was somehow able to free them from the Outsiders, what might these people do? There was always a fear that an asteroid or a global war would break out and destroy Earth. Now we had the chance to live on beyond Earth. We no longer had all our eggs in one basket. If somehow I could help these people grow their own abilities, and make sure they would need no outside help, this could be a second home for humanity. With the chance of even more worlds to come, humans and all of Earth's creatures could live beyond the life span of even our Sun. On one hand I was grateful to the Outsiders for coming so we might have this chance, but the cost seemed far too expensive to my own mind. Our freedoms were being taken away from us, and we may never know if we could have done this on our own.

  My gaze passed over the town and I saw no one walking about. It was almost as if the town had been abandoned, though I had seen so many earlier. What were they all doing? The sun had yet to set, and still no one was walking about talking or doing anything. I had found it strange at the time, but I supposed if everything had been taken care of then what would the purpose of leaving ones home be?

  I walked down the few steps Athene had made for me, and my boots once more stirred the dirt of another world. This time without the crowd before me I was able to take in more of this new land. It had all the hallmarks of Earth, and even the gravity felt the same. Unless Athene had known the gravity would be different and had slowly changed it en-route, I felt no different than when I was aboard her.

  The air was crisp with the tang of fall, and the smell was of leaves fallen to earth and beginning to turn into soil. It reminded me so much of being out near the wilderness where I had taken so many hikes and bike rides in earlier years that I felt the desire build up to explore this new land, but I shook off that inclination and began the short walk to Mr. Thompson's house.

  Passing the houses near Athene I saw that while they appeared to be all of different shapes and sizes the construction was all done similarly. All of them were in the log cabin style, and all placed along a widening circle around the middle of town where the fountain stood. There even was a pattern to their placement. First was a small house, then there would be a larger building. Back and forth from large to small until the largest building, which was the mayors residence. I found it strange that everyone in the town would not just wish to have a large house, as there had been no limit to what they might build for themselves with the colony ship there to do all the work for them.

  As my feet crunched their way through the graveled roadway around the town the silence built, and I was beginning to feel unnerved. There was not even birdsong to keep me company as I strode forward. One would think the planet should be filled with more than just plant life, but I could not recall what the colonists were said to have brought with them. It was a miracle to come to a world so full of life already, but without animals I was unsure how stable a habitat it might be.

  I was beginning to think I should have put on the protective suit before I made this venture out as I did not know what to expect of these people, and especially of this Outsider. It was too late as I approached Mr. Thompson's front door. I hesitated only a moment, and reached forth to knock, first quietly, then loudly as I heard no one come to the door.

  Soon enough I heard a rustle from within, and a voice called, “Just a moment, I'll be right there.”

  When the door finally swung opened it revealed Mr. Thompson looking less like a polished politician, and more like a man whom I had just woken. He was dressed in red silk pajamas which included a pair of red socks to match.

  He blinked at me a few times and said, “Yes, how may I help you?”

  “I apologize if I woke you, I just wanted to see if you would like to come have dinner with me,” I said, thinking how strange this alien creature was acting.

  A smile broke across his attractive face and his perfect teeth shown once more in the evening light. He said, “No need to apologize. You are new here so of course you don't understand our schedule. We all take afternoon naps to charge us up for the evening parties that we have.”

  “I don't mean to pull you away from your evening revelries. If you're unavailable then you don't have to visit with me,” I said, feeling if I pushed the topic I might never have the chance for him to enter Athene.

  “Of course I will have dinner with you. I'll just have to get myself dressed before I show up. I can't imagine being a guest anywhere dressed like this,” he said, gesturing down towards his pajamas.

  “I would never have asked anyone to just follow me out the door for a dinner. Shall we say you come to the ship in about an hour?” I said, feeling relieved that he would come.

  “Certainly, that sounds good. Is it a formal dinner? What would be appropriate to wear?” he asked excitedly.

  “Don't put yourself out for us. Whatever you feel the most comfortable in is fine. I don't think you will find me in this uniform when you arrive. Athene is my home, so I will be dressing relaxed myself,” I said.

  “Ah, I see. What is on the menu tonight?” he asked licking his lips.

  “Anything you would like, or we could leave it up to Athene. She tends to surprise me with random dishes. Of course if there's anything you wouldn't like to eat, such as myself not liking fish, she will make sure you will not be displeased,” I explained.

  “Oh I'll eat just about anything. Though to be honest I'm not a fan of anything spicy. I'm used to down home country cooking, anything hotter than that and you shall find me only picking at my meal,” he said with a laugh.

  “I shall inform Athene. So shall we leave it up to her to make something for us?” I asked.

  “Oh that is fine. Or whatever you like, I am easy to please,” he said, waving his hand in the air.

  “Then I shall see you in an hour,” I said, putting on my best smile.

  “See you then Michael,” he said, reaching out his hand and shaking mine. This time I noticed his touch was warmer than a humans hand should be.

  I turned away from his door and headed across the abandoned town center towards Athene. The only sound I heard was the door closing behind me, and the gravel shifting with each of my footfalls. A town where everyone rested in the afternoon simply to have a party later, this certainly was strange.

  When I arrived back to the ship the door was once more slow in opening, but when it did I was greeted with an excited Athene.

  “I think I have this. There is no way I can think of that he will be able to resist me. Bring him to the dinning room as planned, and he shall be encased and I will be able to hold him and access his memories,” Athene said sounding triumphant.

  “That's good to hear. Speaking of hearing, were you listening to the conversation I was having with Mr. Thompson?” I asked.

  “Yes, I was listening, at least I was recording. I have reviewed the conversation now. What is it you wished to speak of?” Athene responded.

  “Do you think the behavior of this town is unusual? Taking afternoon naps and everything just to have a celebration every evening?” I asked.

  “It is not unheard of for a populace to sleep in the afternoon. However that is generally reserved for hotter climates than this one,” she answered.

  “This place seems weirder the more I come to know it. I really think now this Mr. Thompson has more control over these people than he should. The town was completely silent. In my experience there is always someone up at all times. There should have been a light on somewhere, but the town was completely dark,” I said.

  “We shall know more shortly. Had we been able to do this with Adam or either of the other Outsiders we would know much more,” she said.

 
“Perhaps we will get the chance later, but they don't seem to stick around long with us,” I said.

  “So Michael, what shall I make for dinner tonight?” Athene asked, changing the subject.

  “Obviously something spicy,” I said laughing.

  “But he said he did not like that,” Athene responded, surprised.

  “I know, it was a little joke. Whatever you feel like. I'm unsure how I'll feel about eating after seeing him drained of his knowledge,” I said, feeling uneasy about this whole situation.

  “Then I shall make meatloaf,” she replied.

  “Why meatloaf?” I asked confused.

  “Why not meatloaf? I put a list of food that might be applicable and assigned them a number, then used a random number generator to pick. Meatloaf won, so we shall have meatloaf,” she said with enthusiasm.

  “Alright, that sounds fine enough to me. Now I'm going to change out of this silly thing, and into something more relaxed. I think another shower is in order, I seemed to have sweat through this undershirt,” I said.

  “So jeans and a hoodie?” Athene said sounding unenthusiastic.

  “Jeans are a yes, as for the hoodie, lets pass on that. How about a nice button up shirt?” I said.

  “I suppose that would be okay, but you should dress up more when you are interacting with people. Otherwise they will think you a slob and not have high opinions of you,” Athene chided me.

  “I understand your point, however I wish to live in a world where what we wear is less important than what we say,” I said, feeling put upon.