Walking the tunnel toward the hole, Ally threw her shoulders back and breathed deep. The air in the lab must be recycled she realized while relishing the fresh crisp air in the open tunnel. The tunnel seemed shorter now she knew the way and what to expect and when she reached the end rain drizzled down lightly, dampening everything. Staying in the shelter of the tunnel for the moment, she removed the backpack and squatted down to rummage through it. First she removed some basic climbing equipment, ropes, a harness and the smallest carabiners she’d ever seen. Close examination suggested they might be made of the same titanium alloy as the tunnel and lab. Ally nodded in approval. Next she removed a small parcel that when opened unfolded to a good size parka with a neat hood and front pocket. Shrugging this on, she climbed into the harness and fastened it firm around the waist, and not too firm around her thighs. Swinging the backpack on, she carried a rope in one hand then after studying the height of the hole slung the rope to rest around her neck. Reaching up, getting a good hold of a deep thick root, Ally looked for her next hold and with a grunt of effort lifted herself up.
It wasn’t the easiest climb, with chunks of dirt vanishing beneath her hands and feet as she fought for a hold but inch by inch she edged her way up. Finally she reached the top and with a groan of relief rolled herself over to the jungle floor.
The rain misted softly through gaps in the canopy, the whole jungle a symphony of rain. Plunking through leaves, softly splattering to the soft floor, plinking off branches and dripping with a constant staccato echo. Catching her breath, Ally sat up with her face tilted high, enjoying the fresh coolness of the rain that helped to smother the heavy humidity. The sounds of the rain and the chattering birds as they scarpered amongst the canopy and branches, some venturing lower to hunt water logged insects on the thick leaf matter of the jungle floor provided a much needed reprieve from the constant hum of electricity in the laboratory. The tension that had drawn tight lines across Ally’s shoulders and down her spine slowly dissipated as her senses adjusted to this peaceful space. Pushing to her feet, brushing off the dirt and leaves she’d accumulated, Ally lifted the coil of rope from around her neck and began examining the edge of the sink hole. It took several turns around the perimeter before she spotted the right place. A heavy root that connected to a large tree some distance away crept over the edge of the hole, creating the perfect concealment. Crouching to rummage through the pack, Ally removed two larger carabiners and a curious looking metal pin. The pin when twisted opened to create an anchor. With some wangling she managed to force the pin deep into the underside of the thick root and opened it, so it held solidly. The two carabiners and the length of rope were contrived to create an easy method of exiting the hole. Ally let the length of moss green rope tuck beneath a couple of the long trailing vines that she repositioned down the hole. Standing back, she rubbed her palms against her pants, leaving muddy smears as she cocked her head, studying to see if her work was easily visible. After checking from several angles, she was satisfied that only she should be able to pick it out.
Grabbing the pack from where it sat beneath a low bush, partially shielded from the rain, Ally groped for the kit. All fitted tidily into a thin metal box, lengths of incredibly fine thread were neatly wound in figure eight loops. Taking a skein of the thread, Ally paced out a ring around the hole, carefully setting out a large trip wire. She made sure to keep it low, almost as low as the dense soft ground cover. If someone stepped into it they would likely shake their foot loose without too much examination with so many vines and roots everywhere. With the wire in place, Ally opened the kit again and removed a tiny homing device. It looked like a small silver ball with a protruding tab. Holi had explained to Ally that when the tab was removed, the device would begin to emit a silent frequency that she could track. Designed for use as an emergency beacon, the device would make the perfect trigger. Quickly and tightly Ally fastened the beacon into the trip wire. As soon as someone connected with it they would know about it back in the lab, giving them a bit of time. Taking another skein of thread, testing it between her hands to check its strength, Ally created another trip wire in a different area. In all she arranged eight separate wires; hopefully any approaching humans would hit at least one of them.
Rising to standing after setting the last beacon in place, Ally tipped her head back, enjoying breathing deep for a few moments while listening to the sounds. Bird and animal cry all sounded normal, the occasional urgent cries punctuating the peace as something was hunted. Walking to the edge of the hole, carefully stepping over the wires on the way, Ally heaved a sigh of regret as she located the rope and made her way back down to the tunnel.
9 The Garage
The soft echo of her footsteps in the tunnel and the hard scent of metal drained away some of the peace the jungle had given her. Ally wandered along at a lazy pace, fingers tracing the wall she walked alongside. As much fun as these adventures were, the ache for home grew stronger and stronger. She missed the mountain range their town, Winterthur, nestled beneath, with its protection from the winds that whipped up elsewhere. Their earthship, a popular home design that re-used materials, was still in its infancy. They’d cut out a section of earth and packed in carefully layered junk to provide a stable back wall and insulation that would keep the house cool even in the muggiest of rainy seasons. When it was complete it’d be a spacious three bedroom home, with a generous long conservatory that would house all their produce. Ally would be able to wander in before a meal and pluck the freshest vegetables and fruit as they desired. Eoin had designed a special window for their bedroom ceiling so they could sleep under the stars. It’d taken years to accumulate all the materials, her father laughed at her obsession with finding the right pieces, but this home would be theirs. Just hers and Eoin’s. And their child when she finally reached full fertility. In what she considered the most beautiful land, rich and green with an equal measure of sun and rain.
Once upon a time their mountain range had been covered in snow. Families who’d survived the Epidemic remised of the old country known as Switzerland. Of its steep pasture land and world renowned cheese. Cheese was a delicacy nowadays, something made by a few artisans within the country who remembered the old ways and taught them only to their children, jealously guarded family secrets. The humans who chose to live in Winterthur – one of the few Free towns scattered across the country – were always delighted with the quality of the food. It was funny to think of home, with the humans Ally considered friends, even family, and to compare it to those they met on this, and all the other expeditions. In Winterthur you were free to be yourself, providing you allowed others the same courtesy. The council of Winterthur presided over the town in a manner that considered the good of all, and not the opinions of one or two who disagreed. Those that didn’t abide or accept the rules were moved on. For Winterthur to work as a progressive town it had to be at a level of peace. But with Prometheans and Humans being so similar, yet inherently different, problems couldn’t help but arise. The council’s fifteen members were all Prometheans, something that irked even the most loyal of humans. And while Ally understood their concerns, they also couldn’t argue that the Prometheans were more suited to the task than humans, who could be diverted by greed and prestige. Prometheans were designed to lead, to keep the consideration of all, to be the Peace Keepers.
A hum beneath her hand distracted Ally from the politics of home, pulling her back to the present of the tunnel. Blinking, she saw a remote hovering beneath her palm. Exclaiming in surprise, she pulled away too sharply and had to hold her hand still for a moment before it reappeared.
Very basic, the remote only had two buttons – open, and close.
Glancing around, mind arguing with itself as to whether she should call Eoin first, Ally grinned mischievously. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt! She punched the open button.
The wall, solid moments ago hissed and split apart, doors sliding open to reveal a huge enclosure. Gleaming in the lights that fli
cked on were three alien vehicles. Ally sucked a breath in, heart suddenly pounding as she stared.
‘Promethean, welcome to the garage.’
The foreign mechanical voice spoke old English like the voice of the lab. Tentatively, eyes darting back and forth as she took it all in, Ally stepped into the room. The doors whisked closed the moment her feet cleared the threshold.
The moment of thrill halted in her throat.
She twisted her hands against the solid looking wall. Instantly the doors opened.
Dropping her hands, Ally watched them close again. The panic within calmed, body relaxing as she confirmed the ability to exit at her desire.
Turning back, Ally stared at the three vehicles with a growing sense of excitement.
‘Mechanic?’ she called in a croaky tentative voice, unsure if it would be the correct term.
‘Yes, Promethean?’ The mechanical voice answered back in an instant.
‘What is the status of these ... vehicles?’
‘Basic terrain vehicles one and two have eroded batteries. Will need a full engine reconditioning. Extreme terrain vehicle three requires lubrication and calibration. The hover skirt needs examining for age deterioration.’
Lights over the vehicles lit and dimmed as the voice referred to them. The vehicle currently lit was unlike any vehicle Ally had ever seen before. It didn’t look substantial enough to be considered ‘extreme’. White and silver with so much glass! She stared through the bulbous front window at the two large seats, a second row behind and space behind that too. With a hesitant glance around, Ally rapped her knuckles on the window. Not glass! Smoothing her hands across the clear surface, she frowned while trying to make sense of the material.
‘Mechanic? What is this material?’
‘Plasoglass. Can accommodate a strike of three ton.’
‘Three ton?’ Ally gaped, the plasoglass reflecting her astonished face. ‘What is the white metal?’
‘Titanium alloy, coated in a protective resin.’
‘The alloy needs coating?’
‘It is another layer of protection.’
Ally nodded then crouched peering beneath the vehicle. It had a set of small wheels that were completely round. Those can’t be any use outside, Ally thought then asked, ‘Those wheels are too small for rough terrain?’
‘Yes. Those are the hanger wheels only. Once outside they change for all terrain wheels, or hover, if desired.’
‘What is the hover, Mechanic, can you show me?’
A hum, deep and vibrating, rumbled through the garage. Ally stepped back smartly when the vehicle began to shudder. Abruptly it all stopped.
‘The PMM requires a spin. Please turn the handle.’
As the voice of the mechanic requested a white and silver handle appeared in the floor, sticking upright. Staring at it Ally called out. ‘Which way do I turn it?’
‘Clockwise.’
Bemused at the concept, Ally crouched down and with one hand braced on the floor, the other firm on the handle, began to drag the handle around. Vibrations rumbled through her hand and arm, the vehicle shuddering but this time it kept it up, rumbling until the noise lifted. The moment it did a skirt of fabric flicked out from the bottom of the vehicle, puffing with air as a motor roared into life. The cushion of air floated the vehicle gently in the air, like a leaf bobbing on a creek. Ally stared opened mouthed at the sight as the mechanic began to speak.
‘Hover ability is normally used for over water. As you can see, it gives a decent lift. It isn’t suitable for rough water.’
As the voice finished its speech the hover engine dropped to a whisper and the small hangar wheels unfurled as it set back down. The soft humming of the engine made Ally move close, head cocked as she listened to it. ‘May I see the engine?’
‘Certainly.’ The vehicle smoothly turned as though self-aware, presenting its rear. What had appeared a seamless covering split apart, layering back upon itself, exposing the motor within.
A gasp of admiration shuddered out Ally’s chest as she stared at the beautiful workings. Spheres of metal spun at different speeds, one way then back, while delicately wrought hemispheres of metal moved around them, all pieces seeming to push the next into a swirling mass of constant motion. It was utterly mesmerizing, the pieces all in varying shades of bronze, tan, gold, silver, and dark steel, enclosed beneath a sheer layer of plasoglass.
‘Mechanic, how does it keep moving?’
‘Perpetual motion. Initially powered by solar, or if no solar is available, the turn handle.’
‘How long can it run for?’
‘If in use, perpetually. If at rest, it will slow to a stop over several months. Do you still require to view it?’
Ally could have watched it for hours, lured into the hypnotic dance. ‘No, you can close it.’ She felt a twinge of regret as the metal casing smoothed back over, hiding any trace of it. Leaning forward to see if she could spot a seam, even a hint of one, she placed her hand on the vehicle then jerked back when a loud peep sounded. The plasoglass protecting the front two seats slid back.
‘You may examine the interior if you wish,’ the mechanic said unnecessarily, Ally already in the process of stepping in, head tucked down against the curve of the ceiling. Carefully turning, she eased herself into the front right seat flinching in reflex when the plasoglass slid back down. Before Ally was a low white dashboard that when she reached her hand toward to look around, lit up. With a muffled exclamation she snatched her hand back, staring saucer eyed at the various daunting displays. Numbers and percentages with old English words shimmering alongside them made no sense whatsoever to her. A number of small screens projected across the dash, allowing a full 360° view of the space around the vehicle.
‘Mechanic, what is all this?’ Ally spoke loudly but didn’t need to, the answering voice made her jolt in shock as it appeared to come from the back seat.
‘Controls. Allows the driver to have full control so they needn’t leave the vehicle unless they desire.’
‘But what if,’ Ally groped for a scenario. ‘What if a sharp rock punctures a tire?’
‘Airless tires,’ the mechanic’s voice droned and identical images flashed simultaneously across all the screens before her. The shape was that of a tire, but that was it. The dense dark material used to create the tires was molded into numerous hexagonal shapes jammed together so it looked like honeycomb. The screens showed a short video of the tires tackling all terrains, including footage of it passing over glass in a city. Ally gasped, face close to the screen as her eyes darted all over it, frantically trying to absorb this memory of an ancient world she’d only read about. Perhaps half a minute, showing enormous structures of metal, with people, humans, everywhere!
‘Mechanic, replay that video!’
Again and again she instructed the video to replay, watching that glimpse of history. The humans wore all manner of clothes and the colors! The images flashed past too quickly, leaving her with that tantalizing taste of the past. She sat back with a smile, mind preoccupied before she sat upright, waving her hands to the plasoglass.
‘Let me out! I have to show Eoin!’
The glass slid back and the mechanic voice bid her farewell as she darted out the room, backpack jolting away on one shoulder when she set off at a steady jog, delighted to have something so exciting to show off.
Her feet padded softly against the hardened dirt of the tunnel floor before sound erupted around her, lights popping down from the tunnel ceiling and a mechanical voice began a stern intoning.
‘Emergency beacon has been activated. Emergency beacon has been activated.’
Ally pulled up short and twisted, looking back down the tunnel with wide eyes.
Someone had tripped one of the wires!
10 Human Threat
‘What? Holi, what is that?!’ Eoin shouted over the sudden din of alarms.
‘That is one of the emergency beacons Alyssa took. She has triggered it.’ The projected blo
nde spoke with no trace of concern, confusing Eoin.
‘She’s lost?!’
‘No, I believe she intended to utilize them in trip wires.’
‘Trip wires?! Holi, how long has she been gone, why didn’t you tell me?’ Eoin stared wildly around the room, mind frantically trying to recall the last time he’d heard…
He’d heard the door.
Eoin stiffened when he suddenly realized. He bolted, taking the stairs two at a time up, then down before his feet hit the dirt covered floor of the tunnel. Heart pounding and face flushed from fear, Eoin pushed himself to a sprint, body instantly registering the various emotions as triggers, the nano-virus flushing his system with a variety of stimulants, his vision and hearing enhancing while his mind flared to life in a way that made his normal mental abilities comparable to a monkey. Lungs expanding and heart rate steadying, his skin began to tingle as the nano-virus worked at increasing his pain threshold. The sound of his breathing slowed while the soft echo of his pounding feet kept their punishing rhythm.
Eoin burst from the tunnel into the open space of the hole, eyes scanning every inch in less than a minute.
Ally was gone.
The rank scent of eye watering body odor from the human she crept after had Ally shaking her head, breathing shallowly through her mouth. The dog at least smelled fine, just normal animal muskiness. Though the pair carefully made their way through the jungle, heads low as the human scanned the area and the dog sniffed, she could have heard their movements a mile off. Ally watched as they moved further away from the hole and with a cautious glance around to make sure no others snuck up behind, she silently scaled a tree that had heavy hanging foliage; perfect for hiding amongst. Stretching out along a high branch, Ally breathed with relief when a clean fresh breeze blew through the fragrant leaves that concealed her. Some distance ahead of her the dog had lost the scent, not surprisingly, given she’d never got that far in her explorations yet. The human yanked the animal’s leash, making the dog yelp in pain. The unnecessary violence provoked an instant dislike for the foul smelling male. Her upper lip curled as she watched the male yank the dog around more, incompetently urging it to seek the scent.
Prometheus, A New Dawn Page 6