Jerome paced a bit, forcing himself to calm down. “Yes. You saw Cammarry through those optics, the surveillance scope, your long range glasses. You are positive it was her?” Jerome was wrestling with the fact he had thought he saw Khin from a distance when that man died, and he had been mistaken. He was afraid Khin was mistaken as well.
“Yes!” Khin affirmed. “I saw her face, and her clothing. It was the Wizard Cammarry. No one else wears clothing like this!” He pulled at Jerome’s RAM suit. “That was when we rushed here, but those white cubies got through the gate faster than we could reach her. They were pulling Wizard Cammarry along covered by a clear sheet. It floated in the air. I saw her. She was sleeping.”
“Not dead!” Vesna added. “Dead people look all gray or bloated or rotted. That woman was not dead, but sleeping.”
Jerome paced some more trying to cool his temper. He looked at Old Bill, who was still watching the burning red automacube. The horse’s ears were perked forward, and his eyes intense. Jerome wondered how to interpret the animal’s expressions. That thought brought a grin to Jerome’s face and seemed to melt away some of his anger. He patted the horse on his flat forehead. Old Bill responded by rubbing his entire head against Jerome, nearly knocking him down.
“I suppose that is affection?” Jerome muttered as he again patted the animal. “Big rough animal affection?”
“Yes!” Vesna affirmed. “Horses can be very affectionate. They are smart animals. It is a fortunate man who has a good horse. With a horse you can ride and run down a nyala.”
“Like a large goat, but no horns!” Khin added with a gleeful chuckle. “Vesna’s people have some horses, and also cows who give milk like a goat. Much bigger animals than goats, and that cow milk makes good cheeses. I have eaten their cheeses!”
“Stop with the food talk!” Jerome looked back to the burning automacube, touched his chin and then went on. “So you saw Cammarry taken inside here, and you tried to follow. So what is inside?”
“The white cubies take people inside the castle. Sometimes the cubies come back out, but never the people,” Vesna stated flatly. “I was afraid when Khin climbed the fence. None of my people ever climb the fence. I told my Khin, ‘Do not climb the fence, the machine will get you’ but he insisted on rescuing the trapped wizard. The first time the cubie red brought him back I thought he had been killed. But he was only sleeping. He has tried many times, and the red machine always brings him back to the gate. Asleep, not dead.”
“Security or police forces might be using electroshock weapons, like Tom Swift’s electric rifle. Nonlethal security,” Jerome muttered. Hope flickered in his mind. His anger faded a smidge. “Well, are there more red automacubes?” Jerome asked. The fire was burning lower in the wreckage of the machine, just as the fires of his anger were cooling somewhat now that he finally had some real word on Cammarry’s location.
“I have only seen one,” Vesna stated flatly. “My Khin may have seen more machines. Khin? Did the same one always attack you?”
Khin looked down and shrugged. “I only saw one cubie red, but I was running as fast as I could to get inside. It did not have symbols I could read on it, but I think it was always the same one. I tried to stab it with my knife, but then it put me to sleep with a horrible shock. It took my knife that first time.”
“Well, we will not run from it this time. This time if another red automacube comes, I will destroy it as well.” He set his hand on the holstered weapon. “Now we go and get Cammarry.” He looked at Vesna. “You know about horses?”
She nodded.
“Then lead Old Bill. If he sees something and acts…. Strange… Let me know right away.”
Vesna took the reins and held them reverently in her hands. “Such a fine animal. Yes, I will tend to him. Thank you.”
Jerome walked back toward the gate. Old Bill was still watching the smoldering remains of the automacube. No other machines had come from the building. No people were visible. Nothing was discernible in the windows of the Special Care Unit. He pulled off his backpack, and removed the molecular torch. Connecting it to the fusion pack, he set it for a deep and wide cutting beam. Applying that cutting beam, he severed the pickets around the nine-section control pad. The torch easily lopped them off. The glowing red edges of the wrought iron dropped bits of liquid metal to the ground with a sizzle and thud. The control pad lights went off and its truncated remains dropped from the gates. The red glowing lights along the fence line atop the posts all winked off. Stepping back Jerome viciously kicked the gate and the two doors parted and swung inward creating a space large enough to allow them all to pass through. The gate was ruined.
Jerome replaced the molecular torch in his backpack and slung in on. He drew out the Willie Blaster. “I would have anticipated another security automacube arriving here already, if there was one. But perhaps this was their exterior or grounds security force and there are more inside. Someone told me there was no security in Beta, what a lie. I know that in Alpha’s Wolf City there was more than one security automacube. Proper security is in layers, but I am not sure what we will find here. So be prepared. Also make sure to watch for a response from Old Bill. Strange things are happening. Places where things get heavy and fall in bizarre ways.”
“Like the flying room?” Khin asked.
“The opposite of that,” Jerome corrected.
“Like a crushing weight?” Vesna asked in part commentary and part question. “I have seen places where fishing lines will sink in the sea. Where a small fish weighs much more than it should. Lines will snap when they should not. Places where swimmers sink and never come back up. Heavy places.”
“So you know about gravity sink holes?” Jerome looked at her with renewed interest. There was much more to Vesna than he had at first thought. What with the high tech optics, and her understanding of the gravity vacillations.
“I know there are heavy places, if that is what a gravity sink hole is,” she responded. “There are more of them now than before.”
Jerome pondered that for a moment. “Yes, I call those gravity sink holes. There are more now? Are you certain?”
“Why does the wizard doubt me?” Vesna looked to Khin. “I am an honorable woman. You know that. Tell him what you know. You are my Khin.”
“You are my Vesna,” Khin giggled a bit. “I have seen much I do not understand. Taken away from my cozy normal-lit place, to here. So much to see! Tilted sideways worlds, places to fly, and machines which carry me off. Vesna my dearest knows this world, and you are a wizard. I trust what you say. Both of you. Both different. Both honorable.”
Jerome bit back a retort. “Old Bill can perceive where the gravity sink holes are located, so if he gets upset, stop and watch out.”
“We are not stupid,” Vesna remarked.
Jerome led them along the pathway, uphill toward the building. The windows were not clear, but only semitransparent. The structure was constructed from permalloy, and was a mottled grayish white color. Jerome was unsure of what its original color had been. There were ropy vines which had grown up in some places. A few of those were still alive, but many were just dried out and brown. The tan color brought back haunting memories of the death outside of Dome 17. “It is no omen, none!” Jerome snapped the words.
“What Wizard Jerome?” Khin asked. “How can I help?”
Looking at him Jerome replied, “You are doing all you can. Thank you.”
As they got closer to the doors, Jerome could see that the view was a pretty one. The grounds had once been arranged with a pleasing symmetry. Where the groves of trees were located were arranged in a nice pattern. A few permalloy benches were on the building side of those copses. In one direction, the sea was visible, and Jerome turned away from there. Comprehending that much water was still overwhelming for his mind. The beauty of how the vista from that vantage point was still evident.
Vesna followed Jerome and was leading the horse, while Khin walked beside her. They had skirted well arou
nd the wreck of the red automacube, and it now only had a small wisp of smoke rising from it. Nothing else appeared out of place, and no other security items were seen.
“Do you know anything about what is inside?” Jerome asked as he approached the front door.
“No,” Vesna answered. She was perplexed about this man Khin called a wizard. She wondered how dangerous the situation would be. Old Bill had stepped off the pathway and was munching on some grasses which were growing in an area that once had been a formal garden, but was now weedy and unkempt. “None of my people ever come here. None of us cross the fence. I have seen people brought here, by the white cubies, but no person ever leaves.”
“I will not be trapped here. Khin, keep your eyes and ears sharp. You see and hear better than I do,” Jerome said. “I can destroy any red automacube, but we need to see it before it attacks.” Jerome gestured with the Willie Blaster. “I am going in to find Cammarry.”
“We are on a Wizard’s quest to rescue Wizard Cammarry from this castle!” Khin laughed.
Vesna rushed over and planted a kiss on Khin’s lips. “You be careful my Khin. I need you!”
Khin held her and patted her back. “I need you too my lovely Vesna. I must help Wizard Jerome.”
“I shall come too!” Vesna offered. “I do not want to be alone in this place.” Her heart was pounding, but she wanted to stay near to Khin and help him as much as possible.
“No!” Jerome snapped. “That animal is too big to tromp around inside here, and we need him. Please tend to my horse.”
Vesna looked to Khin who nodded at her. Then she replied, “That I will do. Yes, I will make sure he stays here. You may need a quick escape.” Vesna walked back and grabbed the reins, her eyes were large with a few tears at their edges. “You come back to me, my Khin!”
“My Vesna, of course!” Khin giggled. “We have cheeses to make, and foods to eat!”
The words ‘Special Care Unit’ were impressed into the permalloy above the entry doors. The tracks from the red automacube led along the side of the building away from the main doors. There was a small and closed door where the tracks led.
“We will not follow the trail of that security automacube.” Jerome turned to the main doors. There he saw another nine-section control pad on the door’s entry. It was glowing brightly with power. Using his free hand he pulled out the key finder. Setting it against the control pad he activated it. “Khin you keep watch on the small door where that automacube originated.”
Khin nodded and stood guard.
The key finder’s glow shone on Jerome’s hand as it cycled. The colors on the control pad flashed a few times, and then there was a loud click. The door unlocked and slid back into a pocket in the wall.
“We are going in. Keep near to me. No separations this time,” Jerome remarked as he peered into the building.
“Vesna was already left outside. That was a separation,” Khin reminded him with a laugh. “You are separated from Wizard Cammarry.”
“Not for long.” Jerome gripped the Willie Blaster as he slipped the key finder into his pocket. “We will find Cammarry, and leave this place all together. You, Vesna, Cammarry and I will leave together.”
Lights were shining down from the ten meter high ceiling. The lobby they entered also had ambient light coming in from the semi-transparent windows. The walls were gently curved, and some chairs were arranged in groups of fours. No one was present. They walked in and looked around. Doors led off in various places, and open hallways stretched away on both sides.
“A machine comes,” Khin warned. “Cubie!”
Jerome and Khin both squatted down near some of the chairs, that being the only cover or concealment available. Jerome had his weapon aimed in the direction Khin indicated.
“Not a red. I know the red sound, this is different,” Khin added in a whisper.
A white automacube rolled steadily toward them from their right. Its manipulation arm was folded flat to its top. It paid no attention to the two men as it passed by.
Jerome gestured for Khin to follow as they stalked after the white automacube. He put a finger to his lip to caution Khin not to speak, but it was unnecessary. Khin was more serious than Jerome had ever seen him. Jerome caught sight of a fresh scar across Khin’s arm. He made a mental note of that and added it to the many things he needed to ask Khin to explain.
The white automacube rolled onward until it reached a bank of elevators. There the manipulation arm unfolded and inserted its tip into an access port of the wall. An elevator door opened, and the automacube rolled inside.
“We need to get in that elevator!” Jerome stated. He sprinted forward.
“Wait! Why get close to that cubie? Why?” Khin called. He hesitantly followed Jerome.
Just as the elevator door was closing, Jerome slid his arm inside. There was an warning buzz and the doors retracted. Jerome slipped into the elevator, and Khin followed.
The elevator was about three meters wide, and five meters deep. The side walls were mirrored silver, and the ceiling was black. The white automacube was parked in the center. A black insignia read, ‘M-84’ on its rear. Just as Khin stepped inside the elevator, the doors shut and with a small lurch the elevator began to ascend.
“This is not a passenger elevator,” the white machine stated. “Visiting hours have been suspended temporarily for an unknown period of time. You must exit the facility.” The manipulation arm extended toward a row of buttons on the wall near the door. “I will escort you to the nearest exit.”
Jerome kicked the manipulation arm away and leveled the Willie Blaster at the machine. “No.”
“Your behavior is inexcusable. Security has been alerted,” the automacube’s mechanical voice responded. “Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding? I am Doctor M-84. How may I assist you? We have an anger management program which can be implemented to support you in dealing with your rage.”
“I am here to get Cammarry,” Jerome snarled in indignation. “Where is she?”
“I cannot violate patient confidentiality by either confirming or denying the existence of any patient,” Doctor M-84 stated. “That would inhibit my ability to properly tend to those entrusted to my care.”
“If I put a hole through your chassis and rip off your arm and wheels, how would that inhibit your ability to properly tend to those entrusted to your care?” Jerome stepped back and aimed the Willie Blaster directly at the center of the automacube.
“Security has been summoned. Your threats of violence are delusional. The object you hold is not in our database, and therefore is not a major threat. You might be able to inflict minor cosmetic damage to this unit, through using that object as a cudgel, but you are more likely to inure yourself. There is no way you can inhibit my ability to care for my patients.”
The elevator stopped. The doors opened.
“Beware!” Khin screamed out, “Cubie red will make you dead!”
Jerome glanced back and out of the elevator toward where Khin was pointing. A red automacube was just a few meters away. It fired a set of wires. Jerome dodged, and Khin jumped. The wires struck Khin on his chest as he dove in-between Jerome and the security automacube.
“Arrraahhuug,” Khin collapsed to the floor. His body shook once and then lay still.
Piff. Piff.
Jerome fired the Willie Blaster into the red automacube. Two holes were ripped through its flank, tearing and shredding off the front drive wheels on that side. Its manipulation arm flailed about, but the machine was badly leaking fluids, and sparks came from the holes in its side. Unlike the automacube outside, this one did not explode. Jerome was staring at it, thinking how he would have been torn to shreds had it detonated. “Maybe inside security carries a different munitions load?”
The white automacube rushed at Jerome, its manipulation arm extended out, some kind of needle and tubing were on the end. Jerome kicked the arm away, and then darted out into the hallway. He recovered and pointed the Willie Blaster r
ight at M-84
“Stop right there!” Jerome commanded. “Or I will shoot you as well.”
Alarm bells rang overhead. A recording sounded between the alarm bells. “Code Red, Building one, third floor, elevators. Code Red, Building one, third floor, elevators. Code Red, Building one, third floor, elevators.”
Overhead sprinklers came on. Water rained down from nozzles fitted into pipes which ran along the ceiling.
The white automacube did not move.
Khin lay on the floor, motionless.
Jerome backed up until he reached the wall behind him. He looked down the hallway in both directions, and saw no other people or automacubes. The walls were a dull white, and light came in from the semi-transparent windows. Several of the walls also had suffered some kind of damage, and they were flaked and crumbling onto the plush carpeted floor. The permalloy beneath the wall coverings was exposed. Some doors were down the hall, but Jerome did not take much time to check them, except to note they were closed.
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 98