“Guido!”
Cap and Sparks turned at my shout and looked as stunned as I felt.
“What—? How—?” I sputtered.
“Just lie back and let me take a look at you,” Guido ordered.
“But the Stromvik….” I took a fearful glance in their direction.
“Don’t worry about them. They can’t hurt us.”
“But how—”
“I’ll explain later. Right now the four of you need medical treatment I can’t give you here. We need to get you back to Shamu where I have the equipment I need. Tom’s still unconscious. His lacerated scalp looks bad, but it isn’t immediately life threatening. He’s also lost an eye and he may have a concussion. What concerns me the most is the injury to his neck. I’ve done what I can to stanch the bleeding, but he’s lost a lot of blood. I’m afraid he may not make it back to the ship. My portable medkit isn’t equipped to handle such severe injuries.”
My grimace had nothing to do with my injuries. First we thought we’d lost Guido and now maybe we’d lose Tom for real? How our fates had changed in only a few minutes.
“As for the rest of you—Swede, you’ve got a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, and a probable concussion. Cap, those gashes in your shoulder are bad, but they’ll wait. Sparks, you have another broken rib, I’m afraid, as well as the lacerations on your arms and chest. I don’t know how we’re going to get Tom back to the ship. He’s in no condition to walk.”
“Just tell us what to do,” Cap said firmly. “We’ll find a way.”
Guido nodded. “All right then. We’ll have to carry him. Swede, since you’ve got a bad wing, why don’t you concentrate on providing compression to his neck wounds to reduce the bleeding.”
He quickly positioned bandages over the worst of the wounds. I’d never seen so much blood. He placed my “good” hand on one of the bandages. The blood was already seeping through.
“Just hold it like that,” Guido continued. “I’m sorry I can’t do anything about your shoulder right now. We need to take care of it before necrosis sets in, but Tom’s injury is more urgent.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just take care of Tom.” I grimaced as my dangling arm bumped against my hip.
Guido looked at Cap and Sparks. “I know it’s going to hurt, but we have to do it. If you two can each take an arm, I’ll take his legs.”
The others nodded and did as he suggested, with me in the rear holding the bandage to Tom’s neck.
“Computer, open—” Guido began. “Damn! Tom’s bleeding is getting worse. They must have nicked the artery.”
I looked down at my hand. It was covered in blood that had soaked through the bandage.
Guido shook his head in obvious frustration. “I don’t think he’s going to make it back to the ship. Damn it! There must be something we can do.” He looked around the cathedral as if hoping to spot a convenient hospital nearby. “There’s nothing— Unless….”
He paused for a moment, his forehead creased in thought. “Computer! Do you have medical facilities here?”
“Yes.”
“Well, show me, damn it!” Guido ordered.
A cabinet of sorts appeared in front of him, much as the food pedestal had materialized earlier. The cabinet seemed to be made of the same gray marble material as the floor and walls of the hub. Other than a sort of bench spanning the inside of the cabinet, it was featureless.
“Tell me how it works!” Guido demanded.
“Place the injured human on the seat and step back.”
“That’s all? Are you sure you can help him?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it, why didn’t you tell me that before? Never mind. Cap, do you think you can help me get Tom in the box?
“Just try and stop me!”
They managed to half-carry, half-drag Tom to the cabinet as gently as they could and prop him up on the bench. The whole right side of his face, neck and scalp were shredded. His skintights were sodden with the blood still oozing from his wounds. I couldn’t imagine that we could do more for him than to simply stop the bleeding—if that much.
We stepped back, startled, as the cabinet glowed an intense blue. It was so bright that we were forced to look away. After a minute or so, the glow began to fade and then it was gone.
We looked at Tom and gaped in astonishment.
“¿Qué estáis mirando? Sorry. What are you all staring at?” Tom blinked his eyes—both of them.
“Your eyes….” Cap began.
“Yeah, what about them?” Tom asked.
“Never mind,” Guido said. “How are you feeling—your face, your head?”
“Never better,” Tom announced. “Why? Oh, wait.” He put his hand to his face and felt where his injuries had been. “The alien bit me. I was bleeding….” His voice trailed off, then brightened. “I feel fine. No pain.” More than that, his skin was intact—no scars, not even any residual blood on his face or his still-torn skintights.
“You look in perfect shape,” Guido declared, eyebrows raised. “In fact, according to my sensor pad, you are in perfect shape. Even your blood pressure is lower than it was.”
“Swede, you’re next. Get in,” he ordered.
“But Cap needs—”
“No buts. I’m the medic. Now get in.”
“Okay, okay!” I cradled my arm so I wouldn’t bang it on anything. I still managed to bump it on the side of the cabinet as I settled in, sending another fiery jolt up my arm. I gritted my teeth against the pain. Then the cabinet began to glow blue again. As the intensity increased I had to shut my eyes. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’d swear the blue glow went right through me. After maybe twenty or thirty seconds the glow faded. Nothing else seemed forthcoming, so I stood up.
“How do you feel?” Guido inquired as he checked his sensor pad.
I worked my arm and shoulder around. “Perfect.”
“The sensor pad agrees. A few of these cabinets in every city and we could put doctors out of business!”
In quick succession, Cap and Sparks received their treatments and were declared fit for duty.
* * * *
After having our injuries repaired, we decided to eat while Guido told his tale. Although we’d brought emergency rations with us, no one was particularly interested in eating them—“e-rats,” as they’re not-so-endearingly called, aren’t exactly known across the galaxy as delicacies. Instead, we asked the computer for food. As before, we received a platter full of multihued walnut-sized treats that tasted of various fruits, nuts and meats.
“Awright, Guido,” Sparks growled in his best Humphrey Bogart gangster voice, “you bin holdin’ out on us long enough! Shpill da beans, shweet-haht! Why ain’t ya deceased-like?”
Guido chuckled. “Well, as you recall, I was tossed into space by that amusement park gizmo. As I fell, I knew I was dead. I’m sure you all heard me shriek like a little girl!” he said, blushing. He ran a hand through his hair.
“Don’t worry about it, Guido,” Cap reassured him. “Anyone would’ve reacted the same way in that situation.”
Me, maybe, but somehow I couldn’t imagine Cap shrieking like that.
That seemed to mollify Guido, who continued his story. “Just as I entered the cloud, I felt the chair-bucket slow to a stop, as if I had been caught by a giant invisible net. As it turned out, that’s essentially what occurred. What we didn’t realize is that what happened is supposed to happen that way—it’s all part of the ride! It’s like a Progenitors’ futuristic version of a parachute drop ride, only without the parachute. Instead, a sort of force field is created to catch the riders and bring them back into the sky city for another ride.”
“Incredible. But, how do you know all this?” Sparks asked.
“I’ll get to that in a second. I was carried, chair-bucket and all, to a bay in the side of the city, just below the park. When it stopped, I was still too shocked at being alive to move. After a minute, I heard the computer say, ‘The ride is ove
r. Please step this way.’ That’s when I realized that it was all a put-on. Had I known ahead of time what would happen I might have even enjoyed the sensation of free-fall. Or maybe not—it was a l-o-o-n-g drop.
“Anyway, I asked the computer some questions about the force field “net” that caught me and it said one part of its—the computer’s—function is to protect travelers in the portal network and the amusement park. I quickly returned to the park, but by then you guys were gone. Without our suit radios, I couldn’t call you. I hurried to the terminal and missed you again. I guessed that you were heading back to the ship, so I jumped back to this hub just in time to see the Stromvik about to finish you off.”
“Aha!” I exclaimed. “So you’re the one who yelled ‘Computer! Protect!’ just before I passed out.”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Guido explained. “I knew I couldn’t fight off the Stromvik by myself, so I took a chance that the computer could stop them. I got lucky.”
“No, we all got lucky that you have a head on your shoulders.” Cap said.
“Or we wouldn’t have heads on our shoulders right now,” Sparks finished.
“One thing—no, make that two things—I don’t understand.” Tom addressed no one in particular as he looked over his shoulder at the Stromvik. “Number one, it looked like the Stromvik were lying in wait for us when we emerged from the portal, and number two, they pounced as soon as I stepped out, as if they already knew there were only four of us returning. How could they know we’d be returning right then, and without Guido?”
“I suppose we could always ask them,” I said with a wicked grin in the Stromvik’s direction. One of them pounded on the invisible force field with his fist and then drew it back in obvious pain. “But I think I can hazard a reasonable guess.
“They were already in the city when we arrived, so they may have seen us entering the park. Most likely they saw Guido go over the side, and our obvious anguish. I’m guessing that they rushed back to the hub when they saw us heading for the portal, and simply waited, knowing that we were only minutes behind.”
“Makes sense,” Guido agreed. “But what set them off? Why did they suddenly want to kill us? And why didn’t they just attack us in the city?”
I shrugged. “Beats me. As I said, I’m just guessing. Maybe they got a look at themselves in the mirror this morning and have been in a bad mood all day. They did seem to take an instant dislike to us, for some reason. I don’t claim to understand Stromvik thinking. You’re welcome to ask them,” I offered again.
“No thanks! So what happened to you guys before I showed up like the cavalry, just in time to save your bacon?”
It took several minutes to bring him up to date on the events spanning the time between his untimely demise and his timely rescue.
“Ah, okay, I see. One thing I don’t understand, though. When the Stromvik were guarding the portal leading back to Shamu, just before they attacked the second time, why were you trying so hard to go through that one portal? Why didn’t you simply open any other portal at random at the far end of the hub and just jump through before they could reach you? You could have asked the computer how to get home from there and completely bypassed the Stromvik.”
Cap, Tom, Sparks and I gaped at one another dumbfounded. It hadn’t occurred to any of us that we could have taken a different route home!
* * * *
“Computer,” Cap inquired, “what’ll happen to the two Stromvik now?”
We had just finished eating our alien “walnuts” and were sprawled on the floor of the hub.
“There is a tacit agreement among all the star-faring races that the portals are neutral territory, regardless of their respective animosities elsewhere. No being may attack another while in the portal network. These Stromvik have violated that agreement. They will be turned over to their government for discipline.”
“How do we know their government will do anything about it?” Cap asked. “Maybe these two will just be let go.”
“The Stromvik are a vicious species, hated and feared by many races. It is in their best interest to police themselves. Were they to be overly lenient, other races might decide to take justice into their own hands and begin attacking Stromvik travelers at will. Such a situation could escalate into a multi-front war, something all sides wish to avoid. Therefore, these two will be punished.”
“That’s good to hear,” Tom said. He took a surreptitious look in the direction of the Stromvik and shuddered. His physical wounds may have been healed, but the psychological ones undoubtedly would take longer to mend.
I followed up on something I’d been wondering about. “Computer, if part of your mission is to protect travelers, why didn’t you stop the Stromvik yourself when they first attacked us?”
“I am not permitted to act against sentients unless ordered to.”
Sparks said, “I guess the Stromvik must have been counting on us not knowing that minor detail.”
“Maybe,” Guido responded, “but that would only make sense if they knew we were neophytes. Are we that obviously green?”
Sparks shrugged.
I continued questioning the computer. “Are there any weapons we can use to defend ourselves, if needed?”
“Weapons of any kind are forbidden in the portal network. If you need protection, I can protect you.”
“Maybe so, but it didn’t stop us from almost being killed earlier,” I finished.
“All right, then,” Sparks interrupted. “Computer, I order you to protect us at the first sign of trouble.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Hey, good idea!” Guido exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Tom agreed. The tension drained from his body. The harsh worry lines left his face. Although I didn’t speak up, I felt safer as well.
“Too bad Drelx didn’t see fit to divulge that ‘minor’ detail,” Tom blurted with considerable heat. He was now more angry than relieved. “It could have saved us having to go through all that!”
“Yeah,” Guido replied, “but don’t forget he said he’s not allowed to give us all the answers. We have to figure them out for ourselves, remember?”
“Yeah, that’s what he said, but he already bent the rules by helping us break the code at the dome, didn’t he?” Tom countered.
Sparks jumped in as mediator. “Look, guys, just forget it. Chalk it up to experience. Now that we know better it won’t happen again. I say we head back to the ship and figure out what we’re going to do next.”
Several tired nods signaled our agreement. We donned our suits, returned to the dome on P5M2 and took the pod back up to Shamu.
The old lady had never looked so good to me. Neither had my bunk. I crawled in without thought of anything but sleep, and I was out in seconds. Mercifully, my dreams were untroubled by thoughts of vicious aliens, galaxy-spanning portals, or what we were going to do about the Seat of Power.
Instead, I dreamt of the one-eyed teddy bear I’d had when I was four. His name was King Arfur, because I couldn’t yet pronounce Arthur. Arfur had the softest fur of any teddy, ever….
CHAPTER 22
When I awoke many hours later, the rest of the crew was already up and finishing breakfast in the Commons.
“Grab a plate, sleepyhead,” Sparks called out cheerfully. “We saved you some flapjacks and genuine imitation maple syrup.”
I returned his smile and helped myself to food and synthcaf. “Thanks.”
“While you were sawing timber in your bunk, the rest of us were argu—er, make that “discussing” what to do. Guido and Tom are in favor of heading home. After what they’ve been through—what we’ve all been through—I certainly can’t blame them. On the other hand, Cap and I would rather stay out here a while longer and see what’s what. After all, we might never get this chance again. You’re the tiebreaker. Do we stay or do we go home?”
I stopped with the fork halfway to my mouth as the others awaited my response. “Gee,” I began, dripping sarcasm along
with my syrup, “I’m glad to see you’re not putting me on the spot, or anything. Can I at least finish my breakfast while I think about it?”
“Sure. Take your time.” Cap clapped my shoulder as he passed by. The four left me alone with my thoughts while they went about their daily shipboard routines.
I had a lot to think about. On one hand, I really felt we needed to figure out a safe way to introduce the alien technology to Earth without being destroyed by the introduction of “modern conveniences.” As much as I liked to believe that our race had evolved to the point where that wouldn’t happen, I had to ask myself if our scientists would really strive as hard if they were simply handed the answers to all the puzzles they’d spent their lives trying to solve. Would our collective psyche be crushed by the knowledge that not only are we not alone in the universe, we aren’t even considered especially important by the other sentients?
Even worse, what would happen when news got out that there are thousands of alien races in the galaxy, or that some might not hesitate to wipe us out if we got in their way—and that we would be powerless to stop them? After all, we had no space navy and no real weapons designed for space. We wouldn’t stand a chance against a halfway-determined attacker.
On the other hand, I had to consider Guido’s and Tom’s feelings. Both thought they were going to die and were clearly psychologically bruised by what happened. Of course, we all were affected to one degree or another, but perhaps the rest of us not as much as those two. I couldn’t just dismiss their fears out of hand. They were my shipmates; more importantly, they were my friends. Did I have the right to inflict more mental anguish on them, and maybe get them killed for real next time?
I called the others back to the Commons. When they arrived, I began without preamble.
“This was a tough decision. I wouldn’t want to hurt you, Tom, or you, Guido, for anything in the world. You’re my friends and my coworkers and my family, all rolled into one. We owe each other our lives—more than once—and I respect your feelings. So much has happened— Look, I want to go home as much as you do.
The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative Page 57