Contingency
Page 24
Chapter 25
The entire Skyrrnian assembly stood in the large room. The space was large enough for the entire group. They stood closely in a ring around a large cubic object. The object was more of a room itself, since it rose twice as high as the people themselves, and was just about as long and as wide. Its surface was pitch black, silent, and severe. The android rolled himself to the front of it. Khrrn and four other members of the company hesitantly stood hunched behind him. There was a visible disturbance in their eyes as they gazed over the artifact.
The room was entirely unpowered and so was still. Large lights set up by the party projected over the scene. The android called for someone to bring in the power supply he would need.
A group of three Skyrrnians carried a large, smoothly shaped cylinder. It moved on wheels and was quite large. The android had concluded that the highly compact battery stored enough energy to run the room’s systems for several hours, despite their heightened power usage.
The assembly waited in breathless anticipation for the unveiling. Khrrn and his entourage had been amazed by the report from the android. They had immediately prepared an expedition, and they had left within the hour. They were now all arranged, awaiting the culmination of their expedition.
The android had isolated the room’s power in order to be able to power it. Once again, this was necessary so that the power went to only one room, and not to the entire facility, which would burn out the battery instantaneously. He connected the power supply and waited a few seconds as the ancient systems received their defibrillating shock.
The assembly gasped as the room stood dark and morose for a few seconds too long. They wondered if it had died out after all the years it had waited. Had the hardened circuits gone out?
After a few moments, the cube started to flicker. Its dark ebony surface tingled with an almost imperceptible light. The entire group, including the robot, stood back and watched it breathe. It began to glisten and then dulled again. A series of symbols appeared on the face opposite them. They were set in a seemingly incomprehensible pattern. The Skyrrnians couldn’t make out what the symbols were or what their arrangement meant.
In the mind of the android, these were all simple standards. A control board had appeared over the box. The bottom area was full of all the tunings and settings that would be needed to run the machine. The team gathered up close around the wall. They inspected the symbols closely and began to discern regularities in the seemingly chaotic arrangement. The android reached out and tested the interface of the machine. It gave an imperceptible shudder to announce its awakening.
If any true emotions could have existed within the android’s casing, they would have been of utter joy and hope. The Kher’Somaaw had tired of their voyages through a mere three dimensions; they had constructed a vessel to carry them through time.