The roboticist went to a small tablet and turned his music down; wiping his hands with a cloth, he walked over to where Al was standing. His coat had a name tag on it that said Dr. Edward Florida.
“I hope you don’t misunderstand what I was doing just then,” he said. “To remove that robots head, you have to strike a particular spot with sufficient force to dislodge it from the body. I find it easier to be overhead.” He held out his hand and said, “Pleasure to meet you, Mister Clark.”
While they shook hands, Al asked, “You know who I am?”
“Everyone knows who Chief Al Clark is. You’re making quite a name for yourself in our little community. My understanding is you’ve already saved a number of lives. Is that not so?”
“I was lucky enough to be in a position to help at the right time. I think fortune smiled on me,” was Al’s humble reply.
“Nevertheless Mister Clark, you are well known in these parts and highly respected. What can I do for you this fine day?”
Al considered how to continue; he needed someone who knew about the human brain and robot combination. Someone who could help him learn about himself. A person versed in this field that could explain the manual the captain had. He also needed to be very discreet.
Al said, “You are also highly respected Doctor Florida. I’ve done a little checking on you, and I found that you are both a doctor and a roboticist and regarded by some to be one of the best in both fields. Can I ask why it is that you are down here, in the back end of the ship, repairing maintenance robots?”
Doctor Florida chuckled, “If you mean why I am here on this vessel, it’s because robotics became too restrictive on Earth. I have interests they did not appreciate. If you mean why I am here repairing robots, it’s because somebody has to care for them and I enjoy it. Does that answer your question, Mister Clark?”
A little chagrined, Al continued, “I understand you are familiar with Dr. Hawthorn’s work, is this true?”
Doctor Florida recognized the name immediately and was quick to answer, “Doctor Hawthorn was a genius, a dreamer, and a revolutionary. The combination of which leads to amazing discoveries. He was a visionary when it came to robotics. What a tragedy it is that he didn’t live to see our new world.”
“So I take it you approved of his work?”
“Oh yes, he was doing some extraordinary work on human integration to robotic constructs. Unfortunately, it was highly controversial and the last I heard they revoked his funding. That is why he joined our expedition. He hoped to continue his research here, and I was hoping to collaborate with him.”
“Are you doing research of your own in that area?” Al asked.
“I was…but there hasn’t been much free time. Maybe later, once we are settled.”
Al made his decision to get some professional help. The small room was empty, with several doors leading to other areas in the shop, but Al saw no one. Just to be sure, he leaned up close to the roboticists’ ear and asked, “Can you keep a secret?”
Doctor Florida said he could, and Al told him his story in an abbreviated form, starting with waking up in the box, and ending with his experience in the power room.
The roboticist was surprised and delighted. “You are the prototype?” he asked.
“In the flesh, so to speak,” Al answered.
Doctor Florida was surprised, but not so surprised that he didn’t think to run some tests. As a roboticist, Al was like finding the Holy Grail.
“Let’s go into the diagnostic room so I can examine you.”
He told Al to sit on a table and knelt down to look at his wounded leg.
“This is healing nicely, in a couple of weeks you won’t be able to tell it was injured,” said the doctor.
It took several minutes to figure out how to open the access panel located on Al’s back. A tiny mole pressed just the right way opened a small panel and allowed the roboticist to hook up his equipment.
“Ah…ha, now we’re getting somewhere,” he exclaimed as he grabbed leads and plugged them into the proper ports of the scanner and Al’s back. A large monitor burst into life and displayed the workings of Al’s body in exquisite detail. Rods and tubes, servos and motors, things that Al had no idea of their purpose, and miles of intricate wiring tying it all together. Lines of code, parameters, and status, scrolled down both sides of the representation of his body.
The scientist turned to Al and said, “Now that is a thing of beauty. Simple but elegant. No disrespect intended.”
“None taken Doc, is everything all right? Do I need a charge or anything?” Al asked, unsure of himself.
“Everything is fine Mister Clark. See how your leg is getting extra fluids to help it regenerate the skin structure. I know your power pack is good for many years in the human mode, and it appears you are eating and drinking enough to maintain your biological aspects. No, I would say your body is fine, but how about the mental portion of your well-being? Are you sleeping well? Any depression or anxiety?”
“It’s been a lot better lately since I found out who I am. In the beginning, it was kind of scary,” Al admitted.
“From what I’ve heard of you, I would say you’re adapting well to a difficult and frightening situation. You mentioned a manual the captain has. Can I get my hands on that?”
Doctor Florida was licking his lips, and rubbing his hands. Begging to know Al and his robotic body better.
Al grinned at the image this mad scientist looking man made and answered him, “I will ask the captain to get it to you. You must remember, though, for the time being…tell no one. The captain, Doctor Cody, and you are the only ones that know. If anyone else needs to become involved, I should be the one to tell them. Do you agree?”
“Absolutely. There are people in this camp that would not take kindly to having a cybernetic person among them. For you to help the colonists, you must be liked by them. I totally understand why you want to keep your identity secret. In a different time, I’d tell you to wear a mask.” Edward Florida thought that was funny. “You could be the first superhero of Avalon.” The look he gave Al was one of mischief, and then he laughed.
Al had a bigger question, “What happens when you take me out of human mode?”
“At this point, I don’t know. I assume your strength and speed would increase substantially. There is a possibility your senses will be better. I will know more after I get a look at Dr. Hawthorn’s manual, but I don’t recommend you change that setting just yet. We need to do some systems tests and psychological evaluations. Let’s take it slow and work up to your full potential in baby steps. I’m not sure you realize this yet, but…you can be a very dangerous man.”
Chapter Fifteen
The shuttle floated down from the clouds to an expanding settlement. A lot had happened in only one day. With the problems he experienced last night, it seemed much longer.
Al stepped from the shuttle to one-hundred and three people working on-planet to make this place their home. Activity surrounded him as the colonist’s rushed to get settled.
It was late afternoon, and the sun was casting long shadows across the office quarters established for security as he stepped inside. A large shaded window in each wall provided plenty of light for their needs. Behind a curtain, four bunks filled half the habitat, with two tables and a couple of chairs taking up the rest of the office. Two of his men were sitting in the chairs staring at the pads propped up on one of the tables. Another officer had returned in the same shuttle and had gone for lunch. The rest were sleeping or eating.
The two men at the table were seeing through the watcher’s eyes; reading the data their sensors generated. They held a vigil against wingless dragons.
“Have you seen anything?” their boss asked.
The man next to Al took his eyes from the security pad and answered, “There was a smaller creature like the ones that attacked us, throwing rocks at a fence post just before dawn. He didn’t do any damage, but he had us going for a while.”
“Sure, these are our neighbors, and we should learn more about them.”
The video was sharp and clear and showed two giant creatures with long necks two miles away, lumbering across the screen. They looked to him like pictures from a book; a book about Earths distant past. He could have taken the image from the monitor and put it in with all the other prehistoric creatures in any science textbook, and nobody would have noticed the difference.
“If they are anything like the dinosaurs on Earth, they’re vegetarians,” Al said hopefully. “Keep your eyes open. I’m going on a walkabout. I’ll talk to you guys later.”
A walkabout is what they now referred to as their informal patrols. They just walked…about. Al left the office and went to grab something to eat. He had not eaten anything since last night, and although his stomach could not growl, he felt his hunger as a fuzziness of thought that progressively got worse.
The mess hall was a large tent until they completed the permanent building. Al picked up his dinner and sat by himself at a table when Cody came in, looked around until he saw Al, and made his way over.
“There you are,” he said, “How are you doing my friend?”
“I’m doing all right, all in all. How about you?” Al replied with a little hesitation.
“I am fine…but I need to talk to you. It is extremely important. Can we go to the clinic?”
Al was almost done eating his small meal, so he threw the remains in the trash and followed the doctor out.
“What’s the matter, Cody?”
“I will show you when we get there.”
They arrived at the clinic and went directly to the diagnostic room. Cody locked the door and then pulled up Al’s scan on the monitor.
He turned and said, “You have a hole in your head.”
“Umm…excuse me?”
Doctor Cody tapped the monitor and zoomed in on the forehead. He pointed to a tiny dot. A dot on his forehead.
“That is a hole in the metal of your head. My scan cannot penetrate the metal surrounding your brain, so I cannot see inside, but the scan shows a tiny hole. Are you feeling all right? Do you remember banging your head?
Then it came to him. Al remembered a foggy mirror in a vacant and unused bathroom and a tiny drop of blood on his forehead. He remembered a pinhole when he woke up—in the lid of his box, and the holes in the habitat ring made from micro-meteorites. He thought of the dull headaches he’d begun to have.
Al mentioned all this to his friend, “Is it possible I have a meteorite fragment in my head?”
His friend eyes showed worry, “It might be. We will need to do more tests.”
“What should we do?” asked Al.
“Did you see the roboticist while you were aboard the Excalibur? Did he do a scan?”
“I did see him, and he performed a scan.”
“The download from the scan he did this morning might tell us if you are in danger. His equipment would involve much more detail.”
Cody thought for a few seconds, thinking of the dangers involved with exposing Al’s secret to the settlement, “I must go and see him myself, and we cannot trust the radio, so I must take a shuttle up to the ship. I will leave tomorrow morning and be back the next day. Until then, you must take it easy…okay?”
Al had many questions, but the one that jumped out immediately was, “Do you think this might be the reason for my amnesia?”
“I think it is a distinct possibility, my friend.”
****
It was pitch dark outside when he left the clinic. The settlement lights lit up the night but left many areas in deep shadow. Most colonists were inside for supper, or doing preparations for the next day’s work in their tents or habitats, and the settlement had grown quiet.
Al was in a mild state of shock. His world had been thrown back into chaos and once again he was unsure of his future. His headache was gone, and he felt fine, but he was not happy. Waiting for Doc Cody to return was going to be difficult.
The night was the time of monsters. Al and his men had adopted the local name for the beasts, and when the sun went down, they knew the ‘Riktors’ would be hunting. While four of his men were patrolling the camp, two more monitored the feed coming from the watchers. Sleep was something done during the day.
He decided to walk the fence and make sure it was installed properly and working as intended. Stopping by the security office, he informed his men, obtained a powerful flashlight and a rifle, just in case one of the monsters was stupid enough to try something, and he left. He almost hoped they would try something.
Walking the fence was somewhat therapeutic. Insects buzzed, and animals talked to each other in voices of their own. The noises of the night reminded him of Earth on a pleasant spring evening. Large versions of fireflies dotted the landscape, their tails blinking as they flew along making circles in the air. If it weren’t for the occasional animal scream or savage growl in the distance, it would have been almost relaxing.
Now and then his flashlight would spotlight some creature that had attempted to pass through the fence, which was designed to stun. Starting at the bottom the paralyzing effect got progressively stronger until it reached the ten-foot level, and the occasional creature that tried to cross would fall back on the opposite side of the fence. They would wake up in a half-hour or so, and hopefully go the other way. Sometimes, in their confusion, they would get up and go the wrong way; paralyzing themselves again.
In one section Al found evidence of a large animal that had tried the fence, smashing some small bushes and leaving the ground marked with the fall of its body. Further down, he found another spot where it had tried again. This creature was persistent.
When he reached the part of the perimeter that was furthest from the main camp and its lights, in the darkest part of the line of fence poles, he found a hole dug under the fence. A rather large hole dug hurriedly since sunset. Claw tracks led away from the hole, headed in the direction of the camp.
“We have an intruder,” Al said over the radio. “Southwest corner fence has been compromised and tracks lead inbound. If it is a Riktor, remember they may hunt in pairs. I am making my way in from the affected section of the fence.”
He could hear his men telling everyone to get to the habitats as he followed the tracks into camp.
In a tent, next to a half-finished habitat module, he heard someone screaming. His flashlight beam lit the back of an angry monster, at least, eight foot tall, dragging a woman out through a tear in the tent. He had her by the legs with his front claws and was pulling from the safety of her home. She was kicking and screaming and doing her best to make his intentions more difficult.
Al looked around, and when he saw no sign of an accomplice; he yelled, “Hey—over here!” He needed to get it away from the woman. A man ran out through the tent flap and helped to distract the determined Riktor. To his credit, the man was good at running.
Now the monster turned his attention to Al. One of his officers appeared twenty feet to the side of him, and the officer began yelling also. In a rage, it looked back and forth trying to decide which human to attack. Both men stepped backward, attempting to draw it away from the tent and back towards the fence.
The Riktor dropped the woman who quickly got up and ran away, and then started moving towards them. As the creature moved out, the two men circled slowly around to get a better line of fire. When the time was right, Al yelled, “Fire!” The monster was no match for the laser rifles. Set to maximum, they almost cut him in half, and he fell where he stood.
Al was moving to check on the woman when the second creature exploded from behind a nearby habitat and rushed at Al with an ear-splitting roar. He had no time to think. Too close to do anything else, he let instinct take over and fell onto his back to the ground. As the surprised beast flew over him, t
he beam from Al’s rifle opened it up, and the monster fell to the dirt in a heap behind him.
That is how Al got his fourth Riktor. He was a hero to the colonist’s—again, and now a mortal enemy of the remaining beasts.
****
It wasn’t long after the battle that his headache returned. It started at annoying and moved towards just bearable within an hour. After an hour, it progressed to the point where he excused himself and went to lay down. In the security quarters, he dropped into one of the bunks and fell asleep.
The dream was very real this time. He could smell the grass, hear the wind, and see for miles over the bright and beautiful countryside. The person running up the hill was still fuzzy, but as she got closer, he saw her dress was blue, and she looked familiar. But he had no idea what she was yelling. Whatever she was saying, it never came clear enough to understand.
He awoke six hours later with only a trace of the pain, and bright sunshine made the curtains glow a bright orange. Al lie there thinking about his headache and the reason behind it and concluded stress seemed to make his malady stronger. Stress was something he needed to avoid. He got up hoping he could catch Cody before he left and let him know about the newest developments.
The doctor had already left when Al reached the shuttle pads, and it was just as well, he told himself. Doc Cody looked worried enough when he last saw him.
Al stayed busy. He had fences that needed reinforcing. Excavators dug a ten-foot deep trench six inches wide between each post and then he had the machine fill the channels with a fast drying polymer that dried quickly to become harder than concrete. A deep tunnel would have to be dug to get under the fence, and Al was there to supervise the entire thing.
Since the machines did most of the work, all he had to do was make sure the fence wasn’t damaged. His men had taken responsibility for the security of the rest of the settlement when it became apparent that he was struggling with something.
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