Home Planet: Arcadia (Part 3)

by Sedgwick, T. J.

  “Can I read it?”

  She handed me the tablet without a word and I read the Wall Street Journal report.

  It said that Arnold Reichs was the prime suspect after email intercepts implicated him. Sources talked of him hiring a hitman via what he thought were untraceable messages. The FBI found her skeletal remains in Oregon with two bullet holes in the skull. The hitman later confessed and received the death penalty. It was still pending appeal at the time of the news article in late 2074. The FBI had just sent a warrant for Reichs’s arrest to the captain of the Juno Ark. The article said he’d most likely be put in the brig and tried onboard consistent with US law.

  It all made sense now. With his access to advanced robots and androids, Reichs could have been the mutiny’s ringleader. Perhaps he made a play for control of the ship, either alone or more likely, with allies—both human and perhaps security droids. The crew and military wouldn’t have known about Laetitia and the other android that I took out in the command module.

  I placed the tablet on the table and looked at my sister, her slicked-back hair beginning to dry around the edges.

  “So he’s in orbit and his android lover’s at Koko?” said Nikki.

  “Correct, and he’s reticent as hell about coming off that ship.”

  “Now we know why.”

  “I’m supposed to be working with this guy to fix the Juno Ark. He’s the only one left on board.”

  “You need to handle this carefully, Danny. This android, Laetitia sounds more dangerous than him.”

  “You’re not wrong. And with him up there he’s crazy enough to sabotage the ship or even fly it into Koko Crater. Not as devastating as the asteroid, but enough to wipe out the city. Hell, Laetitia alone could probably take out half the city’s inhabitants. It’s not like they have an army around here ... I’ve seen her fight—believe me, you’d need one to stop her.”

  “So what you gonna do?”

  I was about to speak when the movement caught my eye as two dark-suited men came from the direction of the gate.

  “Hope you don’t mind us walking in like this,” said the older agent in shades, the red, cropped hair surrounding his bald patch. He spoke with an accent—Tennessee, I thought.

  “We heard you talking and saw the gate open,” said the smaller, young Asian guy, who looked like he’d just graduated college.

  I stood up to meet them and said, “Don’t you guys knock?”

  As if by answer, the older guy held up his badge.

  “I’m Senior Special Agent Rawlings. This is Special Agent Kang,” he said.

  We shook hands and I introduced Nikki and myself.

  “Mind if we sit down?” said Rawlings.

  “Go ahead,” said Nikki.

  “So what’s this about?” I said.

  “Let me explain a few things first, Mr. Luker. I believe you’re no longer Officer Luker, correct?” said Rawlings.

  So far, Kang had said nothing.

  “Yes, I resigned from the LAPD before joining the Juno Project.”

  “Good. Now, let me tell you, every time a new person enters the Forever World, Justice Councilor Patton has a duty to let us know. And when that someone is the first arrival from the Juno Ark in over five centuries, his notification gets important folks’ attention. To have two arrivals and another one still in space is quite something, isn’t it, Special Agent Kang?”

  “You’re right there, sir.”

  Rawlings reached inside his jacket and pulled out a tablet, similar to the one Nikki had. He activated it and held it in front of me with a picture of Reichs taken when he was still thirtysomething.

  “This is the last photo of Arnold T. Reichs, formerly of San Francisco. Founder and CEO of—”

  “Yes, Agent Rawlings, I’ve come to know Reichs over the past week. He’s still on the Juno, except he looks nothing like that anymore,” I said.

  I told the two FBI agents about Reichs and what Nikki and I had just confirmed.

  “So you know he’s wanted for murder but there’s something else,” said Rawlings. “Let me explain. Two decades after the first survivors of the Juno Ark arrived on Hawaii an inquiry was opened. Alongside it, we ran our own criminal investigation. Most of it was conducted in the Forever World, of course. At the time, Hawaii was still a mess. Now to cut a long story short, three of those survivors were wolves in sheep’s clothing—felons who instigated the Juno mutiny amongst other crimes. I worked the original case. Kang didn’t. He’s new.”

  “That’s correct, sir,” said Kang.

  Rawlings has been an FBI agent for over five centuries!? I thought.

  “How’d they expect to get away with it in the same place as the other survivors?” I said.

  “Now that is a very good question. Seems they thought no one knew who they were and that, if anything happened, they could slink off into the backwoods and disappear. But the truth came out in the end, as it always does. Now, many of those survivors claimed Reichs was still alive, but until you arrived, no one could confirm it. He was the veritable leader of the mutiny and we have evidence that he ordered the execution of over five hundred crew, marines and civilians—many of them in their stasis pods. We have witnesses still alive in the Forever World. We’re fixing to arrest him and bring him into our world for trial.”

  “He’s still in orbit onboard the Juno and his android emissary is here on Hawaii doing his bidding. There’s no way he’ll come here and there’s no way Laetitia will let us go get him.”

  “Laetitia?” said Rawlings, looking confused.

  “Oh, forgot to say—that’s also the name of his android—the lookalike of his wife that I told you about.”

  “This guy really is a piece of work. Sounds like the quicker Patton hauls him and his robot in, the better.”

  “So Patton and his officers are gonna try and arrest Laetitia to get Reichs down here?” I said, incredulously.

  “Sure, hope so,” he said with a chuckle.

  “No... no, you don’t understand. She’ll wipe them out. Then she’ll leave and he’ll never come down. He’s got food supplies up there to last a lifetime.”

  “Then how do you suggest we bring him to justice, Officer Luker?”

  We’d need to lure him to Hawaii. But even if we did, with Laetitia still protecting him we stood little chance of an arrest. No obvious plan jumped out at me.

  “I don’t know, Agent Rawlings, but we need to think of something. He’s not only a wanted felon but a threat to any future Juno mission and maybe to Hawaii itself. One thing I know for sure—this guy has a superiority complex. Whichever tree he finds himself on, he wants to be the top monkey and he’ll use Laetitia to get there.”

  “Then you know what you need to do next, Officer Luker. You need to take Laetitia out of play.”

  I knew inside that eventually would come the point where I’d come up against her. But how? Even with Patton’s help, it’d be a tough nut to crack. I had to find a way.

  I nodded with a tight smile.

  “You’re right. Neutralize Laetitia. Capture Reichs. Bring him to justice and remove him as a threat.”

  Just hope no one dies trying, I thought.

  The two agents stood and we shook hands.

  “Glad we’ve got you on board,” said Rawlings. “We’d help if we could, but being in here and all…”

  Kang just nodded.

  “Ma’am,” said Rawlings, nodding respectfully to Nikki.

  They went to leave, but Rawlings swung around and said, “Oh, by the way, you’d better go check with Patton when he’s planning on moving against the android. Last I heard it was gonna be sometime today.”

  He gave a little salute, turned and left.

  Worry engulfed my face, but my unresponsive avatar meant Nikki didn’t see it.

  “Nikki, I’ve gotta go tell Patton. We’ll have to catch up some other time. Sorry,” I said.

  We said our goodbyes and I ripped off the VR gear and dashed from the Hive room to fin
d Patton.

  9

  I sprinted through the corridors, past the surprised receptionist and out of Silicon Life Works. Stopping outside of the entrance, I surveyed left and right along the quiet strip of lawn and plaza. In front was the city of basalt blocks and exposed timber frameworks. A handful of people ambled along, the pace of life here slow and steady. I had to find Patton before he made a big mistake, so I raced off toward the town square.

  Why didn’t he inform me he was moving on Laetitia? I asked myself.

  He probably didn’t know how far to trust me. It sure made the offer of an unlimited timeslot in the Forever World seem more like manipulation than generosity. He wanted me out of the way at a particular time, which meant it might already be too late.

  On reaching the square, I scanned frantically but Patton wasn’t here. Then I saw someone I recognized. The tall dark figure of Council Leader, Leon Baas carrying a briefcase, walking out of the town hall.

  “Leon!”

  He stopped and eyed me with concern as I approached him.

  I caught my breath and said, “Patton... Where is he? We can’t let him try to arrest Laetitia. He knows she’s an android, but he has no idea what she’s capable of—”

  “Okay, okay. Slow down, Dan. I have no idea where Kale is or what he’s planning. Try the Justice Department inside.”

  I didn’t know whether to believe him or not and I didn’t have time to go hunting for answers in the bureau of bureaucracy. “Okay, thanks,” I said and started running toward the lodging house.

  A minute later, I burst through the door and found Oliver the innkeeper out back in the dining room.

  “You seen Laetitia?”

  “Err, yes earlier this morning she went to her shuttle.”

  I turned and darted back out, sprinting back through the square and taking a left toward the exit and the shuttle outside. Light foot traffic filled the narrow street under the domes. Several times, I stopped to ask random citizens if they’d seen Patton. None of them had until a young boy said he had and pointed toward the way out.

  I just hoped it wasn’t too late as I raced past the second-from-last block to the main doors. And there up ahead four police officers marched two by two with the tall form of Patton up front. All wore holstered pistols, including Patton. Not exactly a SWAT team.

  These guys don’t have a hope, I thought as I called out to them.

  “Hey! Hey, Patton! Wait!”

  All five swung around. Patton came to the front as I arrived panting with exertion.

  “You need to stop,” I repeated, still catching my breath.

  He looked annoyed.

  “I thought you were supposed to be seeing your mom and sister,” he said calmly, forcing a smile.

  “I was, but the FBI came knocking and they told me you’re moving to arrest Laetitia.”

  “We are—that’s why I brought four men in case she resists. That way Reichs’ll be forced to come here since he values her so much. And if he doesn’t we’ve got the shuttle. We know you’re okay, Dan. No one’s out for you. Just don’t interfere with police business or we’ll arrest you, too,” he said resolutely.

  “You have no idea what she’s capable of. She’s one of the most advanced androids ever built. She’s been used for assassination, espionage and special forces missions. You might be able to stop her eventually and not before a lot of you have died trying.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “I’ve seen her fight—ask Valdus. He’s obviously not told you what she did in his tinpot kingdom. And chances are she did a lot of the killing during the mutiny.”

  He exhaled, shaking his head and gritting his teeth.

  “Damn it! We can’t just let Reichs get away with it. The evidence against him for having his wife killed is overwhelming. And feelings still run deep over what happened. A lot of people in the Forever World lost friends and family because of Reichs. He’s seen as a mass murderer.”

  “Okay, I get it, but this isn’t the way.”

  “So what is the way, Dan? Please, enlighten me.”

  “Let’s go find somewhere and discuss it. I have a plan.”

  Okay, I had the beginnings of a plan, an idea, a concept. All I needed was to work the details.

  “Alright, but this’d better be good. I’m under a lot of pressure for a result on this one,” he said before he ordered the officers to return to normal duties.

  “Come on, let’s go to my office in the town hall.”

  We spent the rest of the morning hatching the plan to capture Reichs. And, if it worked, we’d not only avoid fighting Laetitia but would actually get her on our side. She’d be a valuable resource when it came to resurrecting the Juno without Reichs in the way.

  After some lunch with Patton, he led me to the courtroom next door where Valdus would soon learn his fate. Sentencing would begin soon. The wheels of justice turned quickly so it seemed. Patton explained how they’d managed to get a conviction so quickly and assuredly. And it hadn’t been the first time they’d used this method. At first, I’d feared they’d used torture, but it turned out that the only force they’d used was to sedate the not-so-great marshal. After that, they’d strapped him into the mind-scanner down in the Hive. The machine had scanned every subatomic particle of every molecule of every neuron with perfect fidelity. The judge had ruled there’d been enough probable cause to interrogate his modeled mind. The court order limited investigators to solving the murders of the explorers whose throats Valdus had slit. They didn’t mess around in twenty-sixth century Hawaii, that was for damned sure.

  ***

  The courtroom was nothing grand—just an old judge, dressed in black behind a wooden desk and a small dock. Behind him, what I thought was the Stars and Stripes hung limply from its pole. On closer inspection, I noticed that of the fifty stars one was golden. I guessed that signified Hawaii as the only civilized state left in the union. If Cortez did the business in Valdus’s former domain, then maybe there’d be second gold star soon. On the other side was the state flag. I wasn’t familiar enough to know if they’d altered that too. No reason to, I guessed. But they respected their history and I liked that. A dozen wooden benches faced the front in two rows of six. The benches were packed, but there was no sign of a jury—just the judge, a clerk and, standing watch in the corners, a few police officers. The tired and withdrawn looking Valdus sat hunched in the dock, a broken man about to hear his fate.

  How the mighty have fallen, I thought, not for the first time as murmurs of hushed conversation filled the room.

  The judge rapped his gavel lightly and called order, bringing the room to near silence. He summed up briefly but eloquently, describing the way Valdus had turned on the two Hawaiian explorers—Lars and David—and slit their throats for their supposed crimes.

  “Whenever your name is mentioned,” said the judge. “What will be remembered is the evil you have done. For that is what we have seen after peering into the reaches of your disturbed mind. You tried to justify your actions as by the wishes of your cruel god. It was a grotesque self-deception, which cost the lives of two innocent men on a mission to extend the hand of friendship from the State of Hawaii. They will go down in history as heroes. Valdus, you will be remembered as a diabolical ruler, corrupted by power and beholden to a false god. This judgment of condemnation will live forever in the annuls of human history.”

  The people broke out in jeers and shouts of derision at the former king, causing the judge to use his gavel liberally, bringing order.

  “The people are rightfully angry, so I will proceed to sentencing.”

  After some further preamble, he turned to the dock and ordered him to rise. He complied wearily, his eyes downcast.

  “Valdus, I hereby sentence you to death by firing squad. Since there can be no appeal in cases proven by mind-scans, the sentence is to be carried out immediately. Take him away.”

  A loud roar rose as the crowd jumped to their feet hurling insults at Va
ldus. If I’d shot him myself, it would have surely been a mercy compared to this.

  The police officers tried to shield Valdus from the punches and kicks as the judge gave up calling for order, instead retreating through the side door. Additional officers entered the room and took the condemned away.

  I followed the crowd alongside Patton to the town square, but made my excuses and walked back to the guesthouse. For me, there was no joy in seeing Valdus shot. He deserved what was coming and more after all the killing, torturing and raping he’d done in his life. He, more than anyone could’ve changed the system his forefathers had created amongst the remnants of LA. But he didn’t, and now he was about to pay the price. Fifteen minutes later I lay on my single bed, my bare feet extending over the end. The volley of shots from the town square cracked through the air and echoed off buildings before being drown out by the distant cheers.

  One tyrant down, one to go, I thought.

  10

  The next day, Laetitia and I left the guesthouse early to meet Patton, Baas and Aulani at the shuttle. We arrived half an hour before them for pre-flight checks. I’d been under the dome for a while, so the cold outside air surprised me a little.

  Laetitia went about making a visual inspection of the shuttle. I went inside and covered up the weapons cache in the cargo hold as best I could. There was no need to alarm our guests over what they’d consider contraband. Its presence and Laetitia’s access to it was nothing to be concerned over. If she got wind of our plan, she wouldn’t need weapons to stop us.

  The three councilors soon arrived and we talked them through what they would experience on the shuttle. All of them had been in a light aircraft, so flying wasn’t totally alien to them. But shuttle flight and zero-g would be, so it was only fair to brief them. They strapped themselves in and we switched on the display surfaces giving us an outside view. It allowed us to check that the police were keeping onlookers at a safe distance.

  Laetitia initiated the pre-programmed flight plan and sat down as the thrusters emerged from the fuselage and buzzed into life. We lifted off and the landing struts withdrew into the shuttle’s body. Within minutes, the shuttle had climbed to a three hundred feet, orienting eastward away from the dome city and toward the Pacific Ocean. Our wide-eyed guests pointed at familiar landmarks and commented in wonder at the thrill of it all. After getting us up to speed the thrusters yielded to the tremendous power of the main engines and we built angle, climbing through the dense white cloud on our way to the blue then purple then black sky. The blue haze of Earth’s atmosphere still left me awestruck with its beauty. It rendered our guests speechless.