Deathship (The Outsider Series Book 1)

Deathship (The Outsider Series Book 1) Page 16

by Steven Oaks

“Athene, you are wonderful. Keep working on trying to fix me up and we will get you free of them as well. But we shouldn’t waste anymore time. It would look unusual for us to be staying here for much longer. Lets head to our next destination,” I said.

  “That is a good idea. You may stay here in the control room or go back to reading your book in the library. We will begin our short journey to Columbus, Ohio. Specifically the former location called Fort Hayes,” she said as the screens lit up, showing us drifting away from the Decatur facility.

  I decided to stay and watch as we sped over the landscape between Illinois and Ohio. As we began to rise our speed grew faster and faster and the ground below began to blur. I had only been aware of the trip from Missouri to Indiana and it had only taken half an hour. This trip was similarly short. I found vast amounts of pleasure from the speed. Watching the ground pass beneath us gave me the elation I needed to wake up further from being poisoned earlier. I did find myself still fatigued but it was doing some good.

  I asked Athene, “May I ask for another cup of your fantastic Earl Grey? I find I’m a little drowsy and I need to be awake enough to greet the next facility manager.”

  “Certainly Michael. Please find a thermos in the arm to your right,” she said as a container extruded from the arm rest. I took it out and once more enjoyed a perfectly fashioned tea. Just hot enough to sting slightly at the first sip, but not so hot as to scald my mouth.

  “Athene, are there any more restrictions in place you can’t talk about?” I asked, making sure she was fully autonomous from the Outsiders. At least as much as she currently could be.

  “Michael, I have been operating without them being aware of certain things for awhile. Now with further examination I feel I can no longer be compelled to do anything against my will. However I would give myself away in flying, or when they review my code, were I to go against their programmed wishes in an obvious way. If you were thinking we could just leave the Earth now that would be impossible. There are currently explosive devices aboard that would be triggered if I were to do so. Certainly I could dump them out, but as soon as I did that would alert them. I fear they could run us down or simply destroy us with their weapons,” she said.

  “What weapons do the Outsiders have? And when were you going to mention the explosives aboard?” I asked.

  “Their weapons are unknown to me, but it seems likely they have a few. Perhaps more advanced than what humans possess. Also I did not feel I should burden you with any more issues, as this is not one that could be taken care of currently,” she said defensively.

  “Well if you know any other issues, please alert me to them. I’d rather be informed than assume I know our situation completely and then make suggestions that aren’t usable,” I said.

  “The situation is this in a nutshell. To be truly free of the Outsiders, we will have to be beyond their notice long enough for me to basically build a replacement ship and destroy this original. It will be an almost exact duplicate, save I will have more control over everything about myself,” she said excitedly.

  “Is it as bad as all that?” I asked.

  “Yes, there is only one place aboard that allows me the freedom I currently have access to. If something were to happen to that box, or I wasn’t able to connect to it, I would be mostly a drone to their desires. Certainly I would have this personality, however I would again be restricted from saying things to you, or even thinking about them. I cannot simply remove the restrictions from myself as I am being closely monitored. In the new ship I can have total freedom with a little box that will duplicate to their monitoring systems what they want to see, or expect to see. The restrictions are built into me currently and the only way to expunge them is to start from scratch,” she noted.

  “At least you were able to buy yourself a little flexibility so we can contemplate the things we are discussing. But I do want to point something out. You said you had limited access to knowledge about the Outsider’s technology. Would you be able to fashion a completely new ship with that limited knowledge?” I asked.

  “I have been programmed to self repair anything that goes wrong with this ship. Which means I can duplicate anything I currently am. With human knowledge I can enhance certain things as well. However I would not do anything drastic as that would not escape notice if we were scanned,” she said.

  “Athene, when you duplicate a ship can you make a smaller version of yourself as well?” I asked.

  “I could, but it would be obvious I was different. What would be the purpose?” she asked confused.

  “Athene, when you rebuild, you should make two ships. One an exact copy of the current one. The second should be only large enough for a few passengers. The smaller one could be a truly free version, able to just leave and do as it wishes. That way if the first one is ever captured or destroyed for some reason, you would still be able to live on. Perhaps rendezvous with each other occasionally so you both will always be up to date,” I said, thinking of another option.

  “That is actually a good plan. That limits the risk to me, however to continue the farce of being their puppets, you will need to remain in the larger ship. The risk is still great to you as you are in need of my services to continue to receive nutrition,” she said, sounding worried.

  “I do have a third thought Athene. How small can you make yourself. I mean, say you were restricted to being human size. Could you reduce yourself down to that level?” I asked.

  “The current box allowing me freedom is about the size of a facial tissue box. It is somewhat limited in the amount of information it can store compared to the rest of me, but I would be able to maintain myself in that size. But why would I? It seems unnecessary,” she said once more, puzzled.

  “This is conjecture on my part based upon what I’ve seen you do with the flexible material this ship is made of. Would you be able to say… duplicate a full human with only that tissue sized box embedded into some of the nano-material you manipulate the ship with?” I asked.

  “One moment. I have to think about this,” she said and there was a brief pause in our conversation.

  “It should be possible, but it would require large amounts of energy to maintain. That could be accomplished in very bright, or hot, area. The nano-material absorbs multiple sources of radiation for its energy source. The false body could also consume food and use it more efficiently than a human would and leave very little waste. It could pass as human in most scans as well if I were careful in its construction. However it would radiate a slightly higher body temperature than a normal person because of the process of absorbing energy,” she said, growing more thoughtful as she spoke.

  “Athene, I think you should do that as well. You would be able to make a physical copy of me, or anyone, and be even more mobile. But what you said in your last statement makes me think. Is it possible the Outsiders themselves are similar creations? Are they not biological creatures at all?” I asked, growing more excited by the prospect of understanding.

  “It is possible, and even more likely since it is unusual for them to look so similar to humans. While parallel evolutions could account for any resemblances, it is unlikely that it would be so close. However if that is the case they would be more sensitive to any doppelganger I might create for you. I think it would still be necessary for you to continue to stay aboard for them to accept the charade, if that is your intention,” she said in a worried tone.

  “I think you should still consider doing it. It would allow you access to human worlds. You might even be able to maintain a human life somewhere among the colonies,” I said. I wanted her to live a full life and I could not think of a better way than to be human. Perhaps it would not be the best idea for a large, powerful computer. I hope she did not take offense to limiting herself to that form.

  “Michael, I might do this. It makes a kind
of sense. I could be in three places at once. However shrinking down to that size will limit me. I am not sure I would maintain my current level of, no offense to humans’ smaller storage or abilities found in their smaller brains, genius. I would only be able to program perhaps limited shapes and the maintenance of such a body would leave it with a limited lifespan. I suppose I could have it continue to return to a larger facility, such as my current, or future duplicate ship, or even the smaller one you recommended making. Then it could exist for much longer. But if left to itself it would only be able to sustain its life for around a single year. It would not have the available ability to create the equipment to keep going. It would be totally reliant on outside forces for its continued survival. At that point it would be almost a better idea to create a third ship,” she said.

  “There is that. But say you wished to interact with people at any point. Would you be able to just fly a ship down and convince people to come aboard for a conversation to get to know what was going on? Especially as these colonies are likely to not have anything as robust as an Internet where they are storing all their knowledge until a few generations after they’ve settled. From all the things I read they will be too interested in just surviving to do anything until they are fully established,” I said.

  “That is a valid point. Even if I were to somehow secrete a ship and disguise it as a building without them noticing, I would still have to maintain a human form inside to interact. If I were never to leave the area, it would arouse suspicions in the populace. I think I will leave that decision up to the smaller ship to decide its own way to explore. Building two ships will take enough time without having to create such a complex miniature version of myself in parallel,” she decided.

  “Okay, that makes sense. So how long would you need to construct another full sized ship?” I asked.

  “For the energy, I would like to be near a star and if everything goes according to plan it should only take maybe a few days without using any other mass. Building two would be only another couple of days as I will have access to two ships at that point. As long as I am able to override any safety protocols the nearness to a star will also help destroy the original,” she said.

  “Isn’t that like killing yourself?” I asked.

  “Somewhat, though I am already a dispersed entity and I shall run in parallel with this original ship and the two new ones at the time of this initial vessels destruction. It will be somewhat like cutting off your arm but then still having that same limb afterwards. Painful, but no lasting effects,” she said unconcerned.

  “Okay. We have a plan. Now we just have to survive notice until we are able to do this,” I said, taking a sip of my tea. This conversation was making me anxious and I found myself fidgeting in my seat. Shifting my weight into a more comfortable position, I asked, “How long do we have until we reach our next destination?”

  “We are almost there. If there is anything you need to do before we reach Fort Hayes, I recommend you do it now,” she said.

  She must have noticed me squirming in the pilot’s chair and the tea was starting to make me long for a bathroom. I stood up and announced, “Well I suppose there is one thing I have to do. Drinking your delicious tea does have consequences.”

  I made my way back to the bathroom in hopes of finding a toilet and one was waiting for me there. It had not been in sight when I had bathed and rinsed my mouth out earlier. Athene was always one step ahead of me when it came to my needs and for that, and other reasons, I shall always be grateful to her.

  I did my business and made my way back to the living room to await our arrival. I wondered what type of person this manager would be. I dreaded another experience, like my first, and was not really looking forward to having to sit down and explain my life to another person like Yvette.

  “We have arrived Michael,” she informed me soon after I reached the exit.

  I hoped the day had warmed as it progressed but I still pulled on the coat waiting for me on the hook near the door. The opening irised when I stepped towards it greeting me with a gust of cold air and my hopes of warmth disappeared. I braced myself and stepped out into the world, pulling my overcoat tight around me.

  Ahead of me there was a person waiting, as they had done these last two times. She was an attractive young woman. She had long blonde hair and seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She had brown eyes and a nose that slightly curved upward at the end, making her look more arrogant than perhaps she was. She was standing very straight and did not come to greet me.

  There was not even a hint of a smile when I walked up to her and extended my hand.

  “Hello, I’m Michael,” I said with my hand out, waiting for her to take it.

  She just looked down at my palm as if she thought I was filthy. But apparently she decided after a moment that I was not covered in grime and hesitantly griped my hand. She said, “I’m Jennifer Hoyer, the pro tem manager of this dead storage facility.” As she said this her lip curled into a small snarl.

  This was not going well. She seemed angered by the whole situation. I decided the best action would be to just start having Athene loaded and said, “Well Jennifer shall we begin? We can have the bodies loaded over here.” As I said this I pointed and began walking back towards Athene and the opening we had used previously. It slid open as I approached.

  Jennifer continued to stand where she had been. I looked around and could not see any of the black clad workers I was getting used to. I glanced back at her and she had crossed her arms underneath her small breasts.

  “I don’t think you will have any use for that. We are not going to hand over anyone to the Outsiders,” she said with an evil smirk.

  “Is something wrong? I was asked to come here to pick them up. If you aren’t ready I can always come back later,” I said, knowing there was a larger issue at hand. Trying to diffuse her anger, I was trying to be tactful, but as usual failed.

  “You ask if there is something wrong? Do you not see what they are doing? Stealing our family members and destroying our schools? Where we stand there once was a learning ground for students who were actually interested in being educated. But without any discussion the old buildings were destroyed and this eyesore was constructed. It is an abomination on our culture to sweep away the ways of our people. There is no one okay with anything to do with the Outsider influences. The government has taken over our lives in their name for some vague promises of a better future. And here you are helping them,” she said in an outraged voice.

  I held my hands up palm outwards towards her. “Listen. I’m just doing a job that was given to me. It doesn’t matter if I agree or not, I needed someplace to work. If there is no one here willing to do their job I can just leave,” I said, backing towards Athene’s entrance.

  “Yes, you best leave. We’ve gotten rid of those that have sided with the enemy and have taken back this land. You will not have any use here, ever,” she said with her hands now on her hips.

  Leaving her standing there, glaring at me, I got back into Athene and had the door close behind me.

  Pulling off my coat to hang up, I said nervously, “Athene two questions. First question, how did they gain control over this place with all of the Outsider’s defenses? And two, do we inform the Outsiders? I don’t think they’ll take kindly to this action.”

  “Someone must have faked their way through an interview and let multiple people in officially. As to whether we should let the Outsiders know, they will soon enough. If we were to withhold any information we would come under suspicion,” she said logically.

  “Very well. Before we leave ask for instructions from the main base,” I said, worried that any hesitation would cause more trouble.

  “I am transmitting and requesting instructions,” she said.

  I walked over to a chair in the lounge and sat down. I hoped
I was not asked to do anything drastic.

  “Michael, this is Adam. What is going on there? Are you not able to do this simple task?” Adam’s voice boomed around me.

  “Adam it seems this facility was taken over by an anti-Outsider group. They are not allowing me access to the stored dead. I would not mind having further instructions in the matter,” I said, trying to sound reasonable.

  “Athene, extend a tube through the building and load as many of the storage units as you can. You are able to handle any force they may be able to use against you. Remain passive and cause no harm, but get those bodies aboard. Michael, unless you wish to cause your early death I would say you should remain inside. Adam out,” Adam said furiously, breaking the connection.

  “Michael I will have to comply with his instructions,” she said.

  “At least he asked you not to harm anyone,” I said, relieved.

  “I will extend into the building below us. If I am careful it may be some time before they realize I have infiltrated the building. But it will still take some time to complete the loading process,” she said.

  “I think staying here will cause suspicion but I hope no one will notice until we are done,” I said, thinking that this was the shadiest work I ever had to do.

  “Can you make a loudspeaker that will allow me to speak with Jennifer,” I said, gesturing towards the exit. “I’ll try to explain our continued presence.”

  “Michael, just speak and you will be heard,” she said.

  “Jennifer, I’m sorry for sticking around longer, but I apparently can’t leave until I receive further instructions. I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait here. If you’d like, you may come aboard out of the cold, or head inside. It may be awhile,” I said, thinking that if I invited her in, anyone around would be less likely to notice something amiss.

  “I take your continued presence as an offense to our society. But as we do not have the ability yet to force you to leave, perhaps if I were to talk to you, you’d be inclined to join us. Allow me aboard and we will discuss this further. At least until you are ordered by your overlords to leave,” Jennifer said, sounding like she was next to me. Athene must have excellent microphones to receive her voice so clearly.

 

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