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5.2 Up Close with the Volcano
3:25, Day 22, Fourth Tetrad, 206 D.P.
I awoke with the pre-Lazuli-rise light to a surprise: I was the first to come out of hibernation. Well, Winston was active as the third and final watch of the night, but the others were still in downtime. I took the opportunity to have a chat with Winston.
“How do you think things are going so far?”
“Things are go-ing well. Our dis-cus-sions so far are prov-ing to be quite fruit-ful. I also ap-pre-ci-ate hav-ing ad-di-tion-al tra-vel-ing com-pan-ions,” Winston said.
“Getting tired of me already, I see.”
“That is not what I said.”
I chuckled. “I know, I know. I’m just trying to have a joke at your expense. Besides, I actually agree with you: I also like having the others around,” I replied. “By the way, have you had a chance to communicate any of our progress with Marcus?”
“Yes. Ev-er-y night, I am able to up-load a mess-age to the ‘Bet-sy Reed’. I have re-ceived an ac-know-ledge-ment twice from Mar-cus. He al-so ap-proves of our pro-gress.”
“That’s good to hear. Is He close by?”
“Not at pre-sent.”
Changing the subject, I asked Winston a follow-up question from the previous day. “Out of curiosity, do you know anything more about Dauntless or the Programmer’s camp?”
“I can-not say an-y-thing on that mat-ter.”
“Cannot or will not?”
Again, Winston did not reply.
By this time, a couple of the others started to wake up. Before long, all five of us were up and ready to go. But where to go? That was another matter.
Lazuli had crept above the eastern horizon, giving us all a much better look of the giant sleeping monster to our northwest. Mount Obsidian was quite striking: its pitch black slopes provided a stark contrast to the vast stretches of brown and yellow sand and rocks that we were so accustomed to. It wasn’t a particularly steep mountain, especially near the summit, but it was still very tall, reaching 500 meters above the valley before us. It was even more impressive in girth, stretching well over four kilometers from east to west, dominating the landscape from our vantage point looking north.
Thankfully, Mount Obsidian wasn’t currently erupting, nor could we see any evidence of any recent eruptions. However, just as Dauntless’s poem described, the caldera of the volcano continuously released scorching hot gases out into the atmosphere. Not only that, but many fissures and cracks had formed on the mountain over time, especially on its eastern side, all doing their best to match the volume of vapors spewing forth from the caldera. This resulted in a large amount of volcanic gases persisting in the valley, creating a bluish-gray haze in the light of Lazuli.
The extent of the volcano’s presence wasn’t only contained on its slopes but also in the valley before us. Previous eruptions had ejected grayish-black ash and volcanic rock, and this material was splayed across the full breadth of the valley floor. The hardened lava formations from the volcano had even spread all the way to the far eastern wall of the valley in two separate locations.
With this monstrosity to our northwest, I recapped our options: “Now that we’ve reached Mount Obsidian, we have two possible directions to travel: north or east. The most direct route to the platinum mine is north, through that valley next to the volcano. If we go in that direction, we’re likely around 55 kilometers away from our destination. If you prefer to stay away from the volcano, we can instead go to the east. If we go that way, the trip will be longer, tacking on another 10 kilometers or more to our journey. Going west from here is not really an option, as we’ll still need to get around the volcano.
“I suggest we take the valley to the north. Yes, it does go close to the volcano, but it hasn’t erupted in some time. We’ll just need to avoid the fissures, and we should be fine. This route will get us to the Twin-Crevasse Platinum Mine about a half-day earlier than if we go to the east, so I’m all for giving the valley a try. What do you all think?”
“I do not like the looks of that volcano,” Systematicus said. “Can we go east?”
“Aw, where’s your adventurous spirit? It can’t be THAT dangerous going into the valley. Let’s DO this!” Resolute replied.
“There are e-nough risks in this jour-ney. We should not take this or an-y oth-er un-nec-es-sar-y risk,” Winston added.
“The vote is two for the valley and two for the east. What do you think, Loquacious?” I asked. Throughout our discussion, Loquacious was, oddly enough, silent.
“I’m not sure. I’d like to cut down our journey a bit, but that volcano is rather intimidating. I suppose... we could give the valley a try,” Loquacious replied.
“Well, that settles it. Let get moving and put that volcano behind us.”
We descended from our high vantage point into the valley. Once we reached the bottom, the presence of Mount Obsidian was overwhelming. It dwarfed everything else in sight, its black slopes serving as reminders of its terrible powers. With nowhere to go but out the northern end of the valley, we were now at the mercy of the volcano.
In addition to the ever-present threat of eruption, the volcano had a second, direct impact on us. The fumes from the various fissures and cracks in the volcano clouded our vision somewhat now that we were in the base of the valley.
“I wonder if these gases will harm us...” Systematicus wondered aloud.
“Good question. I have some air composition software as Miners often encounter underground vapors. Let me have a look...” I booted up my program, gathered an air sample, and submitted it for analysis. After a couple of minutes, I received my result.
“The air here is a mixture of many different compounds of gases, most of them sulphur-based. At much higher concentrations, prolonged exposure to these gases could lead to corrosion of some of our key components, but at this level, the air is mostly harmless.”
We continued for nearly a kilometer before we started encountering some of the volcanic debris in our path. Before long, the ground we traversed was composed more of volcanic material than the native sands. Many of the black, volcanic rocks were quite sharp, so we took our time maneuvering over and around them to avoid damaging our wheels (and tracks in Resolute’s case).
Loquacious, who was at the front of our group, brought everyone to a halt as we neared the first of two portions of our route that required us to travel directly on top of the solidified lava. This first stretch of lava was nearly 100 meters in width. “Are you sure this is safe?” Loquacious asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, what can we really be sure of?” I responded. “Just watch where you’re going and take it slow.”
Loquacious complied. Its initial movements were very cautious, but the material seemed firm and supportive. “I guess it’s OK,” Loquacious said. Systematicus followed onto the black stone. Soon enough, all five of us were on the lava field.
We started hearing a few cracks from underneath Loquacious, and shortly thereafter, Loquacious let out a yelp.
“What’s going on up there?” I asked. “Are you alright?”
“I’ve hit a couple of air pockets in the lava,” Loquacious said. “I burst one and dropped like six centimeters, and it scared me to death. I’m OK now.” Loquacious resumed its slow crawl across the lava surface. “I don’t think I’d cut it as an explorer like Dauntless,” Loquacious chuckled nervously.
Suddenly, as Loquacious neared the end of the stretch of lava, the material underneath Systematicus started cracking loudly and began to break away. In an instant, a portion of lava collapsed directly under the rear wheels of Systematicus, accompanied by a loud rush of hot volcanic vapors. Systematicus couldn’t get any traction with its front wheels and started tumbling into the now meter-wide fissure. Systematicus grabbed onto the rear wheel of Loquacious, and soon the two of them were slowly being pulled by gravity into the depths of the crack!
“HELP! Fastidious, I’m falling in!”
I had been traveling right behind Systematicus when the crack first opened up, but I was still over eight meters away when Systematicus started falling. The ground underneath my wheels felt solid enough, but there was no telling what it would be like next to the fissure.
“Fastidious, we HAVE to do SOMETHING!” Resolute yelled.
I froze. What could I do to help? Would I get pulled in too? A hundred calculations pulsed through my processors. There wasn’t enough data to draw a conclusion, except this one: I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t try to help my friends.
“OK… Loquacious, grab my rear hitch, and I’ll pull you out of there.” I turned around and backed up to the edge of the crack. “Resolute, can you grab my starboard grasper? Let’s all pull together!”
Loquacious latched on just before slipping into the fissure. The added weight overpowered my motor, and I too was getting pulled backward into the fissure! Resolute reached out with its good port arm, and we grasped each other and held on with all of our might. Winston came by my port arm and produced out of its outer casing a small eyelet that I grabbed onto. Resolute’s wide tracks held more firmly onto the solidified lava than my wheels. Despite the three of us carrying the weight of now four Autoclons (and Winston), we were able to hold our ground and slowly creep forward.
After what seemed like several minutes of pulling, Loquacious was able to get its front wheels onto the top surface of lava. The added weight and pressure of another Autoclon on the lava caused an additional collapse of material; this time collapsing below my rear wheels! Before I knew it, my back end was in the fissure with Loquacious and Systematicus holding on for dear life. My front wheels were now perched precariously on the top edge of the ever-widening fissure. My grip with Resolute was the only thing preventing the three of us from tumbling into the abyss below!
Now that I was in the fissure itself, I experienced the full brunt of the super-heated volcanic gases. It reminded me of my mining days when I moved too close to the smelting pot that we used to separate the superheated copper away from the ordinary rock. The caustic vapors inside the fissure were much more concentrated than out in the valley, so I knew we would have to get out of the fissure soon or else risk permanent damage.
Resolute was trying its best to pull us out of the crevice, but it became clear that Resolute couldn’t gain any ground with the three of us hanging on. “The... weight... is too much! My motor is... well past its limits. I... can’t hold out... much longer!”
“What options do we have?” Loquacious asked in a panic.
I had an idea: “Systematicus, do you still have your cart attached? Can you unhitch it?”
“It has my belongings. I do not want to lose it.”
“We don’t have a choice right now.”
“I would rather not. Can you pull harder?”
Loquacious, who had been pulled into the fissure by Systematicus, lost all patience with the Farmer. “Just DO IT! We’re all going to die if you don’t!”
With this latest plea, Systematicus obeyed. The cart disappeared into the darkness, crashing several seconds later in the void below.
“OK, that helped... a bit. I don’t think I can... pull y’all out, but at least I’m not... losing ground... for now,” Resolute said.
“NOW WHAT?” Loquacious asked, now in full hysteria.
“I... I’m not sure,” I replied.
“I can let go. I am old and not of much use to anyone. You would not miss me,” Systematicus said despondently.
“NO! I’m sure we can come up with a better option: one that gets us ALL out of here alive!” I replied. “If only we could be pulled UP out of this crack instead of being pulled along the surface.”
“That is a ver-y good i-de-a,” Winston said. At that moment, I could hear some movement in Winston’s outer casing, but from my position in the fissure, I couldn’t determine what was happening. Several seconds later, Winston said: “Hold on!”
I finally saw what Winston had in mind. Winston now had a pair of rotors attached to the top of its casing, and they starting spinning. Before long, the rotors moved fast enough that Winston started to elevate! Winston maneuvered directly over the three of us in the crevice and gave the command: “PULL!”
With the combined force of Winston pulling my port grasper up and Resolute digging in and pulling my starboard grasper away from the fissure, I was finally able to gain some ground out of the crack. Slowly, I wheeled forward with my front set of wheels, and before long, I maneuvered my back wheels up and over the edge of the crevice. Once I had four wheels on solid ground, Winston flew in beside Resolute and started pulling in the same direction as Resolute. With my back wheels on the top surface, we were able to pull Loquacious and Systematicus out of danger. We didn’t waste any time wheeling off of the lava and back onto the safety of the sandy valley floor.
“Whew! That was a close one!” Loquacious said.
“No kidding. That was WAY too close for me!” I admitted.
“Wow, you folks really gave me a workout today,” added Resolute. “How about we never do that again?”
“That sounds good to me. Winston, I had no idea you could fly! Why didn’t you tell me about that?”
“You ne-ver asked,” Winston said.
“Any other secrets about yourself that you’d like to share?”
“Not at this pre-sent time.”
“Anyway, that was AWESOME!” Resolute added. “Winston to the rescue!”
“Yes, Winston seems to have a knack for that.”
I noticed that Systematicus had been quiet since our brush with death. Systematicus was normally rather quiet, but this seemed a bit different. Systematicus lingered at the back of our group, and it appeared to me like its thoughts and calculations were elsewhere. I was worried about our Farmer, so I approached Systematicus. “Systematicus, are you OK?”
“I... I suppose. I am disappointed that I lost my cart.”
“Your cart? We almost died, and you’re disappointed that we had to sacrifice your cart?”
“Lo-qua-cious, do not be hard on Sys-tem-at-i-cus. We have all sac-ri-ficed on this voy-age. We all will be called up-on to sac-ri-fice more in the fu-ture,” Winston said.
“Winston’s right. I’m sorry for your loss, Systematicus. I know you valued your cart a great deal,” I said. “How are you feeling physically? You were down in the fissure the longest. Did you suffer any damage from the fumes?”
“I do not think so.”
“That’s good. How about everyone else? Were any of you damaged?”
“My power cells are way down. Plus someone should take a look at my motor, as I’m pretty sure it was damaged from all of the pulling,” Resolute replied. “But I think I’ll be OK for now.”
“I’d say we’re all due for a tune-up. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that at the Twin-Crevasse Platinum Mine. Perhaps we should head to Resplendent Center after all,” I suggested.
Loquacious appeared to like this idea. “Is it too late for me to change my vote to Resplendent Center?”
Chapter 6 - Resplendent Center and Meeting the Castoffs
6.0 A Dynamic Discovery
7:58, Day 22, Fourth Tetrad, 206 D.P.
It took very little convincing to make Resplendent Center our next destination. Our experience with the fissure of Mount Obsidian greatly disturbed us all (some more than others), so we all welcomed a change in course.
We climbed out of the valley and make our way to the southeast. Upon completing our ascent, we set up camp for the evening. Even though we were over an hour from Lazuli-fall, it was obvious that everyone needed a break sooner rather than later. Understandably, the mood was quite somber as we all reflected on what happened (and what almost happened) earlier that day.
I volunteered to take the first watch. I needed some time alone to rethink my recent decisions. Was I pushing the group too hard? I was so excited to go spread the word about my encounter with Marcus that I wanted to tell everyone abo
ut it as soon as possible. But at what cost? In my haste, we took a more dangerous route this morning, and it nearly cost us the lives of Systematicus and Loquacious and possibly even me.
While Winston and I seemed to handle the day-to-day travel well, these daily journeys were taking a much greater physical toll on Systematicus and Loquacious. My grueling travel plans had us pushing the aging Systematicus and the poorly-suited Loquacious past their current operating capacities, though Resolute seemed in better condition for this sort of travel. Was I endangering the wellness and livelihood of my companions with our travel plans?
Ultimately, my thoughts turned back to what Winston said earlier in the morning (which seemed like a lifetime ago after our misadventure in the fissure): ‘There are e-nough risks in this jour-ney. We should not take this or an-y oth-er un-nec-es-sar-y risk.’ In some ways, this whole mission was a long-shot. The Ruling Party would eventually become aware of what we were doing and would almost certainly try to stop us. Sticking to these outposts and communities on the outskirts of civilization should delay such action. Even though we were taking these precautions, Winston was right: we should minimize our risks whenever possible. If that meant choosing longer routes, sticking to more level terrain, and limiting the amount of daily travel for the sake of Systematicus and Loquacious, then I would accept this compromise.
Before too long, my night watch was over, and Resolute relieved me from watch duty. I settled in for the night and began my shut-down process.
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