"Listen, Doctor." The general's voice was urgent. "Before I send troops in there I need to know—"
Everyone stopped when, in a flash, the ramp on the bottom of the ship closed. Then, from Zellat 43 came that loud humming and sharp whistling sound. The wind around the ship kicked up sharply and it rose slowly into the air to an altitude of about 150 meters. It paused a moment, then it shot straight up and disappeared at an incalculable velocity.
Chapter 38
The Joint Propulsion Laboratory's expansive facilities in Pasadena was once the California Institute of Technology but had long ago been absorbed by the JPL, now one of the largest scientific research centers in the world, and the sole property of the IIEA, the International Interplanetary Exploration Agency.
Each survivor was given a private room in the medical section within the JPL facility. All their hurts were attended to, after which they were tightly monitored. Larry got the bad news that his wounded arm was dead and would have to be amputated above the elbow.
They all underwent a battery of tests and were asked to submit a report. Then, they were questioned for several hours until the doctors ran their tormentors away.
Early the next morning, a colleague Balaji had worked with at Princeton, Henry Olsen, awakened him at three AM. He sat down next to him, looking very serious.
"Balaji, can you explain to me what happened between Dr. Eddington and the cyborg?"
"Hugh, his name is Hugh."
"Yes, I know, but—"
"And understand something now, Henry—he is not a cyborg, but a SUB."
"That's classified, Balaji. Where did you hear that?"
"Hugh told me all. You should know, Henry, that he is a hero of the first order. He saved all our lives many times."
Henry sat quietly and locked his fingers together. "Did all of you know he was a...cyborg, from the start?"
"I know a man, named Hugh, with a cybernetic body enhancement." Balaji was becoming annoyed at Henry's tone and inference.
"Okay. What does Dr. Eddington know about him?"
"Exactly the same as I. Why?"
"There seems to be an emotional attachment between the two of them."
"Indeed. A very strong one. They are in love. I think you'd better come to the point."
"In love?"
"Yes. In love."
"Oh, God." Henry sat back in his chair and looked out the window.
"What's the matter?"
"Balaji, I don't think we can save Pacherd."
Balaji felt his heart skip a beat. A moment passed as he came to grips with this news. "Henry, I know you're not a medical doctor and not bound by the Hippocratic Oath, but you do realize that you are working to save more than a machine, do you not?"
Henry leaned forward in his chair, his voice calm and reflective. "Balaji, I helped design and build the body Hugh Pacherd occupies. I helped transfer him into his new body. I worked with him for fourteen months in physical therapy and training. I know who I'm working on in there.
"He was the first SUB. There are over five hundred now, and more coming online every day.
"We have created a new variation of human. We don't fully understand what we've done. We didn't know how much of the original individual would survive. And we certainly didn't consider him capable of...of love." Henry was silent a moment before he continued.
"You were right to ask me if I know that there is a human life inside there. We all tend to forget that. But I know.
"Perhaps, we scientists who work in cybernetics should be required to take the Hippocratic Oath."
Balaji took a deep breath and nodded. "Is there nothing to be done?" he asked.
"All SUBs have certain autopoiesis capabilities, but in this case the damage is too great and the period without power to sensitive areas of his biotronic brain has just been too long.
"Nevertheless, we have summoned the best scientists in bioengineering, biocybernetics, medical cybernetics, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, in their fields. You know some of them; Dr. Curtis Washington from MIT, Dr. Willie Burgholtz from Darmstadt, and of course Dr. Guion Girard, from Paris."
"What about Dr. Umba with NASA?" Balaji asked.
"Busara is already here. She called the others."
"There are few in the field equal to her. What is her assessment?"
"Well, Balaji, that's why I've come to you. As Dr. Eddington's friend, I thought it best if you prepared her for, well, for the worst."
Balaji lowered his head. "When can I see her?"
"Soon, I should think."
"How is Larry doing?"
"Mr. Gomes's injury is unique. He is going to lose that arm above the elbow. He has already given us permission to retain the limb for study. There are a few more tests, but the surgery should take place tomorrow morning."
****
Two hours later, Balaji was allowed to visit Mary. The instant he walked in the door she started to rise. "Balaji, where is Hugh? They won't let me see Hugh!" she exclaimed.
"Mary, calm down." He sat in the chair next to her bed. "How are you? Is there anything I can bring you?"
She gave him an all-too-familiar look. "I want Hugh. Balaji, no one will tell me anything!"
"Mary, Hugh is a highly classified project of the IIEA, and its member nations. No one here will talk to you about him. However, I was on the project in the early days, and as such, I know most everyone involved. I have learned that Hugh is in a bad way. But specialists have been called in from around the world to help."
"What's the matter with him?"
"His brain was without power for a long time it seems. They have removed his brain from his body and are working on it specifically."
"But his body—"
"His body is of no consequence. If his brain survives, they can build him a new body." Balaji hesitated a moment before he continued. "Mary, I know the people who are coming. If Hugh can be saved, they can do it."
Mary's eyes were enormous. She swallowed hard and said, "If he can be saved? Oh, Balaji!"
****
Expert interrogators arrived four hours later. These men all reminded Balaji of Joe; they wore the same dark suits and sunglasses, and their faces were almost featureless in their stoicism. Accompanying them was a man far differently attired. He wore blue jeans, and a green plaid shirt without a tie. Over this, he wore a leather flight jacket. He pulled off aviator sunglasses as he entered Balaji's room. He glanced over his shoulder saying, "You can go." And the stoic men left the room.
"Dr. Sharma, I'm Bill Robinson." He extended his hand, "It's my pleasure to meet you. I've read your interim reports and have a few questions."
"You have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Robinson. You, no doubt, know quite a bit about me; whereas, I know nothing about you."
"Doctor, I represent the government of The United States."
"What part?"
"The Department of Homeland Security."
"So, the government perceives a threat."
"Well, Doctor, we just don't know enough to feel safe. We're hoping you can lay our fears to rest."
"I truly hope I can, for there is nothing to fear from those who brought us home. Before you begin, Mr. Robinson, may I ask of you a favor?"
"That depends on the favor."
"Early this morning Dr. Eddington learned that the man she loves is gravely injured and may not survive. I ask that you do not try to take advantage of her emotional state; that you leave her alone, at least for a few days."
"Okay, Doctor, I can do that."
****
Robinson and his men spent the rest of the week moving back and forth between Larry and Balaji asking questions. Balaji realized that Mr. Robinson was looking for inconsistencies in their stories, trying now and then to trip them up with minute details.
"Mr. Gomes, Dr. Sharma, remembers the waterfall being on your left as you entered the room."
"No, he doesn't. He remembers it as clearly as I do."
One of Robinson's
first questions took Balaji aback.
"Where are the nanobots now?"
Strangely, Balaji had not even thought about the nanobots in a very long time. The desire to survive had been more pressing than anything else. As he sat there, trying to recall anything about the metal case, a portion of his mind seemed to open involuntarily. Millions of images flipped past. He was standing in the theater on Zellat 43 watching, mesmerized, as these images raced past his vision. They slowed down. He began, through some magic beyond his comprehension, to understand; he was being provided information. Bob had hidden the box in the room containing the power plant for the ship. The aliens were in possession of the box now, and they had provided Balaji with a solution to the problem of the nanobot weapon far simpler, and infinitely more effective globally, than the one their team had conceived.
Balaji now understood, there was far more implanted in his mind than he as yet understood how to access.
Before Balaji spoke again, he considered that the government had sent this man because they saw the aliens as a threat. No doubt, they did not entirely trust the survivors either, fearing their minds had been compromised.
"Mr. Robinson, the nanobots were destroyed by Hugh. However, my colleagues and I have developed a defense that will protect the populations of the world forever."
"Is that right?"
"Yes," Balaji stated confidently, "it is right."
****
Daily, Balaji was receiving updates on Hugh's condition from Dr. Henry Olsen. Balaji would then filter the information and present it to Mary.
"All the electronic elements of Hugh's brain have been replaced, and now the neurosurgeons are hard at work on the biological portion of—"
"It's Hugh, Balaji," Mary almost shouted. "I don't want to hear him spoken of as a collection of parts any longer. It's Hugh they are operating on not a biological portion!"
"I am sorry, Mary. Of course, you are correct."
"Balaji, is there hope?"
"Yes, as long as we have hope. The surgeons in there are the best on the planet Mary, and they have not given up hope."
Mary sat quietly for a moment. "How's Larry?"
"He is recovering nicely from the amputation. They are going to put a computer chip into his brain tomorrow. This will allow him to operate the new prosthetic arm exactly as he did his original. I am told that it will appear as real and natural as—"
"As Hugh's arms?" Mary interrupted.
"Yes," Balaji said softly, "as real as Hugh's."
"Balaji, I want to see him."
"No, you don't, Mary."
"But, I do, Balaji. I want to see him desperately. I want him to know I'm here waiting for him."
"Trust me Mary; you do not want to see him. Currently he is encapsulated in three different locations, four if you count the surgery."
"I'm trying to be strong here, Balaji. I'm—"
"Then be strong Mary. Be that brave young woman I saw on the Moon. And remember, always, Hugh promised to save your life, and he did."
"It's not fair. I waited all my life to find someone, then this! I told you, didn't I? He'd go playing the hero one time too many. It's my fault, though. I told him once that the next time I was trapped in a leaking airlock I'd expect him to come running to my rescue. He did just that, didn't he?"
"Yes, Mary, he did just that." Balaji smiled faintly. "Would you have expected anything else? He risked his life for the woman he loves.
"Mary, I have seldom seen such love as Hugh has for you. Never underestimate the power of love."
****
Sitting at a table in the cafeteria, Balaji was joined by Larry who wiggled the fingers of his right hand at him.
"Look at this, will ya! It's great! Works just like my original one. I have feeling, and sensation, instant response, and complete control."
"I cannot tell it from your other arm, the hairs are even the same," Balaji said.
"It's all controlled by the smallest computer you ever saw, and I control the computer through a chip implanted in my brain called a BCI, Brain Computer Interface—"
"A direct neural link to your cybernetic arm," Balaji said, interrupting him.
"Yeah, you've heard of this technology?"
"Yes. Hugh also possesses it."
Larry nodded. "How's Mary holding up?"
"She puts on a brave face, but she is a wreck with worry. This is the close of our third week here, and she wants more answers than I can provide.
"Since they allowed us to contact our families, I understand Mary has not. They called her, and she only spoke for ten minutes,” Larry paused and gently shook his head. "What can we do?"
"My friend,” Balaji said softly, “I do not know. But I can tell you this; Hugh's prognosis is not good. If we lose him, I fear we will lose Mary as well."
****
It was midnight when Henry woke Balaji, instantly filling him with dread. No good news came at midnight.
"Balaji, they have given up on Hugh. I'm sorry. Without going into details, it's the gray matter portion of the brain. It's shutting down and they can't seem to stimulate it. And as you know, once it's dead, it's gone.
"We're going to keep him on life support as long as we can. And out of deference to Dr. Eddington, we've reassembled Hugh so that she can be with him at the end. If she wants."
Balaji had been holding his breath. Now he let it go. A long, slow exhalation.
Balaji was, himself, in shock. His friend, to whom he owed his life, was going to—
"Henry," Balaji asked weakly, "no one has said a word to Mary, have they?"
"No."
"I'll do it. Is she sleeping now?"
"Yes, in anticipation we gave her a mild sedative. She'll sleep through the night."
"Will Hugh be...presentable in the morning?"
"He is now. We finished up just before I came to see you."
Chapter 39
Mary’s sleep was troubled and she tossed and turned as she dreamt. The mists parted before her and Mary found herself walking, alone, down the long pathway inside the alien base they had come to call the streetcar line. Ahead of her loomed a dark hole, as if the streetcar line stretched out into space. On the other side of this tunnel, she found herself in near total darkness, standing on a bridge. Then, before her, lights began to flicker to life. Very quickly, there was light enough to see.
She remembered this place! The lunar metropolis with its immense domes, spheres, as well as the buildings that formed columns that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the cavern, as if holding up the roof.
On the other elevated roadways she could see trams moving, and in the glass elevator tubes, the lifts were moving up and down.
Flying gondolas were departing from, and landing on, the many platforms attached to the sides of the buildings.
There were beings populating the city now. She couldn't see them clearly, but they were there, nevertheless.
An empty tram pulled up beside her and she climbed aboard. She was too tall, and had to kneel down the entire ride. The vehicle smoothly and quickly took her over the long bridge, and into the tunnel on the side of a great structure. The path immediately curved hard to the left, and after traveling one kilometer, she found herself at the loading platform.
Unlike her last visit, all the lights were on, and as she disembarked, a throng of several hundred of the little aliens swarmed out to meet her. They were carrying balloons in every color of the rainbow. Confetti began to rain down and voices started singing, "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow!"
A banner popped up that read "Happy Birth Day Mary!"
One of the aliens, who was distinguished from the others by the gold disk on his chest, approached her.
"Sorry about the sign," he said. "Bit of a mix up at the printers."
"What is this?" Mary asked.
"Just a thank you celebration. You see, many thousands of us, generations in fact, worked here for two millennia watching as your race developed. We knew you had pr
omise, and we wanted to inform our people back on Delmadia. In all our searching, yours was the only intelligent life we found developed enough to be in space within the next few centuries.
"It looked as if all our research was to be lost. Meaning our mission would be a failure, and thus, our very lives would have been spent in vain.
"You and your friends aided The Nine to return to our home, completing our mission, and bringing meaning to our existence."
"Who are you?"
"We are the twelve hundred."
Mary's eyes popped open. "Those left to die in the glowing bowls across from the infirmary?"
"Yes, and no. Our essence was preserved in the settlement. But, as you see, we are not truly dead. We are all here with you."
Mary looked around. "And...where, exactly, are we?"
"Just now we are in your memory, Mary. We are also in the memories of Balaji, Larry, and Hugh."
"Hugh is going to die."
"Death. Your people see the end of your biological existence as the end of life. Mary, life is energy, and energy can never be destroyed. Your own Albert Einstein knew this.
"But we understand what you are saying. You want Hugh to remain here with you. Let me ask you a question. Where is Pixie?"
"What?"
"Where—is—Pixie?"
****
Mary rose from her bed like a woman in a trance. She donned her hospital robe and walked down the hall to the nurses' station. She walked past the two nurses who were diligently going about their duties. They did not look up. They paid Mary no attention whatsoever.
Mary turned down the adjoining hall and proceeded forward. She first went to Larry's room and stood silently at the foot of his bed.
Larry woke as if shaken. Seeing Mary, he asked, "Mary, what's the matter?"
Mary spoke no words, but Larry knew instantly that he was to accompany her.
The two of them then went into Balaji's room.
"Do either of you realize that it is near three in the morning?" Balaji demanded, after being awakened in the same way Larry had.
Neither of his friends spoke, instead a question appeared in Balaji's mind.
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