Multiverse 1

by Chris Hechtl

  With one hand he put the launcher to his left shoulder and fired, feeling the round go a little too high and to his right. It exploded into the cliff face, showering the robot with debris, knocking it back into the molten muck.

  D=[]##======

  Destruction of O3777F sent the subnet into a cascade failure. Diagnostic protocols blossomed and set up emulators as temporary measures. O54J2 paused then used a tentacle to look around the edge of the cliff at the hostile to get the needed intelligence data as the others started to climb the cliff faces.

  D=[]##======

  Shrugging, Rick shot off another round at the sudden sight of a tentacle on the inner face of the cliff dropped into the pit. Gasping he felt the jerk as the harness caught and held. He grimaced as he tried to wrap his right hand around the line and his left onto the trigger for the release. The grenade launcher dropped to clatter on the ground below, useless.

  He pulled on the trigger, dropping himself down with sharp jagged pain in his arm. The medpack was setting the bone, but the pain killer was a local and not enough. His vision swam near the end, and he felt relief as he got to the bottom and felt the ground under his feet, the weight was finally off the arm.

  Unclipping himself he hobbled over to the path he needed to follow just as a tentacle snaked in the hole. He was around a bend just as it came in, and he grimaced as he heard it on the roof above.

  D=[]##======

  The organic had entered the hole above the detected minerals, again forcing the threat protocols to attack. A new algorithm blossomed, giving a 94 percent kill probability if 054J2 used grippers to cling to the roof and attack from above. Ichors was detected by the olfactory sensors, as was the telltale signs of burnt flesh. 054J2 tasked the workers to begin working on the new headquarters as it began to hunt its damaged prey.

  D=[]##======

  Scrambling over the rocks, he dodged the best he could, instinctively feeling the IR sensors of the robot. The thrill of terror of imagined beams made his flesh crawl.

  Almost. Almost he triggered the radio, but he made himself wait. He forced himself to wait; he'd only have one shot at this. He palmed the device in his left hand, making sure its strap was secure around his wrist. A loud crash behind him made him pause. He bolted down under a rock then peeked around it.

  The floor of the hole was littered with the broken remains of what looked like the wounded robot. It had tried to get in and failed, crashing to the unforgiving stalagmite and boulder covered ground below. Sparks and fluid spurted from it, but it was still.

  The other was above he noted as he grimaced. It was carefully stepping around the stalactites, but getting a grip was appearing to be difficult. He was under an overhang and out of its sight when it appeared; it seemed to have come in the wrong way.

  The alien workers followed the tentacle robot in and appeared to click to each other before ripping at the ground around them. He could see a stream of mechanical bits forming behind each of them and felt fear return. Making his way to the exit, he grimaced as he heard the tentacle robot follow. He hugged his injured right arm to his side, careful to try not to knock it into something in the stygian darkness. The light and burble of water ahead made him almost sigh in relief. He was almost out of the dark, but almost out of range.

  D=[]##======

  Octobot O871C’s attempt to follow had been a suboptimal choice. Its logic circuitry must have been damaged; otherwise, it would have headed to the other cave entrance and sat and waited for the hostile organic to be flushed to it. The destruction of the robot was unfortunate; however, O54J2 could already detect the thrum of power as the headquarters began to power up.

  Nanites began construction of each component, fusing them together. Compressed files within the workers blossomed into the net and were downloaded into the machinery, to be unpacked and acted upon. The software of the net began to blossom, programs writing others and unpacking files to form new protocols. O54J2 sent and received an IFF from the awakening intelligence and prepared for a termination report of its target.

  D=[]##======

  Grimacing, Trapper paused behind a boulder and pulled up the radio. Cursing over his fumbling right hand he entered the code to trigger the explosive detonators just as a scraping sound behind him. Diving for cover he screamed in agony as searing pain ate at his left leg. He sobbed in pain as he pulled himself along to cover, feeling a stream of blood from his vaporized leg.

  Animal instinct made him flee, but in a second it fled to something far more powerful, rage and a desire for vengeance. Flicking the trigger with the remote he rolled onto his pack just as the Octobot stepped over the rock to tower above him. “See you in hell!” he spat at the robot as it slammed a gripper down to crush him.

  Explosions above tore the roof down onto the robots, shattering the partially complete building they had started to grow out of the raw minerals. Looking up to his foe, Trappers eyes gleamed in rage and triumph as his foe paused to look up to the falling ceiling just as rumbling down the tunnel announced his work was complete. There was a bright flash, and all was gone forever.

  D=[]##======

  A few days later the colonist militia made it out to the site. Mabel cried, one hand covering her mouth while the other clutched at the shawl around her shoulders. She watched her brother Ian pull Trapper's pack from the rubble. The entire cavern had collapsed down into itself, turning the area into rubble. Already the lake was backing up, overflowing its banks and flooding the surrounding area.

  “He did right, honey,” a familiar voice said. A wounded Colonel Whatts looked over the field. “We found the remains of a half a dozen of the hellcat things and three of those tentacle robots someone is calling Octobots.”

  A marine held up an arm then crouched down and pulled up a mechanical arm. It sparked and the gripper spun, so he dropped it swearing.

  Nodding to the sight, the colonel cocked his head. “We knew some of the mechanicals got away, it looks like a few workers were starting a base here and he stopped them. Looks like he saved us. Saved us all.”

  Nodding again he swatted a mosquito off his wounded leg with his hat then turned to let the young woman grieve in peace.

  The End

  Boogeyman

  Sometimes, when one stares into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back…

  The explorers, known as the Wandering Clan, explored the outer reaches of the Terran sector. They were ever cautious in their probing, aware ships had been lost in the area over a century before. Rumors persisted of an alien race in the area, one that didn't like nosy neighbors.

  Captain Georgina Ride snorted. She knew most of the crew didn't believe in Boogeyman, things that went bump in the night. Children stories, Doctor Jed would say, as would Doctor Blithers. But there was a kernel of truth there, and fear had a reason to exist, to warn them to proceed cautiously, which they were doing.

  Captain Ride had taken her Shinzu class explorer Drake off skirting the quarantined zone. They had decided to go in a different direction from the quarantine, up galactic north. If they could they would get an idea of the alien space…if it was real.

  They were the smallest clan, scientists and explorers built around the recovered survey ship Shinzu and those from other survey ships or those of like mind who had left the Remington or Thieves Guild.

  Only the Thieves Guild was more scattered; the Guild was reputed to be in small cells in every inhabited system now. Good for them, Captain Ride thought. They could keep their skulking about and mob crap. She'd rather fly.

  The Wanderers had about a dozen ships; none knew exactly how many for they rarely met up except in Ollie ollie in free meets every decade. Each ship moved out into the unknown, mapping it and seeding it with ansible buoys to communicate back to the clans. They had found several new species, as well as many worlds and systems for mankind to settle. They would then sell the information to the other clans in order to get fuel and supplies.

  The other clans didn't appreciate the
ir chosen role, but they did it anyway. They loved the freedom of the stars, to go where they wanted to go, and to see wonders no other human eye had seen before.

  “I don't know why they can't leave well enough alone. Leave some areas as is. Natural you know?” Jed complained. Groused, really, Captain Ride thought.

  “Perhaps they will; people don't want to fill every void, doctor,” the captain said patiently. She was the captain of the ship, but he was the lead scientist and mission leader.

  “Oh yes they do. We should leave some things out,” he said.

  She frowned thoughtfully. “I can see that in theory, Doc, but we need the supplies. Badly sometimes. Man doesn't explore on will alone,” she said shaking her head. “One does have to pay the bills,” she said. They were competing with telescopes, other Wandering Clans, plus automated probes. The Remington Clan was their primary customer. They'd sold their data to a few of the outer colonies; it was good to know what was around you after all, but those transactions were rare.

  Really, she couldn't blame Captain Mumbumbo for wanting to fold their clan into the Remington Clan. It would mean less exploration runs, but it would mean steady support.

  He sighed. “They should be paying us double. Triple!” He said, shaking his head, breaking the captain out of her woolgathering. She snorted. “I know, I know, old argument. Science versus life. I get it. We're only tolerated and subsidized for so long.”

  “The next big thing, Doc. It's not what you've done; it's what have you done for me lately. I know,” the captain said, making a face. He nodded.

  <|>-^-<|>

  The captain sipped her coffee and stared out the virtual window. In a lot of ways, the dark inky blackness matched her mood perfectly she mused, sitting back to cradle the not quite perfect simulated coffee as she crossed her legs. Here she was, one of a two thousand humans on a starship exploring where literally no human had gone before…and yet…

  She sighed, shaking her head. She wasn't that old. She'd been born into the clan after all, but she was starting to regret marrying her ship and not some guy and settling down somewhere. Oh, she could have a family on the ship; it was good to write the rules, but no. She couldn't see it. She couldn't see risking her family like this. She wasn't the only one either; most of her crew were the same way. A few were in relationships; a few more had made those permanent. And even fewer meant it for more than a couple years, she thought with a mental sniff. Living and working with someone day in and day out…she shook her head. In a lot of ways, the crew was in one big group marriage.

  For some it wasn't a big thing; after all, they worked in shifts. Four shifts, one group was up running and manning the ship while the other three were in stasis. It worked well; they kept the time down and had plenty of people for backup if something unfortunate happened. But for many it was getting into a monotonous routine, one that lacked anything even remotely resembling downtime or a vacation. She snorted. It was a good thing that half her crew were workaholics.

  Take the good doctor for instance. Please! Yes, take him! He was an asset. He knew his department and his field inside and out, but outside that field he couldn't see beyond his nose. She had to admire that…short sighted myopia, it had to be stubborn will that kept the man so focused on his work and not the bigger picture.

  That or just a total arrogant streak. Like the rest of the universe should bend and bow to his will, she thought, shaking her head. It was all of the above she realized, both a love of the science, a willfulness to not see beyond it, and arrogance. He couldn't see or understand why people didn't agree with him.

  She realized she was a ship's captain. She loved being an officer, intermingling with the crew and digging into the engineering. She loved commanding her ship, the sense of power it evoked in her. That was a thrill…but also a heavy responsibility. A lot of lives road on her shoulders, she thought. Not just those on this ship.

  She could never live with Jed. Not even bed him, he'd probably be so distracted with calculations or something in his head…she shook her head. No. She snorted. Besides, she liked her guys or gals reasonably fit and trim. He had a gut and needed to work out more. She made a mental note to get the doc on him and the others about that. Distracting him with exercise might get him to stop pissing and moaning half the time.

  She was pretty certain Jed and the rest of the eggheads hadn't seen the broader implications of their research. No, they puzzled it out, then wanted to brag about it sure, but they never thought what it could mean to others. Or if they found something dangerous…what it would mean to them personally. She bet that if they did run into something dangerous, like oh, that solar flare two years ago, Jed and Bithers would be dickering over the various data feeds and whining about why the ship was running instead of sending in probes to get more information.

  She shook her head. No, she was getting tired of playing babysitter to a group of prima donnas. They still thought they ran the ship. It was true she played chauffeur, but that was as far as it went. Her duty was to the safety of the ship first, crew second and the mission a distant third.

  She shook her head. Well, there was one other thing she had to worry about, one that Captain Mumbumbo had assigned to her personally as the captain. Mumbumbo was a good man; a peacenik from Africa who had been arrested and deported from Terra several centuries ago. He was a brilliant man, a natural leader. He had ebony black skin and a nice white smile. He was getting on; the last time she'd seen him was at the last ollie ollie in free call ten years ago.

  That was when he'd given her the Drake and a heavy responsibility to temper her elation. Her fourth priority, one for her to consider with every system. The safety of mankind. She closed her eyes, resting the lip of her cup against the tip of her nose briefly. Mankind. One hell of a thing to have to worry about. While Jed and Bithers and the other eggheads were looking for some bright bauble, she had to worry about the things that went bump in the night. The things that could bite them or trace them back to mankind.

  “So far so good,” she murmured, rapping her knuckles on her desk. She snorted at herself, then took another sip of coffee. She still had reports to go over. They were about a day out from the nearest system.

  She sighed and returned her attention to the tablet in front of her. “Oh, the joys of hydroponics inventories,” she murmured picking the electronic device up with her free hand.

  <|>-^-<|>

  Captain Ride rolled her shoulders, then got up and did a proper stretch. Sometimes sitting too long just messed her all up. She decided she needed a stroll, so she went to main engineering.

  In engineering she found her chief engineer, Bill Newman, looking over the drive. “How are we doing Bill?” She asked.

  He turned to her with a welcoming smile, a sure thing that nothing bad was wrong. One of her other biggest fears was a drive malfunction that left them stranded like Shinzu had been. She had no desire to spend the next century or more adrift in space waiting for possible rescue or wondering if they would run out of fuel and power first. Shinzu had almost gone that way.

  “The drive modifications have settled; we've picked up another 3 percent efficiency across the board. So, more torque in the low end when we first get into hyper and more gears for the upper ends once we're settled in.”

  “Say that again?” The captain asked, raising an eyebrow his way. He always liked the racing car metaphors for some reason. Engineers, she thought. They were all garage mechanics at heart.

  “Well,” he drawled. “The drive modifications. Blithers figured out how to squeeze a couple more percent out of the drive. So…”

  “When?” The captain asked mildly, then closed her eyes in pain. She was starting to regret being on the ship. Tinkers! Why couldn't they damn well leave well enough alone! She blew out a long breath.

  “Um...” Bill stumbled, aware he'd stepped in it. “I, uh, thought you knew,” he said lamely.

  “I assuredly didn't,” she said, opening her blue eyes to stare at him. “So?”
She finally asked.

  He shrugged. Doctor Blithers predicted a 10 percent boost, but realistically it turned out to be 2.9 percent. Three point one in the upper bands.”

  “Okay…”

  “We've got a faster jump time. We've got some buffered electronics helping out too, so that has shortened our jump time. And like I said, more grunt in the initial jump to get up to speed, then more cruise later.”

  “Ah. And what did this cost us?” she asked, frowning.

  He shrugged. “Some spares we had to rework mostly. We pulled the originals. This was our first test run. You mean you didn't notice?”

  She scowled, now annoyed that he'd turned it back on her. She felt a little embarrassed; no, she hadn't. “No. Were you testing it and waiting to spring it on me? Or did you just forget to tell me? Again?” She asked.

  “Um…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I plead the fifth?” he asked. She just looked at him. “Thought not,” he mumbled, looking down. “Sorry?”

  “Sorry doesn't cut it, Bill,” she sighed. “You know tinkering with the drive is the one thing I'm not at all fond of you doing. In fact, I think I expressly forbid it a few times. I know you like to learn, and yeah, it worked in the end but…”

  “Ma'am, it did work. And we do have the original parts.”

  “Yeah, so it didn't blow up the ship, and yeah. you have the parts. But had it stressed anything else…you know, something we don't have the parts for…” she frowned at him. He had the good grace to blush. “Yeah, thought so. Hadn't thought of that?”

  'No, Ma'am,” he said miserably. “I did watch her like a hawk though,” he said.

  “Yeah well, when we're out of hyper you get to do a full tear down and inspection…if we've got time. I want someone else to go over this too. Carefully. So, wake up your counterpart when we've got the time.”