The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books

by John Thornton

  “I need help, and advice,” Eris said. She took a few slow deep breaths, and willed herself into the shadowlands.

  There was only a bit of foggy mist as she opened her eyes. The cerulean colored sky above her was pleasing. Wispy white clouds were scattered about, and the yellow sun was warm and refreshing.

  “Please assemble for a meeting,” Eris commanded. As she looked down she realized she was not in her engineering uniform, but just in some basic pants and blouse. There was green grass beneath her, and looking around she saw the manicured meadow she stood in was lined by leafy trees. She knew it was an illusion, but it was a sweet illusion.

  “I am here Captain Eris,” Sandie the AI said as her simulated physical presence materialized on the green, grassy lawn.

  Phantasms of Siva, Jenna, and Peter appeared, but they all looked very busy and occupied. Then past members of the Shadow Level Clearance also became visible. Quickly after that, two central memory cores slowly un-faded and were also sitting on the lawn.

  “Present Captain,” AI Batibat stated. “Everything is well in the new repositories in Alpha. Suspended animation is functioning at 100% of ideal. Nothing new to report.”

  The other central memory core’s artificial intelligence system spoke. “Captain Eris, there are also only two Conestoga systems who can now serve in the triumvirate. Will you be assigning a new system to that role?”

  “AI Seljak, I assumed that Sandie would fill that position. Was I incorrect?”

  “If that is your desire, I have no objection,” AI Seljak replied.

  “I have no objection,” AI Batibat stated.

  “I can do it,” Sandie affirmed.

  “So, in that we agree. I thought it was completed. Maybe we should elevate some of the synthetic brains into this system?” Eris pondered.

  “That is inadvisable,” Shadow added. In the shadowlands, Shadow still had no visible form and was still only a voice. “That was attempted in Project Angel Food, through special indulgences for the synthetic brains, and it did not result in desirable outcomes.”

  “Understood,” Eris replied. “So, we cannot add more to the Shadow Level Clearance, except by adding people. I really do need more help. AI Batibat, did you do another review looking for people in suspended animation who might be recruited to become additional flight crew? I know previously you found no one whose major skills would be very helpful. Now, we will also need military, police, and security personnel. Is there anyone in suspended animation who has primary skills in those areas? Or even secondary skills?”

  AI Batibat answered, “The log records show primary, secondary, and tertiary skill sets for each suspended animation occupant. Out of the total surviving complement of 19,811, there are none with primary skills are in those areas. There are seventy who have secondary skills in those area, four-four being reserve police officers, and thirty-six having some training in basic security. There are also five others who have tertiary skills in those areas, all of which are in network security in areas of the nonphysicality.”

  “Not a large pool of candidates. Now, AI Batibat, it is my understanding that we cannot reanimate anyone from the suspended animation repositories safely and quickly enough to assist us. Is that correct?” Eris asked. She was queasy remembering what she had endured in her own hasty reanimation.

  “That is essentially correct. An emergency rapid reanimation is dangerous, especially to the emotional, mental, and physiological components of the occupant. This problem is exacerbated regarding the newly built repository, what we are calling Repository 15A. It had to be made quickly, and it is working well. However, those occupants have been shifted about and endured much already. I repeat, their repository is functioning well, but should those occupants be put through emergency, rapid reanimation, I estimate a fatality rate of at least fifteen percent, with an additional sixty percent suffering some kind of post-traumatic stress injuries.”

  “So, if we do revive them quickly, three out of four will suffer, and many will die. That is unacceptable.” Eris shuddered recalling her own horrific reanimation. She shifted her thoughts away from the agonizing memories, and to the problem of staffing the Conestoga. “So, of all 20,000 people in suspended animation we only have seventy-five who could even offer some type of combat assistance in our current situation?” Eris rolled her eyes upward, and even though the fake blue sky was gorgeous, she was frustrated and saddened by the news. “And out of those seventy-five, something like fifty-five would be dead or too emotionally scarred, by the process, to really help anyway?”

  “Captain Eris, there are precisely 19,811 occupants under my care, not 20,000. And yes, of those there are seventy-five whose skills match your search parameters. The side effects of rapid reanimation would render fifty-seven of those in undesirable conditions, including thirteen dead. Those are the minimum estimates for damage. I cannot estimate the exact emotional and psychological damage which would happen. It would range from minor, such as in your own case, to major breaks with reality.”

  “Yes, I was blessed to have only minor emotional traumas. I am thankful. When we reach the new destination,” Eris was trying to think of the pretty world which she had witnessed, “Will reanimation still be a problem with that high of a failure rate?”

  “I am sorry if I gave that impression. I was speaking only about emergency, rapid reanimation. While following the established reanimation procedures, allowing the needed time for proper acclimatization, the negative side effects diminish to less than one percent. However, that process does take time. I strong advise against emergency, rapid reanimation unless no other options are available.”

  “I will not kill people just to try to get some to help. I guess we will stick with the people we already have. Sandie, do you agree?”

  “Yes, Captain Eris. Your reasoning is sound,” Sandie replied and her simulation gave a smile. “I do see your dilemma. You are facing this threat to the Conestoga posed by the Jellies. I can only make limited conjectures about the future battles, due to a lack of information about the Jellie’s capabilities, tactics, and intentions. As it stands now, if they attack with their pink explosive weapon, we have only a small chance of withstanding it.”

  “So, we need to build those weapons which Jerome has designed. What is the status on that?” Eris asked.

  Sandie replied, “The automacubes are building some weapons as we speak. The lattice of compeers is standing unified with SB Bodowa, of Reproduction and Fabrication, in resisting calls to directly make sophisticated weapons. I can override SB Bodowa, but have been hesitant to do so since some of my previous actions have resulted in disasters.”

  “I will issue a direct Captain level command,” Eris replied. “I will demand we build the weapons. If SB Bodowa does not listen, then, Sandie, I will ask you to do whatever is needed to get the weapons made. Even if that means coercing a synthetic brain into cooperation.”

  “I hope it does not come to that,” Sandie stated. The hands of her physical simulation toyed with the beaded necklace.

  Just before Eris dismissed the shadowlands, one of the phantasms approached her. It was Captain Lechner’s remnant phantasm. “The Conestoga is not a warship, or even equipped to be one.” His voice was as insubstantial as his visual specter, yet it was powerful. “That was part of why the insurrection was so destabilizing. The flight crew and general population were overrun. I failed the ship and we were left on a hostile, alien world. Do not let something like that happen to you. You are the future. Your decisions will make fate. Life or death is in your hands.”

  Before Eris could reply, the phantasm drifted apart and seemed to become just more wisps of clouds in the shadowlands. Even though it was beautiful there, in the faked scenery of the old and unspoiled Earth, Eris felt a chill from those words. The dead captain’s haunting warning was too much for her.

  She opened her eyes and forced herself back into reality. She shook her head. The bridge was the same, and the large display still showed empty sp
ace, while the nearby display showed the planet Zalia, and the other side showed the target world.

  “Well, Captain Lechner, if the Conestoga is not a warship, can it be a racer? One last flight to the finish. SB Pinaka, please connect me to Siva or Peter in engineering.” Eris wondered if she should have spoken to them in the shadowlands, but she could connect almost just as easy through the regular channels.

  On a small is display, Siva face appeared. “Yes, Captain? I am sure you want a report on the main drive. Sorry I was busy moments ago. How can I assist?”

  “Yes, when will it be ready?” Eris asked. She thought she already knew the answer just from the strained expression on Siva’s face. His deep brown complexion was scrunched up, but his intense eyes remained their typical friendly cast.

  “Well, Captain, after the last time we tried to engage the main drive, Peter and I have been reviewing every element. We have found more problems than we have fixed. The ablations on the ejectors are completed, and that should not be a factor again. The basic structure is solid, but there are multiple places where we had to span in couplings, and any of those could fail. That energy concentrator apparatus is marginal, and too vast to manually assess. I really have no proven way to test them outside of a trial run. I know you have not permitted any trial startups, but that will be the only true way to know if those couplings will take the stress. The lattice of compeers, as well as Sandie, have all reviewed our work. The ultimate test will be when we reignite, or engage the drive.”

  “The Shah of Persia Energy Concentrator is long and complicated, I grant you that. As to a test run, when can attempt it?” Eris asked.

  “For a trial run of up to ten percent of the ejectors, we could do that at any time. Our coordination with navigation is in place, so we should be able to stay on course. When we succeed in the trial run, it will take a day or so of intense work to bring the other 90% of the electors into alignment,” Siva answered. “As to course, are we sure about our trajectory into that thing Jerome calls the Cosmic Crinkle? I still cannot understand how anything can hurl this whole ship some 1700 light-years. Sandie does not understand that either. When I spoke to her simulation of the Master Engineer Brink from that Dome 17, well he just laughed at me and told me such a concept could not happen. I tried to tell him that it had already happened, and he suggested I see Doctor Chambers about delusion or what was his phrase? Oh yes, ‘science fiction impossibilities only dreamed about in pulp books.’ I think he was trying to insult me, but I found it humorous. Sandie says that simulation of him is very accurate.” Siva gave a weary grin and then added with undertones of humor, “I refrained from asking Brink why he did not know me, since only 1500 or so people live in Dome 17. I wanted to ask him to explain how a stranger could be there, but held my tongue.”

  Eris smiled. Her mocha face split by a grin. Her golden eyes danced at the thought. “Indeed, Sandie’s simulations are quite realistic, and they do get emotional. Between you and me, Siva, I am certainly glad I was not raised in Dome 17.”

  “I know that is right, absolutely. Just look at Jerome’s ideas of proper food.”

  They both laughed and Eris finished the conversation by instructing Siva and his team to be ready to implement a test run at a moment’s notice. He looked at her with a knowing expression and responded, “We will be read Captain.”

  “I can always count on you. Bravo!” Eris closed the link and put her head in her hands. She prayed for strength and guidance on how to proceed. She also asked for forgiveness for her distortion of the actual situation and her bending of the truth. Jerome thought the weapons would be installed quickly, but Eris knew that it would take time. Siva suspected something more was happening, but Eris refrained from telling him about the threat from the Jellie ship which was in its strange orbit around Zalia. Eris thought of her parents and how each, coming from their diverse religious backgrounds, had valued truth telling and honesty. Here, where Eris was in command, she felt it necessary to withhold some information, and to also leave distorted impressions in place. As she prayed, she sought forgiveness. She also shed several tears mourning the loss of her parents.

  As she dried her face, she spoke out. “SB Pinaka? Any word on those missing children?” Her mind kept hearing the boy Clark claiming a monster had taken them. As she thought about the Jellies, she knew some monsters were real. She also knew she had not been fully realistic about the potential for the alien Jellies to have somehow gotten aboard. Eris had seen advanced alien technology used by that last Zalian ship which rescued them, as well as the destructive power of the Jellie’s satellites which used that pink explosive beam. ‘What other odd technologies were being used?’

  “You must assume the worst and prepare for it,” Shadow stated, as it knew what she was pondering. She forcefully ignored it.

  SB Pinaka replied to her spoken inquiry, “The children that are missing, Dmitar and Claire have not been located. Jenna has spoken to the parents, and they do not know where the children are. Obviously, there is great concern for their welfare. Khin and Vesna had organized a search party and are setting out to locate and recover the children.”

  “Do we have any surveillance assets which we can use to find them?” Eris asked.

  “From the report Clark gave, the three children were in a corridor which has not had a functional nonphysicality for many decades. They were hunting cavies. Unfortunately, there are still large swaths of decks on the needle ship which are unmonitored,” SB Pinaka replied.

  “Thank you. Let me know what Khin and Vesna find. Have the lattice assist them as much as possible, so long as the primary functions of the rebuilding and mission do not become hindered.” Eris hated placing the search for the children below the mission, but she was pondering the Jellie ship and knew if it found them, they would all be lost.

  “Yes, Captain. SB Sherman has been expanding into more places in the needle ship in addition to managing the egress points in Alpha. SB Sherman has been instructed to watch for any signs of the children, or suspicious activities.”

  “Thank you. I now need to speak with SB Bodowa,” Eris stated. She steeled herself against what she knew would be a stubborn and recalcitrant synthetic brain.

  SB Bodowa’s mechanical voice came on. “I am here Captain. How may I be of service?”

  “I know you are running Reproduction and Fabrication as efficiently as possible, but I have a need…”

  SB Bodowa interrupted. “You are going to ask me again to produce advanced lethal weapons. Once more, I must refuse. You have been supplied with weapons consistent with the security and police needs of the Conestoga. In light of the history of the insurrection, I do not believe it is prudent or wise to have more powerful weapons in circulation.”

  Eris decided to try the truth. “We have an external threat which potentially is a danger to the survival of the Conestoga. This threat could end the entire mission. We need weapons to be able to defend ourselves. Please reconsider your policy. I am the Captain and it falls on me to decide what is needed and what is not. I believe advanced weapons are needed to meet this external threat. Please consult with Sandie about the genuine external threat on this, our last flight.”

  There was a pause which surprised Eris. During the brief wait, Eris prayed that SB Bodowa would comply, and that using Sandie to force her will upon the synthetic brain would not be needed.

  “I have reassessed this fabrication request as you asked me to do. The new information about the external threat is plausible. I will comply,” SB Bodowa stated.

  “Thank you.”

  “I am complying only because of my intercourse with the lattice of compeers. There are three reasons I have consented. First, the lattice of compeers concurs with your assessment of the high-risk, external threat, which the Conestoga is facing. Second, I am aware of the fact that your engineering automacubes are already building, in a slow and inefficient manner, some kind of missile or rocket-style delivery system. My capabilities and those of Reproduction and
Fabrication can do that more efficiently and over a shorter time. Those missiles will need warheads of high quality to maximize safe handling and transport. That can best be accomplished by my supervision of Reproduction and Fabrication. Third, I am consenting because I am afraid of retribution by the system known as Sandie. I believe you desire this to such an extent that you would sacrifice my central memory core, and my core programming, by allowing an incursion by Sandie into my most intimate components. Sandie has a history of destructive behaviors, and my own self-preservation mandates I capitulate to your agenda. I am not pleased by this set of events.”

  Eris frowned at the revelation that one of the Conestoga systems was fearful of her and Sandie. That was not the style leadership she ever wanted to use. Yet, she was willing to accept it. “I am sending over the designs for all the weapons we need built. I trust you will do it with your typical high-quality, and in a timely manner, even though I know you do not approve of this decision.”