Awakening

by Hayden Pearton

  *

  Moments later, he caught up with the others, who were standing outside Dr Emmerfield's office. Maloch was already linking up with the door's security pad, and, as Barsch reached them, it announced, “Access granted.” The door swung open, revealing Dr Emmerfield's private study.

  “Maloch, how much time do we have?” asked Barsch, as he watched the re-mech work.

  Maloch had already knelt beside Dr Emmerfield's desk and was trying to find an outlet to hack. “Not long. It is impossible to be one hundred percent accurate, but I believe we have less than ten minutes before the reactor fails.”

  Having finally found an outlet, Maloch inserted his multi-use finger and started work on cracking Dr Emmerfield's password. The ancient technology lasted less than thirty seconds, however time was in short supply, so they could not afford to waste it.

  “SUPERIORE A DIO, how fitting,” said Maloch, reading the cracked password.

  Seconds later, one of the monitors on Dr Emmerfield's desk sprung to life, as Maloch began hacking into the system. Dozens of files soon appeared, containing information on everything from long-term environmental change models to research on genetic hybridisation. Everything Dr Emmerfield had ever looked into, everything he had incorporated into his sinister plans, had been laid bare for all to see.

  “Accessing Master Blueprints and Contingency Plans I, II & IV... scanning for all references to 'alternate exits', 'escape methods' and 'evacuation orders'... scanning... scanning... scan complete. Four results returned. Results found in the following files: 'Construction Order 15592-C', 'Project Nexus: Terminal Layout', U-Type Schematics' and 'U-Type Statistics'... Compiling findings... complete. All articles share a common phrase, 'The Hammond System', however, the files relating directly to the system are not here. Any thoughts?”

  Kingston leant down and began reading the assembled articles with well-learned speed. A few seconds later, he leant back and announced, with a wry smile on his face, “I know a way out of here.”

  “How?” asked Barsch, eager to leave.

  “Well, it seems that Dr Emmerfield had come up with a rather ingenious escape route. Rather than constructing a whole new system, he simply used what was already there.”

  “Old man, must I remind you that we are short on time at the moment? Could you please keep your explanation as short and concise as possible?” Alza said, in a cool voice.

  Kingston sighed, obviously unhappy with having to cut his grand reveal short, and continued his explanation.

  “While they were building the Stations, the governments of the time commissioned a cross-continent network of tunnels, to be used to transport building materials and re-mechs from one Station to another. Unfortunately, mere months before the Stations were completed, the network was shut down. It seems as though a deadly build-up of pollution in the tunnels was to blame, which rendered the tunnels an unacceptable risk to the sterile environments of the Stations. Dr Emmerfield, most likely during his hacking of the Worldwide Release Code, rediscovered the network, and constructed his own terminal, which he then linked up to the rest of the tunnels. This effectively granted him access to any Station on the continent, allowing him to distribute his new species with ease.”

  At the mention of Dr Emmerfield's intentions, Alza winced. Barsch wanted to reach out to her, but his fear of reprisal kept him back.

  Kingston, on the other hand, did not notice Alza's reaction, and so continued unabated. “If Dr Emmerfield really did succeed in tapping in to the network, then we will easily be able to clear the blast radius. Heck, if you want to, we could even follow the tracks all the way back to Genesis Station's Terminal. You could go home, Barsch.”

  Is that what he wanted, to go home? After all this time, after everything they had endured, could he really just go back? It was not a question he could answer yet.

  “Downloading Facility Blueprints. Plotting course to terminal. Course plotted. Estimated time to reactor meltdown... eight minutes. Estimated time to reach terminal... five minutes. Error. Error. Damage to reactor has activated hidden emergency override. All blast doors leading to terminal have been sealed. All non-essential areas have been de-pressurised. Full facility lock-down has been enacted. Time to completion... three minutes.”

  “Why would Dr Emmerfield do that? Why would he seal off the exits in case of emergency?” said Barsch.

  “Most likely as a means of covering his tracks. If he was ever discovered, he could simply overload the reactor, seal the blast-doors and escape through the tunnels, while his pursuers were left behind, trapped. He would have had secondary override code known only to him, so that he could bypass the blast-doors and reach the terminal,” explained Kingston, with a grim look on his face.

  Turning to Maloch, he asked, “Maloch, is there any way to lower the blast-doors from here? Can you deactivate the lock-down protocol?”

  Maloch, still interfaced with the mainframe, spent a few moments in deep though before answering, “It might be possible. If I can cause a system wide reboot, the lock-down protocol should reset, allowing us to reach the terminal. However, if I am not sure I can create the reboot program in time.”

  “It's okay Maloch. Just do your best,” said Barsch, with what he hoped was a comforting tone.

  “Thank you, Barsch, I will try.” With that, Maloch went to work, pulling up a half-dozen windows filled to the brim with complex diagrams and indecipherable blocks of code. With amazing speed, the re-mech began to rewrite line after line, closing window after window as he slowly made the system his own. All seemed to be going well, until, only half-way done, he stopped.

  “Kingston, I have discovered something that you might find unpleasant. While creating the reboot directive, I happened across the uplink data for the Worldwide Release Code. I do not know precisely when he did it, but it seems as though Dr Emmerfield has already activated his virus. I am sorry to say this, but his program has already infected the Global network. Every cryogenic pod on the planet has been permanently sealed, while simultaneously overriding the Station A.I’s access. If nothing is done, the inhabitants of the pods will be trapped in permanent cryostasis.”

  So everything Dr Emmerfield had said was true. His despicable plan to destroy humanity had succeeded, and all of their efforts, their sacrifices, had been for naught. They had failed the Avatars. They had failed humanity.

  “Is there any way to reverse it? Can you neutralise the viral code?” asked Kingston

  “If I had more time, I think I might be able to reverse the effects. But with things as they are, it is impossible. The viral code has integrated itself into several different systems, connecting them in ways I cannot fully comprehend. Removing it would take weeks of painstaking, methodical work. However... there is another way... although I would rather not use it, if it were possible.”

  “What is it?” Barsch asked, his curiosity almost unbearable.

  “Instead of recoding the virus, I can destroy the sector of data it resides in. Of course, this method is much less accurate, and I will be unable to predict how effective it will be. Additionally, I have no idea what a forced removal of the virus could do. It might even make things worse. Shall I proceed?”

  Kingston, without taking his eyes off of the data-filled monitor, began to pace. His brow was heavy with worry, and his whole body radiated doubt. If he allowed the virus to be destroyed, there was no telling what would become of the systems it had already infected. If he left it alone, he could consign humanity to a fate worse than death. It was a decision that demanded hours of careful consideration, instead of seconds of frantic, conflicting thoughts.

  With a great sigh, Kingston came to his hastily-made decision. “Destroy it, Maloch, destroy it all. If we do nothing, then humanity is doomed. At least, with this, we have a chance to save them.”

  “Very well, I will begin removing the viral code from the uplink.”

  On one of the screens, a large section of code suddenly disappeared, leaving an ugly
gap in the perfectly ordered computer charter. It looked... broken, and Barsch could only wonder if they had just destroyed something irreplaceable.

  “The section of code containing the virus has been removed, although it will take some time before the effects can spread over the network. In the meantime, I have completed the reboot program, and have uploaded it into Dr Emmerfield's mainframe. If it works as planned, then the lock-down should disengage momentarily. Oh, and estimated time to reactor meltdown... six minutes. We will have to leave now, if we are to make it to the terminal in time.”

  “Very well. Please, Maloch, lead the way,” said Kingston, the doubt over his decision still lingering on his face. Wasting no time, the hulking re-mech removed his digit from the computer and began moving towards the door. This time, Barsch did not give the ominous study a final look.

  After exiting the study, Maloch sped up, leading the group down corridor after corridor. They passed dozens of unmarked, sealed doors, no-doubt containing more of Dr Emmerfield's twisted experiments. The path they took was labyrinthine in nature, with what seemed like hundreds of twists and turns that would have confused even the most well-prepared adventurer. However, Maloch never once faltered, as he led them deeper and deeper into the bowels of the facility.

  Although time was a hard thing to keep track of while running for one's life, Barsch estimated that they had no more than three minutes left before the reactor's explosion reduced the valley to a smoking crater. Thankfully, Maloch's estimation of the route's length had been slightly exaggerated, and, before long, they reached the terminal's entrance. Unfortunately, a very real and very impenetrable blast-door was stubbornly sitting in their way.

  “Now what?” asked Alza, with accusatory glare.

  Mercifully, Maloch's reboot chose that exact moment to activate, plunging the hallway into darkness while simultaneously raising the blast-door. The three-foot thick steel reinforced door slid back with an dulled screech, as several emergency lights, embedded in the wall, suddenly sprang to life.

  In the span of seconds, the hallway had gone from impassable to softly lit and inviting. Beyond where the blast-door had lain was a large room, containing the most-welcoming sight of all: the tunnel entrance. Sitting on the tracks that ran the full length of the tunnel was another welcome sight: a sleek, stark white mag-lev locomotive. The train, a pre-South War model, was truly a sight to behold. When fully charged, the U-Type could transport over a thousand people at a brisk 351 mph, using inductive coils and a modifiable magnetic field to hover over the rails on a cushion of charged particles.

  “Now that's what I call lucky!” exclaimed Barsch, truly feeling lucky for the first time in a long time.

  “Get inside, we don't have much time left!” cried Kingston, half-running, half-limping towards the god-sent train.