The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 150
There was a long pause, and then an image flickered to life on a display near the color pad. “This is your Captain,” a man said. The man was significantly deformed in his features. He had an extreme projection of his jaw, far more than the other people Tamar had seen, large lips, and bulbous nose. His eyes were small, black and beady. His blonde hair receded over a sloped forehead into a fuzzy mane around him. His jowls hung in multiple wraps around his thick neck. What could be seen of his shirt showed it to be made from the sleek slivery materials.
“Captain Charles, we have a prisoner, an imposter posing as an officer of the watch, or something.” Sigmond stated.
“Lieutenant Sigmond, this is no time for jokes. I am in the midst of a meal, and my food is getting cold. What do you really want?” Captain Charles was not amused in any manner. His fat fingers slid food into his mouth which he chewed noisily.
“Captain, I am deadly serious. This woman, and one of the artificial intelligence systems, they both claim she is a Commander. She is not one of the three Commanders I know. She claims to have come from the across,” Sigmond stated.
“Impossible. Which one of the Officers of the Watch is it really?” Captain Charles asked. He took a bite of some other kind of food while he asked.
“I do not recognize her at all, Captain. She does not look like us. She seems part mechanical and part person. I tell you she says she came from the across. What should I do?” Sigmond asked. It was clear from his tone of voice that he was genuinely puzzled.
“Someone in costume? Lock her in the isolation room, and come to me. You must be too stupid to know who it is. No one goes to or comes from the across,” Captain Charles snapped off the communication.
“You heard our Captain, walk to the isolation room,” Sigmond ordered.
Tamar reached out her mechanical hand and touched the display, “Tell Edgar what has happened.” Green energy flowed from her fingers into the system and empowered Zoran with a link to Habitat Two: Savannah.
Sigmond poked Tamar with his device. She was seized with blinding pain as electricity surged into her. Her mechanical parts failed and were unpowered. They were not destroyed by the shock, only reset. Her human parts felt a queer tingling sensation, but the area of interface between the mechanical and the flesh seared in horrific pain from the spasms of flesh attempting to pull away from mechanical parts. She dropped hard to the floor.
“I am not touching that!” Quinter stated. “No, no, no. I am not touching that.”
“Nor am I. It is not clean,” Gilmore added. “She said she came from the across. The system said she did. The causeway is open. No, I am not touching it.”
“So be an officer and order one of the automies to carry her to the isolation room,” Sigmond ordered. “Do not be so stupid.”
“Oh, right,” Gilmore said. Then he placed his hand on the color pad and raised his voice, “This is Lieutenant Gilmore, I need an automie to come here immediately.”
A panel opened in the side of the corridor and a blue automacube rolled out. It paused in front of Gilmore.
“Automie, take this person to the isolation room. Lock her in, and make sure the lookers and listeners are working,” Gilmore commanded.
The blue automacube rolled over and carefully folded Tamar’s arms and legs, then inflated a travel cushion under her. The automacube then carefully maneuvered her along. It carried her until coming to the isolation room a few decks away. Sliding the travel cushion into the isolation room, the blue automacube then checked the optical scanners, and the listening devices to make sure they were in operational order. After deflating the cushion and rolling Tamar onto the bed in the isolation room, the automacube then retreated out the door and sealed it behind.
The three Lieutenants followed at some distance as Tamar was imprisoned.
From the darkness of a side corridor, the unseen Chronicler recorded all that had happened.
10 rescue started
Rector Conner ran to Jamie’s and Michael’s cabin. He knocked hurriedly on the door frame. “Michael! Jamie! Edgar has information.”
“What?” Jamie said as she walked out the door of the cabin, Michael was right behind her. They had been watching Liduma and her new puppies. Lindsey, Joel, and Jacob were still surrounding the dog and puppies.
“Yes, Edgar just contacted us in the portal room. Can you come quickly?” Conner asked.
“Certainly,” Jamie responded.
“We better take our gear,” Michael said as he grabbed the two backpacks and slung one to Jamie. They also strapped on the Willie Wacker holstered weapons.
“We will watch the pups and Liduma!” Lindsey called.
“Thank you!” Michael said as he shut the door.
“I asked someone to go get Regina as well,” Conner said. “Edgar insisted that she hear this too.”
The three of them rushed to the Center and passed under the words over the entrance, ‘Faith, Obedience, Honor.’ They were soon in the portal room where the display was illuminated.
“Is that you Edgar?” Conner said. “I have brought Jamie and Michael.”
“I am here too,” Regina called as she and Hannah walked in.
“I am Edgar. I have received information which I would like to share. First, I have located the probable base of operations for the Chroniclers. I need another transmission to confirm. Second, Tamar is a captive on the needle ship.”
“What?” Jamie asked.
Edgar went on and explained all about his mission of sending the automacubes and how they had been destroyed, but also how the transmission had been traced to what was likely the place where the Chroniclers were established.
“So what do we do about the Chroniclers?” Conner asked. “They have been a repeated threat to us here. What do you think?” Conner looked to the others, but Edgar assumed Conner’s question was directed at Edgar.
“I am Edgar. Chronicler location is unconfirmed but a high probability. Another transmission will confirm the location. More urgent is the information from the system called Zoran, a new contact. Zoran is the Eschaton’s artificial intelligence which oversees the propulsion and drive systems. Zoran has a link to my Savannah, and we have shared information. Recently Tamar was taken prisoner on the needle ship. I think a rescue mission from Habitat One: Coastal Plains should be launched immediately.”
“Edgar, how sure are we of this information?” Regina asked. "The Voice has tricked us before."
“I am Edgar. The Voice will not trick me. Information is genuinely coming from Zoran. This was confirmed by examination, via tendril, of propulsion and drive systems. Zoran is telling the truth about its function. Zoran has no other links or couplings outside of its realm. I am its only contact in the nonphysicality. Zoran is in a state of segmentation with the exception of the newly established link to me. The link is consistent with work done by Tamar. Conjecture and analysis shows a near zero chance Zoran is anything but what is presented. I have reviewed recordings of Tamar with three humans who self identified as Lieutenants of the Officers of the Watch. Recordings show Tamar being disabled and taken away. I strongly suggest immediate rescue mission to free Tamar. Completion of this task, when extrapolated, will mean higher probability of locating and interacting with Ares. With the limited information Zoran has supplied me; I conjecture a 68% success of rescuing Tamar. Zoran has given me full deck plans of the section of the needle ship in question. Zoran has given both Tamar and me the last known location of Ares’ central memory core. Access to Ares will be possible at its central memory core, with interaction significantly more likely if Tamar is present. After Ares is located and that threat message assessed, then the Chronicler situation can be addressed.”
“Rescue Tamar? Really?” Michael said as he crossed his arms. “I have serious concerns about this.”
“So we rescue Tamar, find Ares, and then worry about going to the possible Chroniclers’ location?” Jamie asked. “Edgar, is that the mission you suggest?”
“I am Edgar. Yes, that is a correct summation.”
“Jamie are you sure of this?” Michael asked.
“Not really, but I trust Edgar. I also have seen Tamar. She has changed.” Jamie was uncertain what else to say.
“Edgar? Is it essential that rescue be made of Tamar?” Michael asked.
“I am Edgar. There is a much lower conjectured success rate without first rescuing Tamar. I feel it is essential, but not absolute. My best suggestion is as I stated. This mission is urgent.”
“I want to go,” Hannah said. “I know Levi and Gideon will not go. I do not want the three of you to go unassisted. This is just as important to the people of Antioch as it is to the Domers.”
“Hannah, you are correct,” Rector Conner stated. “But are the four of you willing to attempt this mission? Will that be enough people to succeed?"
“I too trust Edgar. The odds are better than we have faced before, and we do need to understand the needle ship and what is happening to the Eschaton,” Michael said. “And where Jamie goes, I will go.”
“I am going,” Jamie quickly added. “Regina, you are excellent with the old ship’s systems, even better than Brink in many ways, and he is out of commission now. Will you come and help us?”
“Sure. It is better than trying a solo mission and finding The Voice,” Regina replied sarcastically. “I brought some supplies. After I heard it was from Edgar, I figured we might be taking an adventure.”
“I am Edgar. I have downloaded the information needed to Theta Four who will take you to a point where you will need to transfer to a transport vehicle overseen by Theta Nine. Theta Nine will get you close to the position where Zoran says Tamar entered the needle ship. You should depart as soon as possible.”
“I just wish Roxanne was here to go along,” Michael said.
11 Countering Ares
Ares continued to utilize the magnetic contacts to aim the microparticles. However, the unknown entities which had magnetically touched the hull, had not been felt for some time. Ares again wished to be able to see or to hear, and the magnetic touch being absent was not reassuring. Ares had not received any acknowledgement from any of the emergency messages sent out. The single automacube contact had been the only success, and Ares had no knowledge of what happened to the automacube. And so Ares waited, alone and uncertain.
Had Ares been able to see, it would have observed a large debris field floating near the hull of the Eschaton. The microparticles had destroyed many of the things which had tried to dock or latch onto the hull. Those things were of an unknown design, shimmering a blurred bluish-purple in color. The debris floated around the surface of the exterior hull without having any power any more. Amidst the cloud of fragments and junk there was one large vessel, tiny in comparison to the vast vista of the enormous colony ship, but still large. The vessel’s shape was irregular with gouges ripped from it in various places. The gouges were sealed over, but in some ways the vessel matched parts of the debris field. Some of the debris had been sections of the vessel which had been ripped off by the microparticles.
The surviving vessel then opened up valves on its sides and more bluish-purple spheres emerged. They glowed and were sort of fuzzy or blurry in appearance. They too matched parts in the debris field. The spheres sprouted six legs which reached down and, this time without using any magnetics, grasped parts of the hull. Ares could not feel them. For a long while the legged spheres walked about the hull, holding on with four legs, and using two others to push and prod and seek ways to enter the ship. They pulled things open, they pushed things apart, and they moved things around. But they were not destructive as much as persistent and relentless in seeking a way into the Eschaton.
Finally, one of the spheres located an area which had been designed to disperse heat and vent waste into space. By carefully pulling back the pneumatic coverings on the hull, the sphere was able to enter that shaft. At the bottom of the shaft was a pressurized airlock. The sphere probed and analyzed the seals on the airlock, again strictly avoiding any magnetics, and discovered how to operate it from the outside. The controls were easily understood, but they were without any power source. The bluish-purple sphere rectified the lack of power by surging energy into the ship’s systems. Thus supplied with power, the airlock controls were tried again. The authorization code was unknown to the invader, so the airlock remained closed. However, the sphere’s technology went through every conceivable combination and permutation of the controls, and after a surprisingly short time, the airlock was cycled, and the sphere entered. Once inside, the first sphere could operate the airlock cycles easily. The sphere contacted the other spheres and they made a long queue to each enter into the Colony Ship Eschaton. The invaders had breached the hull.
12 sneaky is not easy
“We are approaching the transport destination. Please remain seated until this vehicle comes to a complete stop,” Theta Four said.
Michael, Hannah, Jamie, and Regina were seated in the transport vehicle. Hannah wore her brown nonorganic armor. She carried a permalloy sword in a scabbard on her belt along with a pouch containing some other implements. Regina had brought a backpack filled with gear of various kinds. She brought whatever she thought she might need; a fusion pack, one of the few data sticks and a reader, food, and several other items. As she had learned on her solo adventure, she never knew just what she might need. Michael and Jamie both had backpacks with their gear and the each had a Willie Wacker weapon holstered on their belts. Michael had considered a sword, but instead they both had just short daggers.
“Theta Four, is this location Edgar spoke about? The one outside of Habitat Four, Asiatic?” Michael asked. “Is it safe?”
“Yes, this is safe for you. The terminal point itself is not in Habitat Four: Asiatic. As I explained, there are no functional portals to that habitat, and there are no sensor readings about Habitat Four from any of the artificial intelligences on the lattice. The status is unknown, presumed dangerous.” Theta Four displayed a screen which again showed Habitat Four: Asiatic as being in red. “Therefore, this vehicle will stop five meters before the actual portal junction with Habitat Four: Asiatic.”
“Please repeat the scan on this location,” Jamie commanded. “I remember arriving at engineering when it looked safe, and there was a trap.”
“Complying. Yes Jamie, that was a very unfortunate incident. The perpetrators of that violence were using unapproved and unauthorized equipment,” Theta Four stated. “That loss of life was regrettable.”
“So make sure there is no unapproved and unauthorized equipment this time,” Jamie snapped back. Her trust level for Theta Four was low.
“I have scanned the location, and it appears safe for the transit to the next transport vehicle,” Theta Four stated. “I have used every available scanning method, and there is no evidence of any unauthorized or unapproved equipment at this location. Jamie, I see no evidence of a trap.”
“And Theta Nine will have a transport vehicle ready to take us from this location to the needle ship?” Michael asked again. He too was unsure of trusting Theta Four after the history they had.
A different voice came on the display. “This is Theta Nine. I am speaking to the occupants of this vehicle via the lattice. I assure you there is a transport vehicle waiting for your departure. This is an unusual place for stoppage, but Edgar has explained the purpose of this destination and departure location. The air sampling at this location is within normal limits, temperature level is within normal limits, gravity manipulation is within normal limits, and power is functioning at this location. It is unclear why the portals into Habitat Four: Asiatic are nonfunctional, and there are no audio or visual scanners available for this specific location. I concur with Theta Four; this stop is safe for you. Admittedly, it is not a routine stop on any transport routes, but Edgar impressed upon me the need for this action. After stopping, the vehicle door will be opened. The portals into the habitat are non-functional so the vehicle will not dock with them. You will need to climb down from the transport vehicle. There will be a doorway on your left which leads to another transport tube system. That is where the other vehicle is waiting in a service alcove for your use.”
“So Theta Nine, am I to understand that all the AIs on the new lattice hear everything we say to any one of you?” Regina asked.
“That is correct. Unless you request a privacy filter, all conversations are available to all systems,” Theta Nine reported.
The transport vehicle came to a halt, and then slowly backed up, and there was a clanking noise. The rear door of the vehicle opened.
Hannah drew her sword, stepped out, and climbed down the back of the vehicle. It was about a meter drop to the smooth floor of the transport tube. The light was dim and flickering. The portal hatches were just where the talking machine had said they would be. Hannah looked over at the portals and saw various colors of fabric all across the portal hatches. At first it was unclear what the colored fabrics were, or what they contained. Then Hannah realized what see was seeing were crushed human remains. The bodies had once worn the various colors of clothing, but they were all now stuck together by long dried out blood and other bodily substances. Hannah was staring at the bodies as she looked across the span of the portal doors. Broken bones surrounded by withered, shriveled, and dried out flesh were scattered about. Old flesh was plastered mainly to the portal doors. She turned back and called, “There are a multitude of dead bodies out here!”
