Version Innocent

by Pete Molina

Chapter 52

  Five hours and six minutes later the wasp-like ship ended its deceleration. Terra could feel the gravity drop away and then the momentary feeling of free fall before the simulated gravity cut in. They were still moving at a few hundred kilometers per second. They all got out of their chairs and went closer to the viewers to see their destination.

  “It’s some kind of asteroid or something,” Terra ventured.

  “Not an asteroid, it’s a Kupier belt object,” Sam said excitedly. “This is exactly the kind of place I would come. That object has to be kilometers long and several wide, plenty of room for facilities to experiment and someplace no one would ever know to look.”

  “Kupier belt objects?” Terra asked. The name sounded familiar.

  “Yeah, they’re asteroids and comets that are located out here past Jupiter. There are literally tens of thousands of them, some much larger than this one,” Sam explained.

  “So this is where you’d come?” Terra asked. “So why didn’t you just tell us that at the beginning?”

  “There was no way to know which object or where in space it would be. I only knew it would be near Jupiter or Saturn, and here we are not so far from Jupiter.”

  “The delay time to access the Datasphere must be enormous. Why would you want to start a research outpost this far out?" Jeff asked.

  “Not everything one can do needs access to the Datasphere. The delay time would be inconvenient, but it’d also provide some security. I’m sure that if there is a link to the Datasphere, it’s not just a line of sight radio link. It’s probably a laser comlink that’s bounced all over the system. Remember, Sam didn’t send the virus through the Datasphere. He sent a cube,” Sam said.

  “Don’t remind me,” Jeff winced, remembering exactly why they were out here.

  The ship was moving closer to the object quickly. Now they could see a mist that seemed to surround the whole thing and to extend outward from the object for quite a distance.

  “What is that? An atmosphere or something?” Sam asked.

  “Doubt it. An object that small couldn’t have sufficient gravity to hold an atmosphere that thick,” Terra said.

  “I’m sure we’ll find out,” Jeff said as they continued to watch as the ship approached. Several minutes later they were coming up fast to the surface of the object. They entered the region filled with the mist.

  “Maybe it’s fog or something,” Sam ventured.

  “But why surround an entire asteroid with it?” Terra asked.

  “I don’t know, some kind of defense maybe, or someway to move stuff around on the surface. It could provide someone walking on the surface with simulated gravity,” Jeff suggested. When they were within a few meters, the ship came to a stop, looking as if it were going to land on the surface.

  “Aren’t we going to land?” Jeff asked, perplexed.

  A hole began to form below them and grew until it was at least five times the diameter of the small ship. The opening seemed to go on for quite a distance. Once the hole stopped expanding, the ship entered. The windows filled with the dirty gray of the stuff that made up the Kupier belt object. They traveled downward for quite a distance. Behind them opening closed off from the outside.

  A few seconds later they entered a large cavern that was lit dimly by lights all around its surface. There were several other black objects that appeared to be the same type of ship as the one they were using. The ship came to a stop when it reached the floor.

  “Well, we’re here,” Terra said.

  “We have arrived at our destination. You may exit the ship at your convenience. Please note that there is no atmosphere outside, so please remember to use your space suits,” the ship said.

  “And where are we supposed to go now, Ship?” Jeff asked.

  “I have fulfilled my programming, I have no further instructions for you,” the ship replied.

  “Not very friendly is he,” Terra commented with a droll smile.

  “Not much at all,” Jeff returned.

  “Shall we?” Sam asked, moving for the airlock and instructing his suit helmet close over him.

  “I guess so.” Jeff followed.

  Sam pushed on the plate that opened the hatch through which they had entered the ship from the ice. He pushed himself through the fog barrier out into the cavern. A small platform had extended from the side of the ship on which Sam stood, gripping a hand rail waiting for the others. Once Jeff and Terra joined him, the hatch closed behind them, and the platform began to lower towards the surface.

  “There’s simulated gravity here,” Terra commented after giving a small experimental hop.

  “It makes sense. This object doesn’t have much gravity of its own,” Sam said.

  “This cavern is huge. You could fit a hundred ships in here,” Jeff remarked taking in the portion of the gigantic cavern that they could see.

  The platform reached the ground, and they all stepped off. Sam led them away from the ship so they could see the entirety of the cavern around them. “Well, where should we go? It’ll take hours to search this whole place for an entrance.”

  “Have you tried interfacing with the local system? There must be one,” Jeff suggested.

  “Let me give it a try,” Sam said, having Ralphie try to link into any active computer system.

  I am detecting a local network, Ralphie replied after several seconds of trying. I am having difficulty interfacing with it. Please stand by.

  “Well?” Terra asked impatiently. She’d had Plato try to access the system as well, but he was having little luck.

  “Something’s here, but Ralphie can’t seem to get his hands around it. Give him a few more minutes,” Sam said. In his displays he could see graphically the tenuous nodes that Ralphie was trying to access.

  The system has several layers of protection that I cannot penetrate. I have been able to get a guide, however, at the outer most system shell, Ralphie informed him.

  “I’ve got a guide arrow,” Sam said triumphantly as a green arrow appeared in his visuals that led to one of the walls half way across the cavern.

  “Good, lead the way, Sam…my companion couldn’t even get in the system that far,” Terra said.

  Sam began to work his way towards the location the guide indicated. The cavern was mostly empty except for the four other ships they saw parked off to the far side. After several minutes of walking they found the entrance they had been looking for. It was almost large enough to have brought the ship through. The surface of the portal was black, very much like the fog barrier airlock on the ship but much larger.

  “Well, here goes nothing,” Sam said, stepping into the black barrier. He passed through easily, and on the other side he emerged into a long corridor that was lit by dim lights on the ceiling. Terra and Jeff followed his example and seconds later were standing at his side.

  “Not another long corridor,” Terra moaned.

  “There’s air here,” Sam said, checking his suit reading, “but the temperature is minus ten.”

  “Like there’s no one here any more,” Terra said.

  “There has to be something here.” Sam looked around. “My guide arrow is gone now.”

  “Well, we’re not going to find anything by sitting here gabbing. The Powel is on her way…don’t forget that,” Jeff reminded, leading the group at a brisk pace.

  They found their first door after several hundred meters. Sam tried to open, it but it wouldn’t budge for him when he pushed the plate to the side of the door that might have admitted them. Each of the others tried to get the door to open, but to no avail.

  “Well that’s disappointing,” Sam commented. Ralphie, can you access the system here yet.

  Negative, I am still locked out by the security protocols, Ralphie responded.

  But the network is active here?

  Yes, very active. I just can’t penetrate the security, Ralphie replied.

  “Ralp
hie still can’t access the system,” Sam told the others.

  “Then let’s keep going,” Jeff said, impatient to be on their way now that they’d found the door wouldn’t admit them.

  They wandered down the corridor which had more and more doors along the side, none of which would open for them. They found several other hallways heading off from the main corridor, but they couldn’t see where they went.

  “We should stay in the large corridor,” Sam said.

  “Why? Who says what we’re looking for isn’t down one of the others?” Terra asked.

  “I think that lacking any kind of help we should stay in the large corridor. Who knows where those others go, but if this place has a command center or something, I would put someplace easy to find.”

  “Yeah, well, if you say so, Sam,” Terra acquiesced.

  They continued up the corridor, and they had to pass through another fog barrier. This time when they emerged the corridors were brightly lit.

  “The temperature’s up to sixty,” Sam said. “We can probably remove our helmets now.”

  “Do you think we should?” Jeff asked.

  “Couldn’t hurt.” Sam retracted his helmet and took a breath. The air was stale, and he couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. “I think it’s okay.”

  Terra and Jeff retracted their helmets as well, testing the air tentatively but finding it acceptable. The corridor hadn’t changed size, but it did begin to bend to the right with several smaller hallways continuing straight.

  “Big or small?” Terra asked when they reached the fork.

  “I’m still thinking big.” Sam continued to walk down the large corridor. The doors that lined the sides of the hallway still wouldn’t admit them.

  “How big is this place. There’s room for thousands here.” Jeff was awed at the sheer size of the place.

  “Well, this is a big rock we’re in. It could go on for kilometers,” Terra replied.

  “Let’s hope not. We’ve already wasted forty-five minutes,” Sam noted. As they turned around the next bend in the corridor, they found themselves at another fog barrier.

  “We should put our helmets back on. No telling what’s on the other side. If we don’t find something soon, we should backtrack to those other hallways and try there,” Sam said, his helmet covering his head and face again. He stepped into the door but he bounced off it smartly.

  “This is new,” Jeff commented. “Let me try.” Jeff stepped forward and like Sam, couldn’t walk through.

  “What now? Terra asked.

  “I guess we go back to the other hallways,” Jeff said.

  “Give me one more try.” Sam began to push on the door with his hands like he could push it aside or something. Then just when he was about to give up, he felt his arms sink into the barrier. He only got out an astonished, “Oh!” before he was completely enveloped in darkness. The substance that formed the barrier held him perfectly still inside the barrier although Sam tried briefly to struggle to get free, which got him nowhere.

  “Please remove your spacesuit helmet,” Sam heard a voice say.

  “Who are you?” Sam asked.

  “Please remove your helmet for biometric identification,” the voice commanded.

  Sam hesitated. He didn’t want that stuff inside his suit, but on the other hand he was stuck in the barrier and his attempts to contact the others weren’t successful. Sam took a deep breath and then had Ralphie retract the spacesuit helmet once again. The substance that formed the barrier flowed over his face. Sam felt like he wanted to scream, but he found he could still breathe. After several minutes the voice came again.

  “Identity confirmed. You may enter.”

  Sam was pushed through the remainder of the barrier by the barrier itself, and when he emerged, he found himself in a very large circular room that was covered with active monitors along its walls. There were a number of work stations situated throughout the room and some strange looking equipment along the far wall.

  “Wow, that was worse than the security field at Arlin,” Terra gasped as she was spewed forth from the wall to stand next to Sam. “Are you all right, Sam?” she asked, giving him a once over with her eyes.

  “Yeah, you?” Sam replied, facing her. Jeff also came through the wall with a gasp and stumbling onto the floor.

  “Not much fun,” Sam said, stepping to help Jeff back to his feet.

  “Most definitely not.” Jeff got up.

  “Well, this must be the place we’ve been looking for,” Terra commented, surveying the room.

  “Yes, I’d say,” Jeff said.

  They all started for the large open space at the center of the circular room. Jeff stopped to look at the screen of one of the work stations that showed a graphic of the maze they’d just found their way through.

  “Hey look at this,” Jeff said, pointing it out to the others. They all took a quick look at the layout.

  “Man, this place is big.” Sam noted that they hadn’t even seen half of the facility.

  “And this corridor goes off the screen here. There must be more that we can’t see on this diagram,” Terra pointed out.

  Once they’d finished their observations of the screen, they turned to continue to the center of the room. They found there now was a figure standing at the center with a smile on his face, wearing what looked like a space suit very similar to their own. He had a familiar face…very familiar.