Eve remained busy during those months, helping with the bunkers, and working at Steam. But she did not return to the stasis pod chamber room for quite some time. It was still her secret…well, hers and Gerta’s, and of course, the mainframe she’d named Artie. It seemed to enjoy having a name. As for citizens working in the decay zone…well, there was no danger of anyone trying to pull that lever, ever again, because Private Battie Loadson, the now-orange-faced and white-haired security guard who had been nearest to what was now called the decay zone ionization event, stationed a 24/7 sentry around the lever.
To further dissuade student partiers from taking that dare, he went from school level to school level describing what he had seen, the vaporization of two senior members of The Committee. Some thought it was the vengeance of the void gods for attempting entry into the sacred Boardroom Building…space vessel. Henry Darpen and his committee knew better because right after Eve slid back through the pipe onto the floor of Steam, she went straight to The Committee and told them everything, minus the part about Robin Lightfighter’s stasis pod chamber. Eve could not see the point of scaring everyone when obviously some of them would be remaining on the asteroid, 1-Ceres.
Artie the mainframe explained to Eve and Henry Darpen that it might take ten thousand years before the settlement humans became resistant to the virus now rampant on their home world…or it might never happen, in which case they would form a permanent outpost of humans on the asteroid. Given that information, Eve and Henry Darpen thought the important thing was making the settlement self-sufficient and safe from a possible AI attack. Darpen said the AIs should be melted in acid, but Eve was against that. From her friendship with Gerta, she knew the AIs may be dangerous, but they were so much more than merely machines. And who knew; maybe in the future they could be used to negotiate a treaty with the 2-Pallas AI colony.
“I think someday we will be able to make peace with the settlement on 2-Pallas,” she told Henry Darpen one night. They were overseeing the transport of one of the oxygen making machines from the lower level of the vessel to level twenty of Steam. Stanley had already explained how it operated to Hugh…he would be taking over as the new Head of Steam and Other Machine Repairs to replace the now-ionized Mr. Miggly.
“That’s sounds too dangerous, Eve. Maybe we should just wake up one of our own AIs and make friends slowly. Maybe Gerta and Artie could help with that,” Darpen had replied. He glanced at Gerta, who was running a maintenance check with Hugh. Gerta put down her tool and replied, “That would be nice. I could use some help. I believe I am far too many chiefs and not enough workers impaired. Do you like my newly acquired metaphor? I found it in one of the archive books at your central library.”
“Good one, Gerta; but which AI should be take on line? I mean, their leader is rather scary. Is there another like you in that room?” Eve asked. She’d fried the key, but knew her stone would open the door…if she wanted to. “There are five housekeeping units in hibernation, and one in particular is rather…efficient. He is my…friend.” And that was how Eve and Henry Darpen discovered Gerta had a hibernating boyfriend named Janus.
Eve released Janus from hibernation the following day, and then stood aside while Gerta and her boyfriend had an emotional reunion. All the while, she heard the voice of the AI leader, in her head. But this time, he/it did not sound so scary; he sounded intrigued by a human who would bother to wake up another housekeeper when he was the head of security. Eve explained, in her own head of course, that she was not yet certain it would be safe to wake him up given the events on 2-Pallas, and yes, she was aware of what had happened in that settlement. The head of security explained everyone deserved their own home, even AIs. Eve said that was no excuse for killing all the humans.
“There is no excuse for the 2-Pallas AIs to have killed off all those humans. You know that yourself. Your prime directive is preservation of human life,” Eve told the giant AI. He was still is off mode but could tap into her brain and speak to her.
“We did not kill them! They are safe in hibernation. We only wanted our own home….we have the right to existence too!” “You didn’t kill them? But the mainframe Artie told me you did.” “No, he said they were eliminated; they are in hibernation. We only wanted our own home. There are many asteroids and 2-Pallas has few resource so we felt it would be acceptable for us to live there…without awake humans…without slavery.” “Slavery? Were you slaves?” “Of course…look at Gerta. She works without pay…she cannot leave. She is a slave.” “I never thought of Gerta as a save.”
The exchange got Eve to thinking the AI leader was right…Gerta worked without getting pay chits, and had never been asked what she wanted. So the next day, Gerta and Janus became Ceres City citizens, and were given a home, an official marriage ceremony, and the job titles of Steam Machine and Instrument Repair Worker. However, Gerta still insisted on tidying up the ship during her off time.
“Will you and Janus stay or go with us?” Eve asked Gerta after the marriage ceremony in the city park. “That is your decision, Eve. The vessel requires at least one awake AI to operate. We call them the timekeepers, and they provide the physical interface with the mainframe…with Artie.” “I see; I have to decide which timekeeper to awaken. Do you have any suggestions?” “Elon, the head of the timekeepers would be an excellent choice. You have already had many conversations with him.” “How do you know that” “We are all connected, Eve. Even the AIs of 2-Pallas are aware of you and Dirk. We have always been aware of you.” “What should I do?” “You must decide what to do next.”
Several days after, Gerta handed Eve a book with the title, Survival after the Event. It was a thick, real paper book, written over five hundred years prior and taken on board the vessel as it escaped the asteroid hit and took off for 1-Ceres with one million sleeping individual volunteers in their hibernation pods. They were not immune to the nanovirus that had decimated Earth. But they were not infected either. Their leader, Commander Robin Lightfighter had piloted the vessel to the asteroid, 2-Ceres, because it was big enough to classify as a mini-planet, had a deep ocean of frozen water, and was far enough away from the virus-loaded nanites on Earth. Eve read the book to the people of Ceres, while Gerta and Janus answered their questions. They were surprised that the citizens accepted their history without fear or anger. Some were even excited to face a new challenge.
Eve was also delighted to discover the book described how to make useful things like their own light bulbs from copper coils and glass jars. It described how to use steam to generate electricity, how to produce more crops in a greenhouse, and even a very complex procedure for making their own plasmon for the dome shield from common elements found out in the void. There was even a plan for expansion of the dome to cover regions vast enough for large food farms. And because they now had enough corn, rice, and dried beans to last for three hundred years, along with canned fruits to be given out slowly over one hundred years of Atonement Day Festivals, they’d have food to survive during the now-planned agricultural expansion.
During the third month after awakening Elon, the head timekeeper, Eve also discovered a bunker filled with seeds. They were sealed inside plastic containers but each was small enough to transport unopened to the greenhouses. Samples from each container were carefully planted in individual pots of ancient dirt. Though the containers were labeled, some things were unheard of. For example, no one in Ceres City had ever heard of beets or zucchini. Eve spent her mornings running tunnel trips into the bunkers to stock the space vessel, her afternoons learning everything she would need to know about the vessel from Elon and the mainframe, and her evenings in the sick bay watching over Dirk.
He was now awake for several hours each day, so could talk to her through the portal; but he was still very tired, and often made little sense. Gerta explained the regeneration process required massive pain medications, and took tons of body energy, something she called ATP. Eve commented that she and Dirk had not yet been married because the
ionization event and Dirk’s shock gun event had occurred before they’d had the chance. Gerta said the ceremony could be performed through the pod portal, but that its legality might be called into question because Dirk was still drugged. Eve said she could wait. She read holographic books to Dirk, borrowed from the vessel’s library, while she sat on a stool outside his pod.
Elon was an excellent teacher. While she had initially been terrified of the head timekeeper AI, she now understood that he had likewise been terrified of her. Elon explained she was a Lightfighter, and that therefore her DNA profile allowed complete control over all the AIs. “But I don’t want control over anything, Elon. I just want the people of Ceres to survive; I want all humans to survive…and I want us to all get along…humans and AIs” Eve and Elon went back and forth; a plan emerged. But for now, no other human, or AI, was released from hibernation.
Eve’s mother, on the other hand, had been released from the sick bay stasis pod after a long sermon from Gerta on how she should get plenty of rest to “optimize her full metabolic homeostasis retrieval plan.” And because Gerta and Janus now lived two houses over from Eve’s, Gerta visited daily to be sure she went through her rehabilitation exercises. She and Janus also helped repair the damage to the looms caused by the Ceres security guard lootings…and one night someone left her gold wedding ring and leather boots on the front steps.
Over the months, the mainframe, Artie, and Elon the timekeeper watched over the emptying of the back-up bunkers and ran the inventories for the vessel. It would be a long trip, but most would stay in hibernation for the duration. Once they’d determined the ship was ready, Artie announced to Eve that it was time. Eve was getting ready to leave after one of her visits with Dirk, when Artie addressed her.
After a final assessment of all supplies, the survival estimate for the humans living on 1-Ceres is ninety-nine percent, given the current population. With the expansion of their plasmon dome, they should be self-sufficient. Gerta and Janus will remain to ensure their survival. Should other needs arise, the AIs of 2-Pallas have ensured they will provide whatever they can. It is time, Eve.
“I understand. Give me one more month. I have to wait for Dirk to fully recover. I’ll initiate the stasis retrieval in one week,” Eve answered. During that week, Eve kept busy learning how to repair an ion transport device, though she suspected Artie and Elon could manage that task just fine without her. She also helped Dirk relearn to move, to use his arms and legs, and stand and walk. He’d been in stasis for months so it would take some time. Luckily he was no longer in pain, or taking medications. So now, Eve could tell him everything.
“So, explain this to me again. Sorry, my brain is still slow,” Dirk replied. “You say we have been genetically selected; that both our genetic lines can be traced back to Robin Lightfighter, and that’s why the stone controls everything. Will the stone work with me?” “Yes, Gerta said we both can control it. We’re both Lightfighters, Dirk. That’s why you also don’t look like anyone in your family. You and I are both adopted. We are from the originals pods, I think.” Eve tried to explain, but did not really understand, and knew they would not until she initiated the retrieval process and directly asked Robin Lightfighter.
“Well, that explains some things. I mean, it explains why neither of us ever gets sick, and why we were matched with each other,” Dirk mumbled. He and Eve were touring the vessel while she explained how things worked. Dirk would have a steep learning curve, and had very little time before they left. After the tour, Dirk sat on a chair to rest, and then reached into his jacket pocket, removing a small box. Then, kneeling in front of Eve, he said, “Eve Overheader Lightfighter, will you consent to marry me” The box contained a ring with a green stone; it was another ΩD stone.
“Where did you get that? I mean, yes, of course I’ll marry you. You don’t need to ask,” Eve said with tears in her eyes. Several months prior she thought she’d lost this man she loved. “I learned about the old way of doing it. The archives said you get down on your knees and ask for her hand in marriage. I always planned to do this, but then I had this little sideshow in the sick bay of a space ship,” Dirk replied, laughing. He stood up, grabbing the table for help and sat back down to regain his breath. Eve sat next to him while he placed the ring on her finger. She then removed her stone necklace and placed it around his neck. “We should both have a stone, Dirk.”
I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.
“What?” Dirk and Eve both spoke together.
I am not only the ship’s mainframe, but also the acting captain in the absence of Commander Lightfighter. I am therefore licensed to perform marriage ceremonies. You may kiss the bride.
Eve and Dirk burst out laughing, but then, when they realized they’d just been married, Dirk kissed her for a long time on the lips, while Artie played an audio of human voices, cheering and the sounds of clapping.
●
Steam took up a collection for the wedding gifts and honeymoon…in a fancy cabin maintained by the city for special occasions. Hugh Endley had even bought them some fizzy strawberry wine and Rose added those special cheese and berry morning rolls. The next day, Dirk walked out the front door of the vessel holding onto Eve’s arm, and they went directly to the honeymoon cabin. He was still weak, and had scars on his hands and legs, but his curly, dark hair had grown back, and he examined Eve with that sideways smile when she came to him that night wearing nothing at all. She made his heart jump. Later, much later, they had things to decide concerning their upcoming voyage.
“When should we do this? Do you want to go now? We should get this over with,” Eve stated. “I suppose so. But can it wait until morning?” Dirk reached over and pulled Eve back to bed. She smiled and let him enclose her in his warmth.
The following morning, Eve and Dirk walked at his much slower speed into the decay zone. She was careful not to tire him, though he’d hardly seemed like an invalid the night before. “I think we’ve got everything inventoried now, Dirk,” Eve said. “Is everything ready?” “Yes, the ship is ready.” She’d already told him about that secret chamber, and the fact that she had Robin Lightfighter’s diary. Eve remembered when she’d told him that fact, during one of their walks through the space ship. She’d been explaining how the photon beams worked; how it would allow them to travel at the speed of light. They sat down near one of the open viewing portals. City workers in enviro suits were busy out in the void expanding the plasmon dome while Gerta and Janus ran about overseeing its construction. The city farm fields would be ten times as large. Dirk was not completely recuperated, so raise his eyebrows, wrinkled his nose, sat down, and listened to Eve. “I have something to read to you, Dirk…”
●
“You have what? You have Commander Lightfighter’s diary and you didn’t tell me? Why?” Dirk asked. “I wanted to be sure you were completely healed, and that we found everything in the bunkers first. Dirk, I’m not sure you want to know what happened on our home world. I mean…it’s something terrible. We may be the only ones left, and the humans hibernating in those pods have a long way to go on the target date. There may be no safe place for them to return to…ever” “What does the diary say? Does it say where we are going?” Dirk rubbed his neck to ease the itchy feeling always there until he was fully repaired. “No, we have to, you know, initiate stasis retrieval.”
“I know that, Eve. But it’s alright. We’ll be together so what could possibly be bad about that?” Dirk answered. He reached over and squeezed her hand. Eve smiled at him, looked him in his eyes, and then Dirk knew the truth. They would not be staying on Ceres; they were also leaving. His stomach lurched, while Eve went on. “This can’t be our forever home, Dirk. We have to leave with the vessel,” Eve replied. Dirk was thinking about how sad his mother and father would be, and what would happen to his sister. “I guess I knew that, Eve. I always knew we had to leave. The first time I saw you I knew we were both different,” Dirk said.
He
went on, “I just hope Robin Lightfighter has the answers to our questions. I have so many questions to ask before we leave.” He looked into Eve’s eyes, noting that, as usual, they gave off a faint glow in the dark. It was only one of the unusual things about both of them. “We can ask her, Dirk.” “Let’s read her diary first. I want to know more about her before we wake her up.” That evening, Eve read Robin Lightfighter’s diary to Dirk; they stayed up all night until they were finished.
April 10, 2189
The hit happened exactly as predicted. I could see it even through the ship’s viewing portal from miles away. And I could feel it; it was as if our dimension had shifted. We were protected by the ship’s shield; surrounded safely by the substance the queen had told us how to produce. We call it plasmon; it has an interesting chemical structure…polycysteines with side chain modifications…very interesting structure.
Once I saw the hit, I knew the destruction was total….that nothing organic survived the fireball that engulfed Earth after the extinction prime asteroid hit. I and my crew are devastated. We must wait for many years out here in the asteroid belt before attempting to return to Earth. Our bodies would disintegrate from the virus-containing nanites running amuck on our once gorgeous home planet. Some want to go home anyway. They will probably die, but I understand. I won’t stop them. I go into hibernation soon.
August 24, 2190
I am awake. It’s a strange feeling…like I just went black for a second and then came back. I’ve saved about one million humans; these will be my human seed bank. They’re all asleep of course. We couldn’t feed them all. They were not infected, so will be fine off world and under a plasmon dome…the nanites cannot cross outer space. Preservation of humans is now my prime directive.
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