The Disturbance 2: The Answer: Hard Science Fiction, page 6
“What does that mean?” asked David.
“It tells us what the object’s made of. I suspected some kind of metal alloy, so I compared it first with all known alloys. No match. Then with all chemical compounds that are solid under these conditions. No hits there either.”
“And then?” asked Aaron.
“Nothing. That’s all there is.”
“It’s made of an unknown substance?”
“Exactly. At least, not one recorded in any of the databases on board.”
“So then it’s of extraterrestrial origin?” asked David.
Christine laughed. “Not so fast. There are a bunch of substances that were developed someplace and then classified. For example, you won’t find radar-resistant materials in the databases. I suspect we’ve found a piece of classified technology.”
“That’s exciting.”
“It is, David. But I can already tell you that the preliminary results of the latest Sheep measurements are even more exciting. I think I’ll be able to provide the first evidence tomorrow that another universe preceded ours!”
“That’s amazing,” said Aaron. “Does that clear up the question of whether there’s a higher being?”
“God forbid,” said Christine. “It just means we live in a cyclic universe. But that could still have been created at some point.”
“Maybe we should let Mission Control know we’re close to an answer to the big question,” Aaron suggested. “I think your research results will get them pretty excited back on Earth.”
“Good idea,” said Christine. “Can you compose a message? I’d like to work on optimizing the data.”
“Sure,” said Aaron.
“Thank you, David, for showing us these images. Maybe you could search for the piece of classified tech tomorrow. I don’t like the idea that maybe Earth is still secretly observing us.”
Houston, October 6, 2112
In his dream, Elisabeth was sitting on him. Her large breasts swung in time with her movements. Benjamin realized what was happening and pushed her off him. She fell back. Her head smacked against the nightstand. The sound was so loud it woke him.
What was that? He’d never had a dream like that before. He didn’t even know if his sexual functions worked, although he had all the necessary anatomical features. He had simply never had the urge to try it out. Not even now. Especially not now.
The noise. It was real. Benjamin sat bolt upright. He had no pets. What was going on? His rented bungalow had two rooms – the bedroom and a combined living room and kitchen. The bedroom had no external door, but it adjoined the tiny bathroom. The bathroom had a window looking out into the small back yard – which he had so far neglected.
He heard a humming sound. He knew that sound – the robot’s wheels. Phew. Oscar must have knocked something over. But the loud noise that woke him was muffled, so it must have come from the living room. Oscar was with him in the bedroom.
“Was that you?” Benjamin whispered.
“That crash in the living room? No,” Oscar whispered back. “Should I take a look?”
“No. We’re unarmed and it’s a bad idea to provoke intruders.”
Oscar pushed back the covers. Cool metal touched his hand. A blade. It was the garden shears. He had forgotten to take them from the robot.
“Forget it,” said Benjamin. “There are too many of them.”
“Them?”
“I’ll explain later. We need to get out of here. Now.”
“Through the bathroom window?”
“Yes. I’ve kept it clear. We can get out quietly that way.”
Benjamin pushed back the covers. He always slept in an undershirt and boxer shorts. But it didn’t matter. He had supplies stashed in the truck, in anticipation of them finding him eventually.
He got up slowly and padded barefoot to the bathroom. The door was well oiled and wouldn’t squeak. He opened it. So far so good. He closed the toilet lid and stepped on it. From there, he opened the window. Something tapped his calf. Oscar.
“Give me your arm,” said Benjamin.
Now he had to be careful. The robot was heavy. If his 15 kilograms hit the toilet bowl, the intruders would know they were escaping. They were probably crouching in the living room waiting to see if the noises had woken him.
He lifted the robot. Oscar folded his arm to make himself more compact. Benjamin pushed the arm through the window and sat Oscar’s body on the sill.
“Can you pull yourself outside?” he asked quietly.
Oscar flew through the window and landed outside. Benjamin stepped on the sturdy wooden ledge behind the toilet. Then he slipped through the narrow window, legs first. He would have to let go at some point. He slid over the hard sill. Ouch. There would be a nasty graze on his shoulder now. He should have padded the sill. He had thought of everything else.
No, he hadn’t taken the truck into account. Oscar was ahead of him. He would reach their getaway vehicle first. He was standing beside a small shed at the rear of the garden. Did the intruders have it under surveillance? No--if they did, they would be here already. He hit the ground with a dull thud, leaving footprints in the dusty soil. It was a dark night. The moon had not yet risen.
Oscar must have reached the pickup. If he opened the passenger door, the software would object and slam the door. That would cost them critical seconds. He heard the low growl of the electric motor. The truck was already running! How was that possible? Benjamin sprinted to the driver door, tore it open and jumped in. Then he closed it as gently as possible. Oscar was in the front passenger seat. The driving program was waiting for instructions.
“Drive,” said Benjamin. “Last destination.”
It didn’t matter where. The main thing was to get away. The truck moved off. Slowly.
“Can you go faster?” asked Benjamin.
“Sorry, but the driveway has...”
The truck fell silent.
“You can drive it yourself now,” said Oscar.
“Drive it myself?” asked Benjamin. “But that’s only allowed on private property.”
“Don’t worry about that. Brake, gas, steering wheel, you’re familiar with those?”
“I’ve never driven a vehicle myself.”
“I can’t do it for you, Benjamin. I have no way to operate the brake and gas pedals.”
Headlights lit up behind them. Benjamin realized he was driving without his lights on.
“He’s getting away!” someone yelled.
“Mr. Forestier, stay here! We just want to...”
Oscar’s arm shot toward him. The truck turned sharply and its tires squealed. The woman had called him ‘Foresteer’. The nerve!
“Come on, hit the gas!” cried Oscar. “Step on the right-hand pedal as hard as you can!”
He pressed the pedal to the floor. The vehicle sprang forward. Oscar skillfully kept it on the road. They were speeding along a dirt road. Benjamin could tell by the plumes of dust in their pursuer’s headlights. How was the robot doing that? He only had radar and from the passenger seat he could see... nothing, surely?
Benjamin let his foot off the gas. It was a huge coincidence that they hadn’t collided with anything. Even out here, there were pylons and fences.
“Step on it, go!” Oscar complained.
“But you’re driving blind!”
“Trust me. I’m connected to the truck’s electronics.”
“You hacked it?”
“I wouldn’t call it that. We had a little talk, at the end of which we agreed to work together in future.”
“The truck would never agree to breaking any rules.”
“It didn’t really have a choice.”
“You hacked it. That’s a crime. We’ll have the FBI on our tail as soon as we cross state lines.”
“You’ve planned that far ahead? What kind of criminal are you?”
“I’m not a criminal. But no one knows I’m here.”
“You entered illegally?”
“You could say that. I was hoping they wouldn’t find me so quickly.”
“Where did you come from? Mexico? Nicaragua? Not Venezuela?”
“Farther away.”
“Australia? Germany? No, France! Hence the name. I assumed you were Canadian.”
“Oort Cloud.”
“Oh, right. Oort Cloud. That’s really far away. You must have traveled for a really long time. I’ve been on long voyages.”
“It was faster than you might think.”
It was time to tell Oscar the truth. Though they only met two days ago, they were in this together now.
“Because you’re not human. You can tolerate higher g-forces over extended periods. That would have saved you a few years.”
“It’s true. I’m an android. But I didn’t know it myself for a long time.”
“They didn’t tell you what you really were? That’s inhumane. Shostakovich built androids too, but they were aware of their nature. He had a penchant for young blonde women. They all had to look like his wife, who died young.”
“Your Shostakovich wasn’t exactly... healthy, though.”
“That’s true. That’s why I had to escape. You were manufactured by that Chatterjee guy?”
“What makes you say that?”
“He sounds like an American version of Shostakovich.”
“He’s Indian.”
“No, he was born here and his companies are registered here. He builds spaceships, invests in asteroid mining, develops robots and modern weaponry, just like Shostakovich.”
“Did Shostakovich have a secret project too?”
“Sure, immortality, I told you that. And Chatterjee?”
“He wanted to prove the existence of God. Or disprove it.”
“Did he succeed?”
“No one knows.”
“Same with Shostakovich.”
They were gradually putting distance between themselves and their pursuers. When he bought the pickup, he chose a vehicle that couldn’t be outrun on unsealed roads. This was especially true when a driver as skilled as Oscar was steering. And there was no traffic surveillance on this dirt road. Apparently, their pursuers hadn’t thought to bring a chopper. Had they underestimated him? Or did they really just want to talk? Then why show up in the middle of the night and try to surprise him while he slept?
“We need to change vehicles,” said Oscar.
“What? Do you know how much this truck cost me?”
“Doesn’t matter. As soon as we turn onto a public road, they’ll have us. Then we’ll never make it to Siberia.”
“You want to drive to Siberia?”
“Benjamin, I know Earth’s geography. I want to travel to Siberia. There’s nothing keeping us here now.”
“I haven’t done what I came here to do.”
“Which is?”
“I want to meet my maker.”
Oscar patted his shoulder. “We have it better than humans.”
“We?”
“We robots and androids.”
“Why?”
“We can meet our maker without dying.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure. Chatterjee might not want to meet me.”
“Listen, let’s make a deal, Benjamin.”
“We already have a deal.”
“A new deal. The circumstances have changed a lot.”
“What then?”
“I help you visit your maker, and you come with me to Siberia.”
“Do you really need me for that? I don’t feel drawn to Russia.”
“Yes, it would be much easier with you. How am I supposed to get on board a plane? I need a human to check me in as baggage.”
Benjamin shook his head.
“Yeah, yeah, a being that is usually perceived as human. Is that better?”
Benjamin nodded. He looked down at his bare knees. “Do you think we have time for a quick stop? I’d like to get dressed.”
“There’s a farm up ahead,” said Oscar. “We’re sure to find a new vehicle there, and you can get dressed there too, if you like.”
“Thanks for your permission.”
“You’re welcome.”
Benjamin looked at the robot through narrowed eyes. He appeared not to understand irony – or pretended not to.
They were in luck. The farm was unoccupied, at least for now. That wasn’t unusual since farming machines had become automated. The farmer was probably sleeping in his house in Houston, where the infrastructure was better.
Benjamin climbed onto the truck bed. He had stowed his emergency bag in a box behind the cab. It contained a pair of jeans, a comfortable checked shirt, a new pair of sneakers, some spare underclothes, and a wad of neodollars. He removed his undershirt, but kept the boxers on.
“I found us a new vehicle!” called Oscar.
“Shh!” replied Benjamin. “Don’t holler.”
He climbed down from the truck and walked toward Oscar, whose voice was coming from a small barn with an open door. It was pitch black inside the barn.
“What have you found?” he asked.
“Wait.”
An overhead light came on. It revealed a machine that Benjamin didn’t even recognize as a vehicle at first, because the back wheels were so much larger than the front.
“It’s a tractor,” said Oscar.
Benjamin walked up to where he could touch the front of it. It was rusty. The whole machine reeked.
“Why does it smell so weird? Has someone tried to preserve it?”
“No, that’s the fuel. It burns diesel oil.”
“Isn’t that prohibited?”
“Not for antiques over fifty years old.”
The tractor definitely fit that description. If it was really that old, it had another advantage: no traffic control system. The Road Safety Bureau used the software to remotely control every vehicle.
“Can you drive this thing?” asked Benjamin.
“You’re responsible for the brakes and gas, and I’ll steer, OK?”
“Fine.”
That division of labor had worked well so far.
“But the machine only has one seat,” he said.
“True. I’ll have to sit on your lap.”
“Can’t you crawl under the seat? There’s enough space.”
“I can’t see anything from there. The tractor doesn’t have electronics that I can hack. I’ll have to rely on my radar.”
That complicated matters. And the tractor probably wasn’t as fast as his pickup. Should they use it at all?
“They’ll catch up with us,” said Benjamin.
“But they won’t find us. This vehicle is perfect for an escape.”
Benjamin sighed. He walked around the tractor searching for the charging port until he remembered what Oscar had said about fuel.
“What if the tank’s empty?” he asked.
“There’s fuel here, five canisters,” said Oscar, lifting up a green container. “The filler pipe is at the front left.”
Benjamin found a round cap, which he unscrewed, revealing an opening and a nasty smell.
“Move aside,” said Oscar.
His long arm maneuvered the canister to where the transparent fluid could flow into the tank. It was pretty cumbersome technology, especially since the energy content of such a medium was limited.
“Done,” said Oscar.
The pipe overflowed. Benjamin screwed the cap back on. Then he fetched his bag from the truck, deposited it behind the tractor seat and climbed up. Oscar gripped the roof of the open cab with his arm and swung himself up onto Benjamin’s lap.
“Let’s go,” said Oscar. “You need to turn the key on the right of the steering wheel.”
Driving the tractor was surprisingly comfortable, because the seat was well sprung and the fresh air cooled him pleasantly. Benjamin soon took over the steering too. At a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour, this wasn’t a challenge, and it was beginning to get light.
They continued in a roughly south-easterly direction, but gave the large city of Houston as wide a berth as possible. Galveston was to the south-east, on the coast. Rachel lived there, his old CapCom. Her daughter Alishondra had given him the address when they met last August. Benjamin still clearly remembered the young woman. She was intending to write a book about the Shepherd-1 mission. That was only two months ago, so the book probably wasn’t finished.
“What are you hoping to get from this Rachel?” asked Oscar. “If we’re looking for Chatterjee, we can just look him up on the net. Alpha Omega is everywhere.”
“That’s the problem. I want to see it with my own eyes – the place where I was created. It’s illegal to manufacture androids in the States, so we won’t find the address listed anywhere. I’m hoping Rachel knows more than she let on back in the day.”
“I see. Then we do need to go to Galveston. It’s about fifty kilometers away.”
“Then we’ll be there before sunrise,” said Benjamin.
“I’m skeptical. Galveston is an island, which we would normally reach via Interstate 45.”
“The interstate’s a bad idea. They’ll spot us there in two minutes.”
“Correct. We need to stay clear of surveillance areas. But the old Highway 75 is still there.”
“Good idea, Oscar. Should we take that, then?”
“A single-track railway runs along it these days, but there’s enough space beside it for out tractor. I think we’ll attract less attention there than on the new Freeway Bridge.”
“That sounds great.”
“Yes, but there’s a problem. In the middle of the causeway there’s a lifting bridge to allow ships to pass through. We may have to wait there a while.”
“Can’t we check the train timetable?” asked Benjamin.
“It’s mostly freight on that line.”
“Then here’s hoping.”
The sky was light by the time they reached the old Highway 75. It was blocked by concrete barriers, but those weren’t a problem for the heavy tractor. There were no human observers. Who would ever think of using this stretch of road? The asphalt on the old highway was still well preserved and they made good progress. They were separated from the rail by a wire fence. One train with closed freight cars passed them. Otherwise it was quiet.
