The Pinnacle

by Gary Moreau

  “No one knows,” Jon said. “And that’s only part of it.” Seeing her self-control helped him and when he continued his voice was steady. “There’s been a computer crash. Obviously, they’ve retained their functions, but the data storage has been wiped clean.”

  Li nodded. She had already heard rumors to that effect. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to have to start recording what I know from memory. But, I don’t see how I can be of any assistance to you. You’ll have to do your own.”

  “That’s not what I need your help with. You and I are the only ones left with any medical training,” his voice began to quaver, “except for Casey.”

  “Casey Conklin’s alive? Thank God. I’d heard all the doctors were dead. Why do you need me?”

  “I’m sure you heard Mitch Klaus and Arnald Schmid's description of their confrontation with a wild man down in the Storage Deck.”

  “Yes, I heard it. So?”

  Jon stared at her.

  “You mean....” Li said with open disbelief.

  “That’s right. That was Casey.”

  “I can’t believe he’d kill someone.”

  “Neither could I, but I guess we’re all witnesses to Mitch's murder. He and Arnald Schmid were broadcasting on all-call throughout the entire ordeal. When Schmid said he’d ‘smashed the bastard’s head in’, it was an exaggeration.”

  They stood quietly for a moment, each with their own thoughts, then Li spoke, “But...Mitch is really dead?”

  “He’s dead. I guess if a physician wanted to kill someone….”

  “How do I fit into all this?”

  “Geoffrey Slater has already been down here. He told me I had to heal Casey, or he’s going to eject him into space.”

  “Absurd. He doesn’t have the authority to do anything like that. I don’t believe it.”

  “You obviously haven’t had any contact with Slater since the Awakening.” He lowered his eyes and added in a soft voice, “He always was so aggressive, but now...I’m afraid of him.” He paused as he bit his lower lip. “I need your help. Please.” His shoulders drooped. “Please,” he begged.

  She put her hand under his chin and raised his face. “We’ll do what we can, but we can’t be expected to do more than that. Right?”

  He nodded. “Thank you, Li.”

  “I gather, when you say we need to heal Casey, he’s suffering from some kind of mental illness. Is that right?”

  “It’s bad.”

  “I imagine it is, if it caused him to kill someone. Well, with two paramedics such as ourselves, we’ll figure out how to help him,” Li said.

  “Do you really think so?”

  “Who knows? Let’s take a look at Casey and then we’ll decide what to do.”

  “I have to warn you. He’s not the Casey we knew back on Earth.”

  “I’m sure. Lead the way.”

  He pushed away from the bulkhead but waited for Li to lead the way.

  Chapter 4

  Li walked toward the door. It swished open and she stepped briskly through. Casey screeched when he saw her. It was a harsh, inhuman sound and it made Li shudder. She stepped back and bumped into Jon.

  She was stunned. The naked body on the exam table vaguely resembled the man she had known, but the similarities only made him more grotesque. The man had fouled himself, but his face was the worst of all, eyes darting about, mouth open and teeth bared, as if possessed. It wasn’t a man; it was a demon that was strapped to the treatment table.

  When Li finally spoke it was the least of all that she mentioned. “Someone took off his com-collar.”

  Casey responded, his voice a rough whisper, “Spider, spider smile wider. Eat me! But bite quick, slick trick.”

  Li began to cautiously approach Casey; he responded by writhing against his bonds.

  Jon grabbed her arm. “You better be careful. He might bite or scratch and, who knows, maybe this is due to some kind of contagious disease.”

  She backed away.

  “Come on,” Jon suggested. “Let’s step out.”

  She didn’t object; in fact, she led the way through the doorway into the passage.

  When the door slid shut, Jon turned to Li. “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I hate to say it, but it looks hopeless.”

  “I expected more from you,” Jon said, nearly swallowing his words.

  “Now just a minute! You’ve had as much training as I have. Don’t you dare unload on me.”

  He took a quick step back. “I’m sorry. I had no right. It’s just”

  “Damn straight you have no right!”

  He cringed and covered his face with his hands.

  She reached out and rested her hand on his arm. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t try to help. It’s just all so much to try to cope with. All the death, the ship malfunctioning.”

  He lowered his hands and looked at her with sad brown eyes.

  “Buck up, Jon. We aren’t going to give up without an effort. Who knows? We’ve had training. Let’s see what we can do.” It had its intended effect; she saw a trace of a smile.

  “Li...there is one more thing.”

  She stared at him.

  “You’re not making it very easy, you know,” he added.

  She maintained her steady silence.

  Though reluctant, he had to continue. “There’s one other thing Slater told me we had to do.” He stopped.

  “Yes,” she said dryly, “and what might that be, bring the dead back to life?”

  He looked hurt again. “Li, please....”

  “Get on with it. Give me the rest.”

  “He told me there was a thing in the control chair on the bridge and I was to dispose of it before the general meeting at sixteen hundred.”

  “Thing?”

  Jon shrugged. “Actually, he said it was a monstrosity.”

  “A monstrosity? Well, it’s almost sixteen hundred now. We’d better get a move on.”

  “But, what about Casey?” Jon asked.

  “What about Casey? That’s one problem we can postpone, at least for a while.”

  “That seems cruel.” His face filled with imagined pain.

  She took his hand as if he were a child. “Come on. He’ll be all right until we get back.” His hand was limp and sweaty. She was glad to release it when they arrived at the up-tube.

  They exited the mouth of the up-tube on Deck One. There were a half-dozen gray-suited computer technicians working on the terminals, but there was a zone of emptiness around the control chair. Li and Jon walked toward it, with Li in the forefront. As they approached the chair, the comp-techs stopped their quiet discussions and turned to watch.

  Li was not about to reveal her insecurities in front of this group; they already considered themselves better than the rest of them. She walked briskly around to the front of the chair. She was not offended by what she saw; it was more a sense of curiosity.

  Jon began swallowing noisily behind her.

  “Please, Jon, not now,” she murmured to herself.

  The figure in the chair was obviously the remains of a human. The flesh of the face had melted away, leaving behind a toothy, hideous grin. The eye sockets were empty. Patches of black hair clung to the skull. Li reached out and touched the hard surface of the chest. She brushed away white dust, all that the remained of the cadaver’s uniform, revealing a corrugated chest wall, each rib plainly visible. She looked more closely and saw collapsed shadows, remnants of breasts. It had been a woman. There was a glint of silver on the seat next to the skeletal remains. Li picked it up. It was a laser-scalpel. She flicked the switch but it failed to light up.

  Jon spoke in a squeaky voice. “What happened?”

  Li ignored him. The white dust indicated they had discovered one of the missing guardian physicians, or at least what remained of her. But, as to the bigger question of what had happened, Li had no idea.

  She was still inspecting the c
orpse when Slater entered the bridge. He was dressed in black and flanked by two colonists, also in black. Li didn’t recognize the two men with him.

  Slater walked directly over to Jon, ignoring Li.

  “Yes, Commander Slater?” Jon asked, lowering his gaze to the floor.

  Li was tempted to squeeze between them, to demand that Slater explain himself.

  Salter pointed his finger at Jon. “I expect a full report, but for now get this carcass out of here. It’s almost time for the meeting.”

  Jon stood there, looking blank and dumb.

  “Do it now,” Slater commanded and took hold of Jon’s arm, propelling him toward the corpse.

  Jon tripped and nearly fell.

  Slater shook his head and said something to one of the men who had accompanied him. The man laughed.

  Li whispered fiercely to Jon, “Get me a container from storage!” It was not a request; it was an order. She was furious at Slater’s treatment of Jon and equally furious at Jon for his obvious lack of courage. To be associated with him was an embarrassment and her embarrassment made her angry with herself. She was not even aware that she was grinding her teeth while she stood with her eyes directed down at the deck, afraid to look up, afraid her anger would break loose without regard for consequences.

  When Jon returned, she grabbed her end of the box with such force that it jerked out of his hands and fell to the deck. Her face flushed. She had no doubt that the comp-techs and Slater were enjoying her humiliation.

  “Come on, Jon,” she whispered, “help me.”

  “I am,” he replied sullenly.

  Turning his head away from the corpse, he took hold of one arm, while Li grabbed the other.

  “Lift,” Li ordered.

  The corpse was unexpectedly brittle and light. The arms snapped off, sending a cloud of fine dust into the air. Jon fell onto his buttocks, still holding the cadaver’s arm. One of the men with Slater laughed and Li could hear snickering from the comp-techs.

  “Jon, damn it!” she said and then, after a cleansing breath, reached out and patted him on the arm. “It’s okay, Jon. Let’s get this job done.”

  They managed to get the grisly remains into the container without further mishap but, by then, the bridge was beginning to fill with guild chiefs. Jon took one end of the box and Li the other. They began carrying it down the passage toward the larger, equipment down-tube. As they passed Slater, he spoke to Jon.

  “Just put it down in the passage for now. You don’t have time to take it down and get back. I’m ready to start and I’m certainly not going to wait for you.”

  Jon nodded without comment. They placed the container in the passageway near the equipment down-tube and then returned to the bridge.

  While they were gone, the remaining guild chiefs had arrived on the bridge. There was a low hum of conversation, but Li couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other. It was plain they didn’t consider either Jon or herself to be one of them. She looked around the bridge; all the important colors were present, with the glaring exception of white. The many colored uniforms gave the gathering a cheerful, almost carnival appearance, in sharp contrast to the underlying mood and grim faces.

  Slater spoke. “Quiet please.”

  The bridge fell silent.

  “I’ve asked you to be here in person so you can report to your individual guilds. I’m sure you’ve all heard rumors. Some of them are true. We’ve lost nine hundred and sixty-eight colonists, leaving only five hundred and twelve. Those who died included three guild chiefs which I’ve taken the initiative to replace.” He paused. The room remained deathly silent. “In addition, we’ve lost our memory banks, but that’s not all, we’ve also lost many valuable biologicals. Brita Baldus will fill you in on the details in a moment.”

  Slater’s voice was somber, but his appearance was one of vigor. It almost seemed as if he was pleased with the disaster. “Despite these devastating losses, there is good news as well.”

  The crowd perked up, ready for good news of any sort.

  “We have arrived at our destination and,” Slater paused again, drawing out their anticipation, playing it, “it is like Earth itself.”

  Conversation erupted at once. It was a noisy, high-energy response. People were talking in loud voices and hugging each other. Jon wrapped his arms around Li, but she shrugged out of his embrace; her attention remained focused on the others in the room. Jon pulled back from the rejection, but Li didn’t even notice.

  The conversation level began to lessen and Slater spoke again. “Your attention please. I’ve appointed Jarmo Karna to replace Jon Sturm as Chief of Geology and Planetary Science. May Jon rest in peace. Jarmo will now give a brief report.”

  A slim man with blond-white hair began speaking in a monotone, belying the content of his message. “My remaining colleagues and I have completed a preliminary study of the planet we’re orbiting and what we’ve discovered exceeds our most optimistic expectations. The planet is Earth-like in every aspect. Our probes have revealed a virgin planet, rich in mineral resources, with a hospitable climate and an atmosphere that duplicates that of Earth, prior to hydrocarbon pollution. We’ve located a number of advantageous landing sites, but I personally favor site ‘C’.” While he spoke a holographic projection of the planet materialized above the heads of the gathered chiefs.

  Li was astounded, as were the others. It looked just like the blue planet Earth, with oceans and swirls of white clouds. She could easily make out landmasses. It looked so much like Earth that she unreasonably expected to be able to pick out the familiar shapes of the continents but, try as she might, the landmasses had shapes of their own.

  A bright red spot appeared on the globe and it stopped rotating.

  Jarmo continued. “The marker is on what we’ve judged to be the most advantageous landing site. It’s situated on a peninsula 1000 kilometers in length and averaging 300 kilometers in width. As you can see it runs parallel with the equator, but is far enough north to be temperate. The peninsula has a ridge of mountains stretching along its length. These mountains probably have snowy peaks most of the year and should provide a ready source of fresh water. It’s currently the equivalent of spring on the peninsula. Incidentally, we’ve detected no sign of intelligent life.”

  He had concluded, but the bridge remained quiet.

  Li again tried to put the pieces together and identify her home world. Her breath caught. How could she have been so wrong? It looked remarkably like Earth. She could even identify a continent that looked like Asia and a large island that looked like Japan. The most striking difference was the peninsula that Karna had pointed out. A strong tug of homesickness twisted her stomach, as it did for many of those present.

  “Very good, Jarmo,” Slater said with a cheerful lilt to his voice. “Now, if I can have your attention, Brita will give us a report on the state of our animal biologicals.”

  Brita Baldus turned to gaze around the room. She was a big-boned woman with an uninteresting face, except for her smile, which seemed to broadcast warmth and goodwill. She saw Li and Jon standing in the background and actually winked at them. Despite her optimistic nature, her report was depressing. When she announced there would be no horses, someone in the crowd moaned.

  Li found that particularly disgusting. She tried to see who it was that would moan for a horse, but remain silent for the loss of friends and colleagues. It could’ve been Lisa Bouviet, dressed in communication pink, but she wasn’t sure.

  Brita’s report seemed interminable. Slater began shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Finally, as Brita began to name insects that had survived the journey, he interrupted her.

  “Thank you, Brita,” he said. “We have to move along now. We’re confident that enough of the animal biologicals have survived to serve our needs. We’ll leave the details to your capable staff.”

  She looked somewhat taken aback by the interruption, but she managed a smile. She wasn’t one to take offense.

>   Gao Min then gave her report on the survival of plant and seed biologicals. Her report was mercifully brief as she summarized in sweeping generalities, in dramatic contrast to Brita’s epic report.

  “Now it’s time for my report,” Slater said. “I”

  “Before you begin, I have something to say.” Aleksandr Protonov, Chief of Computer Science and Instrumentation, stepped forward.

  For once, Li was pleased by Protonov’s arrogance.

  Slater glared at the tall man with gray eyes and black hair. Protonov was one of the few colonists who sported facial hair, a short-cropped, full beard that came to a point at his chin.

  Slater added a smile, but the smile did not reach beyond his lips. “Why of course, Chief Protonov, we’re all interested in what you have to say.”

  Protonov turned to face the gathering. He did not make eye contact with anyone but, instead, looked just over their heads. “As you are no doubt aware, there has been a computer failure. Obviously, the functionality of basic programming remains. Otherwise we’d all be dead. But, beyond that there is no content. Such an unusual and selective failure is unprecedented. We will continue to investigate but to date we’ve been able to retrieve very little of the missing data. The issue is that we cannot hope to survive as a viable colony without our database. Each of you must designate a portion of your resources toward the documentation of your particular fields of expertise. I demand it.”

  “I give the orders here!” Slater shouted and his face reddened.

  Protonov slowly pivoted toward him. “Then give the order.”

  Protonov’s leisurely response had given Slater time to regain his composure. “But, of course, Aleksandr. I whole heartily agree. It’ll be the responsibility of each of you to insure that our knowledge is preserved.”