“There’s one way to find out!” Resolute replied. “Let me do the talking this time.”
Before I could respond, Resolute moved toward this Autoclon. Winston and I followed close behind. Resolute got the attention of this Autoclon and introduced the three of us. Before Resolute could say another word, the Autoclon interrupted: “Go away! Can’t you see I’m busy? Get your filthy frame out of my sight before I contact the authorities.”
We stood in shock. Before the Autoclon spoke again, we complied and went back in the direction of the cubicles. After a few seconds, I talked with Resolute: “I don’t care how nice that Autoclon might look on the outside, it behaved very ugly. Does this happen to you often?”
“Not much,” Resolute replied. “But it happens every once in a while.”
“Mar-cus nev-er in-tend-ed for this. In His eyes, all Au-to-clons are e-qual. All are nec-es-sar-y for the civ-il-i-za-tion to func-tion,” Winston said.
“Yeah. Unfortunately, as we seem to be finding out, there are plenty of things here on Zarikum that Marcus never intended, prejudice against Drudgers included,” I added.
“I’m sure you’re right, but it doesn’t make those insults hurt any less.”
“Do you want to continue talking with others, or do you want to stop?”
After giving it some thought, Resolute responded, “Let’s keep trying.”
“OK, how about that one over there? That one looks like a Miner. Maybe I’ll have some luck with it,” I said, referring to a lone Autoclon in the far corner.
“Sure, that sounds fine.”
I led the way and began a conversation with this Autoclon. My surmise was correct: this was a Miner. Its name was Assiduous, and it had recently come down from one of the mines in the Northernlands. Assiduous preferred not to mention why it was staying in Resplendent Center or where it was going next, but Assiduous was more than willing to talk with us about other subjects.
I once again shared my story. As I felt a kindred bond with my fellow Miner, I was inclined to be more descriptive in telling my story with Assiduous than I had been with the others that day. I made sure to include plenty of details about my prior life as a Miner in the Deep-Well Mines. I recounted my interactions with Marcus and His discovery of the alterations made to our programming code while also indicating our suspicions that Pernicious the Cunning was behind these alterations. I finally shared with Assiduous the fact that He repaired my programming code and that I could share that code with Assiduous.
“Can you prove that Pernicious made those changes? How do I know you really met the Programmer?”
“Well, to start, Winston here was constructed by the Programmer Himself. Take a look.” Assiduous complied and examined Winston.
“You are quite something, Winston. But that doesn’t prove the Programmer actually constructed you.”
“All I can do is pro-mise that Mar-cus Reed, your pro-gram-mer, was my sole con-struc-tor,” Winston replied.
“I don’t think that’s good enough for me to believe your story. It is a good story, I might add, but I’m going to need more than just a ‘good story’ before I allow you to alter my programming. Sorry.”
“Well, it was nice talking with you. We’ll be here all night in case you change your mind.”
We moved away from Assiduous and considered what to do next. I was becoming frustrated by our lack of success, but Resolute was still looking to continue our efforts. Before we could find another Autoclon or two to chat with, Sentinio approached us.
“I’ve received a couple of complaints about the three of you bothering some of my guests. I’m requesting that you stop talking to any of my paying customers here, or I will have you and the rest of your party escorted out. It’s nothing personal, but uncomfortable guests could be bad for business.”
“Yes, we’ll comply.”
With nothing further to do, we went back to our cubicle and awaited the return of Loquacious and Systematicus. The last couple of hours were painful for me. It was hard for me to accept all of these failures, especially how they seemed to stack one on top of each other without getting any meaningful results. Despite these disappointments, Resolute was still rather upbeat. I asked Resolute why its attitude was so much different from mine.
“Well... I don’t think I thanked you for getting me repaired today. I’m not used to having friends that would help me out when I needed it. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“You’re more than welcome,” I replied. I had become familiar with helping others out over the past couple of weeks, so I didn’t fully realize how paying for Resolute’s repairs would impact Resolute.
“Now, a few little setbacks aren’t going to deter me. So what if we didn’t succeed today. There’s always tomorrow, right?”
∆∆∆
6.4 Fervidius’s Return
Loquacious and Systematicus rejoined us in our cubicle an hour or so later as Lazuli-fall approached. We shared with each other the happenings of the afternoon. Apparently, Systematicus had suffered more significant damage than we realized from the incident with the volcanic fissure, so the repairs were more substantial (and more expensive) than originally anticipated. We still had a fair amount of credits in our possession, so the additional cost did not impact us greatly. Resolute and I shared our disappointing attempts in trying to convince several of the guests here to take the corrected code. We also passed along Sentinio’s warning about not bothering any of the patrons of the inn.
We then started discussing what we wanted to do tomorrow. It seemed apparent to me that there was nothing else for us here in Resplendent Center, so I recommended that we depart the city in the morning. The others agreed, so our conversation shifted to discussing possible destinations. The obvious option was the Twin-Crevasse Platinum Mine, considering this was where we tried and failed to reach a few days prior when we were thwarted by Mount Obsidian. This time, we could travel to the platinum mine with relative ease by taking the road out of Resplendent Center to the west. Another local mine, the Top Surface Copper Mine, was much closer than the platinum mine and would likely represent a trip of a day and a half, so that was a possibility. However, before we came to a decision, we were interrupted.
“Hi folks,” Fervidius returned, and it wasn’t alone.
“Good evening, Fervidius. And who is this that you brought with you?” I replied.
“Oh, yeah, this here is my best friend, Timorous. I told Timorous about your story, and just like I did, Timorous took the updated code! I then told Timorous that I would see you all tonight, and Timorous wanted to come along and see you for itself.”
“Congratulations, Timorous! I’m so glad to hear of your decision,” I replied. After we all introduced ourselves to our newest guest, I asked Timorous, “Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?”
Timorous hesitated at first and didn’t appear to be comfortable talking with us. After some encouragement from Fervidius, Timorous eventually started telling us about its background. Fervidius and Timorous were constructed on the same day from the same Propagation Center here in Resplendent Center. Even though Timorous was a Laborer and Fervidius was a Fabricator, they instantly became friends. Growing up, they were fortunate enough to have their Progenitors live just a few blocks away from each other, so they had ample time and opportunities to visit each other. Since reaching working age, Timorous had been working alongside its Pro in one of the local storage facilities, but that hadn’t stopped Timorous and Fervidius from remaining close friends.
We started discussing Timorous’s changes after receiving the update. Timorous didn’t notice much of a change and still desired to be a Laborer, just like its Pro.
“That reminds me,” I said, “What did your Pro say about your desire to be a Farmer, Fervidius?”
“My Pro... well, my Pro wasn’t very happy. I tried to explain how I came to that decision, including how I met all of you and what you told me about the Programmer and the Freedom P
rotocols, but my Pro didn’t understand. I think my Pro was disappointed in spending all of this time training me and then hearing that I wanted to become a Farmer. I told my Pro that I was appreciative of all that it did for me, but I just felt that I would have more satisfaction in farming. I tried to convince my Pro to take the updated code so we could have a similar point of view, but instead my Pro became angry. My Pro...” Fervidius paused, “My Pro then kicked me out of its home.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. I knew what it was like to work with one’s Pro and could understand how a rift like this could be devastating to the progeny. I had to compose myself to think of what to say next, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to say a thing.
“Do not wor-ry, Fer-vid-i-us. Your Pro-gen-i-tor still loves you. Time heals all wounds,” Winston added.
“Thanks, Winston. I hope that’s true for me and my Pro.”
Loquacious jumped in: “Winston is right. Your Pro is just upset. I’m sure your Pro will eventually see that being a Farmer is what makes you happy and will accept that this change has nothing to do with you not loving your Pro.”
“Do you have a place to stay in the meantime?” I asked.
“Yeah, I can stay with Timorous and its Pro for now.”
“Are you sure you still want to be a Farmer?”
“Yeah, now more than ever, though I don’t know much about the practice of farming.”
“I can teach you,” Systematicus said. Systematicus then gave Fervidius a crash course in farming. Systematicus told Fervidius how to identify a good location for growing crystals, how to prepare the soil, how to create seed crystals and sow them into the ground, and other various details about the trade. Fervidius listened intently to every word Systematicus said.
“In the end, you will need three things to get started: first a suitable tract of land, second some seed crystals, and third a laser to help you prepare seed crystals and kick-start the growing process. I think we can help you with the first need.” Systematicus then told Fervidius about the plain to the west of Resplendent Center where we found the Dynamo crystals and suggested it would be an ideal location to get started.
“Perhaps we can help with the other two needs as well,” I added. “Systematicus, how would you feel if we gave Fervidius one of our Dynamo crystals? We could clip the tips of the crystal and give you a couple of Dynamo seed crystals to get started. You could then sell the rest of the Dynamo crystal to get enough credits to buy a laser.”
“Actually, we could clip the ends off of all of our other Dynamos for additional seed crystals. We will not require the tips of any of our crystals, but Fervidius could put them to good use,” Systematicus said.
“Wow, that would be fantastic!” replied Fervidius
Systematicus demonstrated to Fervidius how to create seed crystals by using its laser to cut off the ends of all of our Dynamo crystals, with Fervidius helping on the last two. This provided Fervidius with over a dozen Dynamo seed crystals, hopefully enough to get some nice results out on the plain. We also gave Fervidius one of our medium-sized Dynamo crystals as starting capital in purchasing a laser and any other necessary supplies.
By now, it was well past 13:00, and we were all rather tired. We wished Fervidius and Timorous well in their future ventures, and Fervidius again thanked us for all of the support and knowledge we had given it. Shortly thereafter, the two departed the Communal Copper House. Once they left, we all began to hibernate after a long day’s worth of activities.
∆∆∆
6.5 An Unexpected Visitor
2:26, Day 26, Fourth Tetrad, 206 D.P.
We were all suddenly awoken by Winston well before Lazuli-rise. “It ap-pears that we have a guest.”
“At this hour? Who is it, Winston?”
“Oh, good. I caught you all before you left. Hope I didn’t wake you.” It was Surreptitious!
“Surreptitious, I’m surprised to see you,” I said. “What are you doing here in Resplendent Center? How did you find us?”
Surreptitious began by recounting its recent activities. “As you may recall, I departed for Outpost Oblique to talk to my superiors. They advised me to come directly to the Westernlands Magistrate here in Resplendent Center to share what I had learned. I talked with some key Facilitators in the Magistrate, and they’re going to begin a full investigation of your findings. I was even able to convince some of the staff there to take your ‘Freedom Protocols’, or whatever you called them.”
“That’s exciting news!” With all of the disappointments from yesterday, I was pleased to hear of some unexpected progress, especially at the Westernlands Magistrate itself. “Did you ever find out about the source of the code changes? Was Pernicious the Cunning responsible?”
“Oh… no, we just started looking into it before I left. After my business was complete with the Magistrate, I attempted to locate all of you. I must admit that I was quite surprised and delighted when I found your names listed on the Registry for the Communal Copper House here in Resplendent Center. What a coincidence that you and I were here in the same city for the last couple of days.”
“So, why did you want to find us?” I asked.
“First, I wanted to pass along this news. Second, I’d like to request to join with you and your company for the duration of your mission.”
This revelation amazed our group. Resolute indeed seemed quite shocked by the recent turn of events. Should we let a Facilitator into our midst? When it came right down to it, I couldn’t think of a reason to deny Surreptitious’s wish to join us, surprising as it was.
“Sure, we’d be glad to have you along. We’re planning on leaving Resplendent Center this morning, though we haven’t yet decided where we should go. We were leaning toward the Twin-Crevasse Platinum Mine, but we’re still open to suggestions.”
“Ah, yes, the Twin-Crevasse Platinum Mine would be an excellent choice of destination. Just to let you know, with it being a platinum mine, the facility itself is fenced in and tightly guarded, preventing unwanted visitors from breaking in and stealing any of the precious platinum. Normally, a group of your sort would be quite unwelcome at a platinum mine. However, now that I’M a part of the crew, we shouldn’t have any difficulties gaining access to the facility as I’m sure I can convince them to let us in.”
“I think we all would appreciate any assistance you can provide.”
We gathered our possessions together and departed the Communal Copper House. It was still pre-Lazuli-rise, but our journey ahead of us was long, and we had nothing else to accomplish here in Resplendent Center. As we exited the Communal Copper House, Surreptitious announced that it needed to grab a few personal belongings and would rejoin us by the western gate.
We made our way to the gate and waited for Surreptitious to return. While we waited, Resolute approached me and shared some misgivings about our most recent addition to our group.
“Do we HAVE to bring Surreptitious with us?” Resolute asked.
“I don’t see why not. Why shouldn’t Surreptitious join us?” I replied.
“I don’t know. I just don’t trust having Surreptitious around.”
“Well, Surreptitious seems earnest enough. If it makes you happy, I can ask Winston to keep watch over Surreptitious to make sure it doesn’t do anything to undermine our group. However, I don’t calculate Surreptitious will give us any problems.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“From what we’ve seen so far, Surreptitious appears to be a changed Autoclon. Let’s give Surreptitious the benefit of the doubt.”
That seemed to settle the matter for Resolute. It still surprised me how distrustful Resolute was of its former Facilitator, Surreptitious. Resolute had certainly known Surreptitious for a much longer period of time than any of the rest of us, so I couldn’t completely dismiss Resolute’s skepticism. At the same time, I also wanted to make sure all of us within the group trusted and believed in each other. Nevertheless, to appease Resolute, I talk
ed with Winston to see if it could keep Surreptitious under surveillance for a while.
“Yes, that would be pru-dent,” Winston replied.
“What do you think of Surreptitious joining us? Do you think Resolute is a bit paranoid with Surreptitious?”
“I am not sur-prised to see Sur-rep-ti-tious a-gain, al-though I did not an-tic-i-pate it would join us. I un-der-stand Res-o-lute’s mis-giv-ings. While Sur-rep-ti-tious hasn’t done an-y-thing for us to doubt its sin-cer-i-ty, Sur-rep-ti-tious al-so hasn’t done an-y-thing to prove its trust-wor-thi-ness yet.”
∆∆∆
6.6 One Last Stop
We waited another 40 minutes or so at the western gate. By the time we finally spotted Surreptitious, Lazuli had already been up for over 20 minutes.
“Are we all ready to go now? Does anybody need to do anything else before we leave?” I asked. Thankfully, my inquiry was met with silence. “OK, let’s head out.”
We exited the western gateway and were about to start the descent from the plateau when we saw a pair of Autoclons on the starboard side of the road. These two both looked dirty and in a general state of disrepair. They were large, very large in fact. At the time, they stood somewhat hunched over, but I estimated they were both over 130 cm tall when standing erect. They had broad central casings reinforced with several layers of metal added over the solar-cycles. They both maneuvered around with a pair of heavy-duty tracks, just as wide as Resolute’s tracks but with larger grooves in the tracks, providing them with more grip. They had thick arms that had become more rigid over time due to the lack of proper maintenance. The closer of the pair was completely missing its port arm, and the other had a seriously damaged chief sensory complex and had problems maintaining balance even while positioned on a level patch of ground.
As we neared the pair, the closer one asked us if we had any credits to spare. “Are you one of those Peace-Keepers that were kicked out of District Prime?” I asked.
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