The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 118
“We thought she was dead before too. The blast was bad, that is certainly true. All I know for sure, is that Shammai is dead.” Jamie holstered the Willie Wacker. “But we have seen lots of strange things on this ship. I doubt I will ever feel safe around a red automacube. Can we ever trust a red automacube? Who knows how much influence Tamar had before that explosion in Media? Even if she died, which I hope, would the machines she altered continue with her agenda?”
Liduma gave two quick barks and walked away, down a different passage from where the red automacubes had gone. Jamie and Michael followed. As soon as they were around a bend, a shadowy figure slipped into the toileting area. The room was flooded with red light, then that light was extinguished.
Further along the tramway, they came to another room similar to the two previous ones. It was fully illuminated from ceiling lighting. This one had two doors and another branching passageway. A thumping noise was coming from the branched passageway. It was a deep sound, almost more vibration than just auditory. Liduma whined a bit but did not lead them down that part of the tramway.
Thum…thum…
“Is that machinery or what?” Michael asked aloud.
“It does have the regular sound of some kind of machines. It seems to be getting a bit louder.” Jamie paused to listen.
Liduma started to sniff all around the doorways. She walked back and forth and back and forth. Finally she started to paw at one door in particular.
Thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…
“That sound is getting louder. It gets on my nerves,” Michael said. “It really is annoying.”
“So we check out these doors, and then get out of here. Liduma wants that one, so before we follow her again, I am looking in here,” Jamie walked to the other door and tried to open it. There was a quick buzzing sound, but the door did nothing.
“Okay, but…” Michael could not finish his sentence, the noise was too distracting.
“Michael hook up a fusion pack and jack it into the door here. This is one of the few access points we have seen,” Jamie pointed to the small port in the wall near the door.
Liduma whined more as the thumping sound got louder. She pawed at the door she wanted open.
Thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…
“Jamie we should just go, that noise is really bothering me.” Michael walked to where Liduma was standing. He tried pinching the bridge of his nose, but that did not help.
“Are you afraid to open this door?” Jamie said with real irritation. She was wondering why Michael would not just do as she asked.
Thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…thum…
“Quit trying to tell me what to do. I just want to go home. Come on Liduma,” Michael snapped back.
Thum…thum…thum…thum…thum….THUM…
Michael’s head was aching, but he tried to open the door where Liduma was pawing. She was not only pawing at the door but was vigorously digging at the door. She was whining steadily now.
“I will just use your fusion pack!” Jamie yelled at Michael and tried to grab his backpack. “Give it to me!” The anger was thick in her voice.
THUM…THUM….
“Use your own,” Michael said and pulled away from Jamie. The sound was rattling his bones and nerves and seemed to be coming from everywhere. “I am leaving!”
“Not before you give me that fusion pack!” Jamie grabbed at him again, her eyes were wild and the pupils dilated fully.
THUM…THUM…THUM…
“No!” Michael pulled away again. “That noise, do you hear it?” He screamed. “We must leave!”
THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
“I am going to check that door! Give me the fusion pack! Just give it to me! Now!” Jamie yelled in rage.
Liduma turned and bit Jamie’s ankle. It was not enough to draw blood, but the pain raced up her leg. Liduma looked up at her.
“Hey! That hurts!” Jamie yelled. Her head cleared and so she could focus for a moment on the thumping sound that was all around them. ‘What was that doing to me?’ she pondered.
THUM… THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
“Jamie, we must leave now!” Michael yelled. His head felt like it was going burst. He started to push his hands all over the area around the door. There were no controls he could see.
“Michael,” Jamie said in a weak voice. “Right there!” She pointed to a bare spot on the wall. “A hand symbol?” Tears were running down her face as she was now aware of the nearly crushing pain in her head as well. She stumbled forward and tried to press her hand against the place she had seen the symbol. She stumbled.
THUM…THUM…THUM… THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
Michael caught her in one arm, and he pressed his other hand against the wall where she had pointed. His vision was blurred, and he did not see anything. But he tried to find whatever Jamie had seen. He felt a slight tingle in his hand as the symbol was activated.
The door slid to the side, and blackness was behind it. Liduma leaped in and yowled a wailing lament.
THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM… THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
Jamie and Michael fell into the blackness beyond the door. There were a series of symbols running down the inside of the wall where the landed. They were dimly illuminated. In Jamie’s mind a couple of the symbols looked like animals, but her vision was spinning and she could not focus very well. Michael was unresponsive on the floor under her.
THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM… THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…THUM…
Liduma looked out of the black elevator where she and the two humans were lying. She saw the huge machine coming down the tramway. It filled the tramway from edge to edge. There were swirling bristly wheels on all sides. It had one green light pulsing in the front. It was terrifying. It was the source of the crippling noises.
With Jamie’s last conscious thought she slapped at the control symbols. She was not sure if her hands struck anything because she passed out before she could tell.
Liduma let out an agonizing yowl again. It was long and mournful. But the elevator door tried to shut. It caught on Michael’s leg which was not all the way inside. Liduma bit down on his pants and pulled backward hard. The door slipped shut. Darkness settled around the three of them as the elevator departed.
Automated Tramway Cleaning Machine 37B passed out of 4319V4 as it made its rounds. Two of its sixteen pistons were broken and struck the sides of the tramway every three seconds as it did its cleaning. The permalloy pistons smashed into the permalloy of the walls and neither would budge, but neither was damaged much. The broken piston ends were slightly more compressed, and the walls of the tramway had a slight scratch, but the pounding would continue for a long time. ATCM 37B had long since expended all its soaps and cleansers, but the empty tanks still tried to spray down the sides and edges of the tramway. The brushes of its cleaning arms were worn down, they should have been replaced decades before, but it still pressed onward. The processing capacity it carried was less than one one-hundreth that of an automacube, but it faithfully continued its long service of cleaning and keeping the tramway safe for transit. If it had better processing capacity it might have requested repairs from Machine Maintenance, but it did not. ATCM 37B passed by the transit point and turned into tramway 6919V4. The thumping noise slowly faded as the broken machine continued its rounds.
After ATCM 37B departed, a shadowy figure adjusted the mute and muffled audio on the helmet back to scanning mode. Then it approached the landing. Placing a small box against the access port just above the hand symbol, which to the large goggles was clearly outline, a reading was taken and the elevator log was copied into the scanners. The shadowy figure then continued to follow Jamie, Michael and Liduma, but by entering the door Jamie had wanted to explore.
14 interference or interdependance?
The darkness was all Jamie saw as she opened her eyes. Darkness was all around. There was a slight sense of movement, but that might just be a lingering effect of the pain in her head. As she reached up to rub her eyes, Liduma reached down and licked her hand.
“Liduma, you are here. Where are we?” Jamie groggily said. She sat up, but that only made her a bit more dizzy so she took it easy. “Michael? Are you here?”
A groan came from near her. She reached out toward the groan and felt Michael’s muscular body. He was lying face down. She pulled at his clothing to jostle him more awake.
“My head is still pounding,” he said weakly. “What happened?”
“I am not sure. I remember some horrible sound…yes, some thumping.”
“Why were you so angry?” Michael said as he rolled over. He groaned quite a bit as he rolled.
“I am sorry. I do not know what was happening there. But where are we now?” She looked around, but nothing was visible. It was all pitch black. Liduma nuzzled into her again.
“Do we have any lights?” Michael asked. He was rubbing his eyes but he could not even see them in front of his face.
“The fusion packs do. Are the backpacks here?” Jamie asked.
They both felt around for a while, bumping into each other, and the dog. “Got one,” Michael finally said. “I will open it up.”
Light blazed forth. It stung both of their eyes. “Turn it down!” Jamie said as she covered her eyes with a crossed arm. The other hand was trying to hold her in an upright sitting position.
It was completely black again. “I will set it on the lowest level.” When he turned it on again, there was no pain and they could see where they were. They were inside of an elevator. There were symbols along one wall, but none were illuminated.
“That reminds me. I need to apologize to Warren Nine if we ever see him again. I never thought bright light could hurt like that did.” Jamie said.
“What was that noise? The Voice tormenting us again?” Michael asked.
“I doubt it was The Voice. Too random and just painful. No game to play.”
The elevator came to a gentle halt. The doors opened, and a large breeze way was revealed. It was semi-circular and had rows of clear permalloy or perhaps some other transparent material lining the edge. They stumbled to their feet and walked out onto the breezeway. The light was coming through from the windows.
“I am Edgar. Hello again Jamie and Michael. Hi Liduma. I like Liduma. I would let Liduma into my Savannah but the Crocuta species would be in conflict with Canis lupus familiaris. Sorry Liduma, as much as I would love to watch you play in Savannah, the hyenas must come first.” The words came from a display just to the side of the windows. “I am Edgar. I really like animals. I do not let people into my Savannah, but you are my friends. The humans in Savannah are difficult to manage, so they must stay isolated and protected for now. However, I am considering options for their safe and natural evolution. I had the elevator stop when my sentinels informed me it was you in the elevator. I wanted you to see what you helped to save. My Savannah so beautiful. Do you like it?”
“Edgar! It is so good to hear your voice. Will you help us?” Michael pleaded. “We have gotten lost and have no idea how to get back to Antioch. We are also out of food.”
Liduma barked at the word food.
“I am Edgar. Yes, I will help you with food. My beautiful Savannah makes more food than my humans can use. I will have some brought here. But you cannot enter my Savannah. Entrance is forbidden. You may look from here, but only because it is you. The food will be there in eight minutes.”
Jamie leaned against Michael and gazed out at the Savannah Habitat. “It looks so much better than the last time we were here. Edgar you are doing very well maintaining Savannah.”
The view was spectacular. The sky tube was illuminating the habitat. From where they stood it was running side to side, but they could not see either end. The grasses and trees were swaying gently in the stable winds and stable light. A group of large animals was roaming in one part that they could see. They were a deep gray color and were stomping about. They had very husky bodies, thick heavy legs, and a pointed nose, extending into a long horn with a smaller one behind it. They seemed to be traveling from one place to another.
“Edgar, those look different than the ones we saw last time. The ones with the long flexible appendage,” Michael said.
“I am Edgar. The animals you are looking at are my lovely Diceros Bicornis Occidentalis. I have worked with all the various species in my Savannah. These were not originally part of Savannah, but I regenerated them from the Eschaton Mammal DNA Bank. My computations required several different species to be reintroduced to stabilize the biological system. I had to accelerate development more for the adults, and less for the young. But they are all now on the natural pattern for growth and maturing. The other animal you saw was the species Elephantidae with its prominent proboscis. That herd is not visible from this viewing location. They too have been stabilized and are flourishing under my care. I did have to supplement them with some regenerated specimens from the Eschaton Mammal DNA Tissue Bank. But they should now be a functional species. My Savannah now has 48 species of mammals, 389 species of birds, 29 species of reptiles, and 25 species of acacia, just to highlight some of what is here under my care. The entomology bio-sphere is also thriving and in homeostasis. I have learned many ways of interacting with my animals. I protect Savannah. I love Savannah. Savannah will flourish under my care and direction.”
“Michael, we need to tell Edgar what we are doing. For Izzi’s sake.”
“I am Edgar. Izzi was murdered. That was wrong. What do you need to tell me?”
Michael and Jamie explained to Edgar about the record cylinders and what they contained. They gave as many details as they possibly could. During this time, three automacubes entered. Two brown ones and a green one came out of a small passageway. They were carrying fresh fruits, dried meats, and other food staples.
Liduma started to eat the food, and Michael loaded up the rest of the food into the backpacks while Jamie continued explaining their odyssey. Then it occurred to Jamie, “Edgar, I will just set up the record cylinders we have and you can review all the materials and compare it to the information you have and anything you can find from the Eschaton.”
She pulled out the record cylinders and could not tell which the first was. “So where can you best access them?”
“I am Edgar. Leave them here; I will have the automacube bring them to a location for suitable analysis. Reproduction and Fabrication has been upgraded.”
Jamie set the record cylinders down on the floor after unfolding them
“Edgar, can you help us with the data stick problem as well? Brink died and we really need…”
“I am Edgar. You are in immediate danger. Murderous transmission entering this location. Abandon the lu-fi amalgam powered items and enter the elevator immediately.” Edgar’s voice took on an urgent edge they had never heard before. “I am attempting to intercept murderous transmission. Flee now! I may not succeed.”
The record cylinders started to glow yellow but that quickly changed to a brilliant orange, then red. That light soaked the entire breezeway and cast eerie glows all around. A high pitched shrill began and was intensifying.
Liduma was first at the door to the elevator which opened as soon as she was close enough. Jamie and Michael rushed in right behind her. The automacubes raced back into the passageway from which they had entered. A permalloy door slid up from the floor over that passage sealing it. Other security doors were also coming down to cover the windows.
“I am Edgar. I am unable to stop murderous transmission. Detonation is imminent. I have programmed the elevator to take you to …”
The elevator doors slammed shut but the slightest instant of a flash was seen just as the doors sealed closed. The elevator rocked a bit, then began moving.
“What happened?” Michael asked.
“Remember Izzi? How her equipment killed her? I think the Chroniclers must know we have recovered those record cylinders.”
“Right! Edgar said it was a murderous transmission. That is like what they did to Izzi. But how could they know?” Michael was puzzled.
“How does anyone know stuff on this ship? Maybe when Edgar was working he triggered something? Or maybe the cylinders themselves are calling to the Chroniclers? Maybe trying to reach that Klay person Izzi knew? That was close. Too close.” Jamie squatted down and stroked Liduma.
“I think I grabbed everything,” Michael said as he gestured to the backpacks. “Edgar got us food and water. Savannah is beautiful.”
“Yes, it is, and Edgar did try to help. Someone directly interfered. Is that the Chronicler way? I thought their motto was something like ‘record history, not make history’ and yet someone just tried to kill us all. So who is the enemy now? The Voice? I have wondered about that ever since that wall rotated around on us under the Knobs. But we have not heard The Voice speak at all.”
