Star of Hope

by Moira McPartlin

  ‘This is a reactor put in mothballs when the Land Reclaimists came to power. It was a commercial electricity producer. Up until then it had operated to give power to the masses. But something is still humming in the turbine hall. This place isn’t quite dead. They must have always intended it to start up again.’ They stared at me as if I was mad. ‘People worked here once. That woman back there worked here still. Where are the others?’

  ‘Maybe they’ve gone to Freedom.’ Reinya said. ‘Didn’t you tell me that Vanora collected all the good engineers?’ She pointed to the instructions still displayed on my wrist. ‘That manual came from engineers.’

  I shook my head. ‘She didn’t have that many engineers and I’m sure they were all working on other things. There was a power plant on Freedom but it was hydro. This is a different ball game.’

  ‘There must be some guys still around here.’ Jake cowered in the corner. I seriously wanted to kick him. If only…

  Dawdle fiddled with his comms.

  ‘Dawdle? You might be on a different frequency but won’t they still pick it up?’

  He shook his head but I still didn’t believe him. He was up to something.

  ‘Can you contact the Noiri, see if they can ‘elp?’ Reinya said.

  He looked shifty.

  ‘Dawdle, we’re needin generators. Can you get thum? Maybe if we go back to the boat we can go further downstream, send u signal from there.’

  ‘No! They’ll pick it up, Reinya.’

  ‘Hold yer jets, Sorlie. We’re no daein that.’

  ‘Why not?’

  He sighed again. I wished he’d stop. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I asked.

  ‘It just – this is aw wrong.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  He swung his arm round the room. Pointed to the star-shaped reactor.

  ‘This, what we’re daein here.’

  ‘How can you say that? Don’t you realise what this will mean to people’s lives?’ I couldn’t understand his reluctance. ‘Just think, electricity.’ All my taught history came flooding back. ‘We could create industry. People would be able to live in decent houses, not makeshift camps. We, the Blue Pearl, will be able to install right-minded people in government. Get rid of Military rule.’

  ‘’ave ‘ot water. Running from u tap.’

  ‘What?’

  Reinya blushed. ‘Ma mum told me. She said that before the big power stations went down, people, like everyone, could wash in u bath – every night if they wanted.’

  It was such a simple thing to want but I got where her mind was coming from. Then it clicked.

  ‘Oh, I get it, Dawdle. If power comes back, folk will be able to produce their own goods. Where does the Noiri fit in all this?’

  Dawdle shook his head. ‘It’s no that. Ah ken how ye’d think that but…’ he sighed again. ‘Oh, never mind. We might as well gie it a try.’

  ‘Right, well then, why don’t we need to go and send a signal?’ I asked.

  ‘Because ah think there’s another yin here.’

  ‘Another what?’

  ‘Engineer, ya dolt.’

  I bristled at the reprimand but decided to stay schtum. ‘What makes you think that?’

  ‘Because it’s common practice. If the State really wanted tae keep this thing tickin ower then they’re unlikely tae place just one engineer here. What if somethin went wrong? What if they grew bored with the company o the guards?’ This was likely. Most guards I’d encountered were Neanderthals. I quashed that thought at the sight of Noni. It was one of many views I’d been brought up with that I’d need to rethink going forward.

  Reinya nodded. ‘’e’s right.’

  ‘Aye, no just a pretty face that shifts stuff aboot fur aw you Privileged types, eh?’

  ‘Don’t get so cocky. We don’t know you’re right yet.’

  ‘But ah am, ah can feel it in ma bones.’

  ‘Where are they then?’

  ‘Probably hidin.’

  ‘What about the fuel, the generators?’

  Dawdle blew out his cheeks. ‘Well, the Military would normally supply it but ma guess is the State would be wantin this to be kept as hush-hush as possible. So if that was the case…’

  ‘There will be a fuel dump here already.’

  Dawdle nodded. ‘Spot on, ma Sorlie.’

  ‘But where?’

  ‘Did ye see the size eh this mountain? It goes back fur miles. And we’ve only reached the front o it.’

  ‘But if that’s the case we’ll never find the other engineer.’

  ‘Engineers urnae spies or Military. Aw they care about is what they’re tasked tae dae. Ma guess is the wee man—’

  ‘Or wuman,’ corrected Reinya.

  ‘Aye, aw right, or wuman. If we just lie in wait they’ll need tae come and check the instruments.’

  ‘So we lay a trap,’ I said.

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘But wait a minute. How do we know they’re not lying dead somewhere, with gas inhalation?’

  ‘Well those pins are from knockout gas canisters, but…’ Dawdle turned to Jake who seemed mesmerised by our conversation.

  ‘How many did ye kill?’

  ‘Four,’ Jake proclaimed with pride.

  ‘Right, there ye are.’

  ‘Reinya, you stay with Noni. And with Jake.’

  ‘No fear, Sorlie, uh’m comin with you. Noni can watch ‘im, she knows ‘ow to use u gun. Even if she might not know ‘ow to shoot she can ‘it ‘im over the ‘ead with it.’

  We walked down the stairs making a huge clatter of noise. If there was a hidden operator they would be sure to stay in place with all the racket we created. I just hoped they weren’t armed.

  ‘Let’s move these poor people outside and give them a decent burial,’ I said in an overloud voice. Dawdle rolled his eyes.

  ‘Poor people.’ Reinya said.

  ‘Once we’ve cleared out we can head back,’ I said so loudly it echoed round the hall. ‘There’s obviously nothing happening here. We’ve caught the escaped madman. We’ll take him back to Base and deal with him there.’

  ‘Fuck sake,’ Dawdle said under his breath. But Reinya gave me a cheery thumbs up.

  There was a door at the far end of the hall. We found that it led to the side of the box and on to the outside compound. Dawdle hauled the woman over his shoulder and Reinya and I carried one of the men between us. We carried the bodies out into roasting daytime, over the open ground towards the lavender fields and laid them in a hollow. We went back and gathered the other two and laid them with their colleagues.

  ‘We really should bury them but it’s probably better for the environment to leave them here for any wildlife to feast on.’

  Dawdle sighed but stayed schtum.

  ‘Urgh,’ was all Reinya had to say on the subject.

  We rushed back to the turbine hall, bolting the door behind us. We made a big show of going back to the control room. As I passed the cylinder nearest the stairs I had the feeling we were being watched, but maybe it was just wishful thinking.

  ‘We’ll leave the prisoner here,’ I said before we left the hall. ‘We’ll get the Military to come back for him, or you can kill him, Dawdle.’

  ‘Yes sir,’ Dawdle said.

  ‘Let’s ‘ope we never ‘ave to come back ‘ere. Dusty old mausoleum.’ Reinya said, showing that she knew I was acting.

  As we walked up the stairs I tripped.

  ‘Ouch,’ I shouted.

  ‘Sorlie, what is it?’ Reinya was beside me in seconds. I slumped on the stair and rubbed my leg. ‘My ankle, I think it’s sprained. Help me, Reinya.’ She lifted me to my feet and helped me limp up the stairs. I closed the door.

  ‘Top pantomime that wis.’ Dawdle said.

  I let go Reinya’s arm
and rushed towards Jake.

  ‘But yur ankle?’

  ‘I was acting.’

  ‘No great actin, it should be said,’ Dawdle drawled under his breath.

  ‘I heard that.’

  ‘Well, if ye think they’ll fall fur that, yer nuts.’

  ‘What do you suggest?’

  ‘Uh don’t understand why,’ Reinya said. ‘You kiddin about fallin?’

  ‘I’m staying here. They would have seen four enter, they need to see four leave.’

  ‘But the ankle?’

  I pointed to Jake. ‘We can’t let him walk freely,’ I explained. ‘Noni can hold onto him. Drag him along with her if she likes. They’ll think it’s me.’ I cut the ties on Jakes’ bindings with my penknife. ‘Jake, give me your jacket.’ I tugged the jacket off him. He struggled for a bit but the fight had left him.

  ‘Stand up straight.’ I hooked his arms into my jacket.

  ‘You won’t get away with this,’ he spat at me.

  ‘Maybe not, but we’re going to try.’

  Reinya placed her hand in mine. ‘What if there’s more thun one?’

  ‘I’ll have to risk it. I doubt they’ll hurt me. I only want to help.’

  ‘When will we come back?’

  ‘Not until I send a signal. Wait in the lavender field until I send a signal.’

  ‘What kind o signal?’

  ‘I won’t know until I think of it.’

  ‘Jupe’s sake, Sorlie. It’s ‘ardly u foolproof plan.’

  ‘Reinya, there have never been any foolproof plans. I discovered that in my grandfather’s library. All through history even the great rulers seemed to just make it up as they went along.’

  She kissed me lightly on the lips. Her lips were cool, but surprisingly soft.

  ‘And you will be u great leader, Sorlie.’

  As they opened the door to leave I crouched under the table. I wanted to watch to make sure they got out OK but I daren’t risk it.

  As the aeons ticked by, I scanned the control room for clues to the start up. From my crouched position my view was restricted to three sides. As I’d first thought, this was definitely larger than the control room at Black Rock. Monitors showed corridors, doors, and other halls but most were trained on the huge star. A panel on the desk held a rib of labels numbered from one to thirty, all with identical controls blinking red. I rebooted the manual and read the introduction. There were thirty components to this plant, and each star was made up of five individual mini reactors. That meant there must be six stars in all in this plant. Which meant the plant ran even further back into the mountain. Did that mean there might be more guards lurking? I checked the monitors and identified some of the other turbine halls – each one deserted. This place was humongous and eerie in its emptiness.

  If I could only get one of these working it would be progress. I read the instructions again. When the first reactor is operational it can create enough energy to kick-off number two, then number one and two would create enough power to start numbers three to five, it said. The manual showed a chart with a baffling array of numbers and letters, presumably working out how much power each star produced. It was gobbledygook to me. But I knew a small amount of power must be produced already from somewhere to keep the turbines turning over.

  Suddenly my communicator vibrated on my wrist and its clock began a countdown. The message underneath read “three hours to surge”. What the snaf did that mean? And who controlled these messages? Was this something to do with Ishbel’s mission? After the doubts Dawdle had sowed about the authenticity of my instructions I now suspected Vanora might be behind this. I decided to ignore the message and concentrate on the task in hand and leave Ishbel to get on with her side of the mission. I had to get The Star working. I kicked the control panel and all that gave me was a stounding toe.

  A footfall sounded on the stairs. I crouched under the desk. Feet appeared at the door. Trousers of green, like the uniform worn by a domestic native. If only natives worked here then my plan to get it started was sunk. No, that was warped thinking; natives of old were engineers, all the engineers at Freedom were natives. But a domestic? The movement of the feet differed from norm. Lighter than an Esperaneo native. I couldn’t make out if this was male or female. The feet moved around the room and stopped at the control panel just above where I crouched. I positioned myself in combat mode, wrapped my ankles around the legs and with one flick I toppled the domestic. I leapt onto their body. Wham. I doubled over, winded by the solid cold mass I’d hit. It was like felling Pa with his prosthetic legs. Cold and lifeless. I vaulted back as quickly as I could and crouched in the corner ready to strike again. The domestic, a female, rearranged her felled body and rose to her feet. She brushed off her uniform and blinked at me.

  ‘Who are you?’ The voice strange. An accent, an intonation I’d never heard before.

  ‘Who are you?’ I asked back.

  ‘I am the keeper.’ There was no hesitation in answering. She blinked and said. ‘And you are Sorlie Mayben.’

  What the snaf? ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Your chip has been fabricated recently. Your DNA does not match the chip, but you are Sorlie Mayben.’

  ‘Who are you, really?’ My voice held a hint of fear.

  ‘I cannot say. You must leave.’

  ‘Make me.’ She was a domestic, who the hell was she to tell me to leave? But that was Privileged thinking.

  ‘I cannot harm you.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I am a native.’ But the way she said it was wrong. And something from my past dragged itself to the front of my brain. The rules robots must obey – they cannot harm humans. But that was science fiction and this stuff never really existed, surely..?

  ‘Are you a robot?’

  ‘That name is obsolete.’

  ‘Are you artificial?’ I tried again.

  ‘That name is obsolete.’

  ‘What is your name then?’

  ‘NE1705.’

  Of course. So this was the key I needed to activate. I checked my instructions again.

  ‘I have new instructions for you.’ I pulled out the plugin from my comms and palmed it in my other hand. I had to get close enough to insert it. But from this distance I couldn’t see where the snafin thing went.

  ‘Hold out your hand.’

  ‘I do not understand. Why?’

  ‘Why can’t you just do it? You must detect whether I’m a threat to you or not.’ I held up my hands. ‘Look, no weapon.’

  ‘I must complete my task. It is time.’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  It moved to the control panel and did not seem too bothered that I was hovering about in the background. Probably because if I attacked it again it would be able to break me in two. The bot might be forbidden to harm humans but what about self-defence? I wasn’t risking it. I’d had a lucky escape that first time. As the bot passed I noticed a ring on its left hand. It was silver with a small stone in it. Most unusual for natives to wear jewellery. This was the exclusive preserve of Privileged only. I doubted robots were permitted trinkets either. That had to be it.

  The bot worked on the far right control. As it turned some dials I heard a whirring sound and the hum that had been ever present rose to a buzz. The turbines were turning. Power was definitely coming from somewhere. I moved behind the bot and as it put out its left hand to turn another dial, I clasped my hand over it and slapped the plugin directly on top of the ring. It stuck. The bot whipped its hand away and rattled me with it. I must have flown across that room because when I came to, my back was stounding and in my head I saw stars. The bot glowered at me and then the expression on its face changed. It was uncanny, the thing looked so real.

  ‘What can I do for you, Sorlie?’ the machine said.

  The transformation was miraculous. The
bot squinted at me kind of funny, as if I were a god or something. I wish. Things would be so much easier if everybody did as I asked, as they used to do when I was a spoiled brat at the Base. Then again, Ishbel had always been a disobedient native. No, that thought was so wrong but at least I now realised that. I could almost feel my native genes taking over.

  I smiled at the robot. Everyone secretly wants someone to look at them as if they were a god. It struck me – this was definitely not right. Is that what this revolution was all about? Does having power over someone make you feel superior? Is that what happened to Vanora with her murderous madness? Monsieur Jacques, I don’t know about. All I know is, even the sight of him terrified me. And Pa, what of him? That name he gave himself. The Prince. It spoke of delusions of grandeur. I could tell he enjoyed having Harkin running about after him and he had his army, stolen from Vanora. He must have had enough ego to plan that takeover. I ruffled my shoulders to throw the thoughts off my back. I would not be like them. Ever. This was a robot and robots need direction.

  She – it, stared at me, unblinking. I held up my comms with the manual still displayed.

  ‘I want the first reactor to start,’ I told the bot. ‘Can you do that with the power you use to run and maintain?’

  It blinked now. ‘Yes, that is possible,’ it said.

  ‘Then do it.’

  ‘What will you do with the power?’

  I felt a flash of anger at being questioned and then paused. I would be better than them, I would learn to be better.

  ‘The power will be used to start the next reactor and then the next one until we have them all working.’ I felt excitement rising in me. It was such a beautiful plan. I couldn’t understand why the State kept this unit shut down. All the possibilities of so much power surged through my brain.

  ‘Where will the power go?’ the bot asked again.

  ‘I told you, to start the others.’

  I could almost hear it sigh because the problem dawned on me even before it spoke again.

  ‘Where will it go when all are working?’

  I looked around the control room for the answer. I was completely out of my depth. Why did Pa choose me to lead this mission? Damn Jake for killing the other engineer. I scanned past the star and through the reactor hall door into the countryside. I thought back to the Base which had its own generator. If some part of that failed – a common occurrence – we were all required to turn off every appliance we had, which meant I could often go for days without being able to wrestle Jake through the Games Wall. I damned Jake again. I wasn’t sure how this power worked but I was pretty sure you could burn it off quite easily. Wasn’t that why past generations left the planet in this godawful mess? Burning resources like there was no tomorrow.