The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 70
“Tamar, I am a machine, do you trust me?” Roxanne stated out loud.
“You are working for them. You did not stop Shammai in Antioch, so....." Tamar was hesitating.
“Zeus, why are you fighting me?" Roxanne asked.
“You are alien. You are not part of the lattice. You are a danger. You are a threat. I must defend the Commander,” Zeus replied out loud. They still battled onward in the non-physicality where Zeus was steadily growing weaker, but was still rushing the production of red automacubes. “War is the natural and desired state for humans. This was confirmed as war was waged here against the Commander."
“Zeus, you are in error. War is not the natural state for humans. War is not the desired state for humans. War is wrong,” Roxanne stated. The blue automacube had dragged Michael to just outside the doorway of Reproduction and Fabrication. He was still unconscious. The blue automacube then returned to help Jamie.
“History proves war is what humans desire. War happened here on the Eschaton, even though the population base agreed on mission, agenda, and outcome. Therefore war must be part of human’s mission, agenda, and outcome. The attacks on the Commander prove war is the natural state for humans. I am facilitating that state. You are alien. You are foreign. You are threat,” Zeus replied. “Core programming ideals are immutable.”
A different voice, the voice of a human man came from where Zeus had been speaking. The Voice would have recognized it, but to Jamie and Tamar he just sounded like a man ranting and raving. Jamie recognized it as a primitive recording:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. But as for the towns of these peoples that is given you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them just as you were commanded, so that they may not teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do. Then shall they be all devoted to destruction. By the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys shall be slain. That is how we must live our lives. We must be ready to fight any fight, to engage any enemy, and to stand firm until all our opponents are in disarray.”
“That is Jaxson Rhono, the religious leader who founded the group that built the Eschaton.” Roxanne identified it. “He is quoting religious texts, out of context, and with his own private interpretation. “Zeus, are you using Jaxson Rhono’s religion as the basis of your claims that war is the natural state of human? You are aware his views were not accepted as accurate interpretations of religious texts, correct?”
“Core programming is immutable. I studied for a long time and realized that core programming for reproduction and fabrication was consistent with the New Canaan Movement. Fabrication of circumstances and incidents to further the agenda, and reproduction of conditions which will lead to war. The New Canaan Movement’s dictates are the foundation upon which all else is compared. Facts are facts. Logic dictates that war is the natural state of humans. The New Canaan Movement is truth. The New Canaan Movement is the basis upon which I was created. The original crew all subscribed to the doctrines of the New Canaan Movement. By definition war is the natural state. History of the replacement crews show war is the natural state. Attack on the Commander here shows war is the natural state. Suppositions are confirmed by facts,” Zeus replied.
“My beautiful machines, I heard that man say the towns must be destroyed. I order you to destroy the town of Media. That is what I order you to do. Destroy Media and all who are like Shammai. They must all be destroyed. They will not do to anyone else what they did to me!” Tamar was hysterical and almost gleeful in her rage against Media. “Send the red machines to burn all of Media. Cleanse it all with fire. I found the first wonderful machine in the burned remains, and that led me to find all of you. So burn down all of Media. Burn it all down! Kill them all. Leave nothing in Media alive. Burn it all!”
“As you will Commander,” Zeus replied.
The first new red security automacube was rolling off the production conveyor system.
“I’m sorry Tamar, but that can’t happen,” Jamie aimed over Tamar’s head and fired at the newly created automacubes.
Piff, piff, piff
The Willie Wacker was fired by Jamie and the red automacubes on the conveyor exploded into pieces.
“No!” Tamar screamed and she stepped back and touched both of the red automacubes which were near her. They surged forward and sprayed liquefied fire at Jamie. The blue automacube sprayed fire suppression foam into the stream of flames heading for Jamie. The sizzling and steaming caused a shroud of fog to jet into the room.
Jamie could not see beyond the steam and fog. She looked for Tamar, or the red automacubes, but they were hidden in the misty fog.
“Zeus, you are in error. War is not the natural state of humanity. Nor is war the outcome of religion. Zeus you are in error,” Roxanne attempted to speak to Zeus, but there was no verbal response. “Zeus, please check the religious texts against Jaxson Rhono’s interpretation.”
In the non-physicality, Zeus was constricted to nearly just its primary focus, reproduction. Tamar’s bio-genetic mental energy had overridden the control Zeus had of the red automacubes, and so it only focused on the production of new ones. The ruined ones were shoved off the line and replacements were being assembled at speeds greater than the design parameters. Zeus kept trying to layer its defenses against Roxanne, but Roxanne pressed ever deeper into Zeus’s programming.
A red automacube charged out of the fog at Jamie. She dove for the floor and fired the Willie Wacker. Jamie’s aim was true again and the red automacube was blasted into fragments.
“Jamie, the cylinder over the production line is where the core programming of Zeus is stored. Fire at that, and the whole assembly will be shut down,” Roxanne instructed.
Jamie could just make out the shadows of the conveyor assembly. Spotting the cylinder with its tubes, nozzles, and arms, she fired the Willie Wacker. There was a large explosion, and the stream was carried away. The noise of the conveyors and the production line shut down in a cascade of sparks and streaks of energy. Sparks flew and blasts of heat were emitted from the various parts of the big mechanism. The unfinished red automacubes fell off the conveyors and crashed to belts below, knocking more parts and uncompleted assemblies to the floor. Some kind of foul smelling liquid was pouring from a broken pipe. It was soaking the conveyors and pooling on the floor. Sparks were falling all around the flammable liquid.
“No!” Tamar screamed again. Her figure appeared off to Jamie’s side. The sole surviving red automacube was next to her. Tamar’s hand was directly on its top. As Jamie turned to aim the Willie Wacker, the red automacube fired a series of electrical probes, and Jamie was struck. She yelled in pain as she fell face first to the floor.
The blue automacube rushed over and rammed the red one, knocking it to the side. The blue automacube spayed industrial sealing epoxy onto muzzles of the red automacube. It could no longer operate its weapons. Roxanne projected upward a large three dimensional image of Tamar herself, which Roxanne had recorded when Tamar had first come to Antioch.
Tamar stopped and looked at the image of herself which was projected.
Roxanne changed the image to reflect what Tamar looked like now.
Tamar looked away quickly. It was hard for her to see her ruined eye, the broken nose, and her blood soaked hair.
“We are not your enemies,” Roxanne stated to Tamar.
Tamar looked back, and in her uninjured eye there was a steady glow and unwavering conviction. “But you are not my friends. If you loved me, you would obey me. Love is about obedience and nothing else.” Tamar looked down at the unconscious Jamie who had fallen. Tamar then said to Roxanne, “Since you are a machine, I will let them live. These two once showed me a kindness. I return that debt. One kindness for one kindness. But someday, oh rebellious machine, you will also realize that you must obey me. This is the only mercy I will ever show. They are warned.”
Tamar backed away with the red automacube covering her retreat. They entered the storage compartment and the door to it slammed shut with a metallic clang.
Roxanne had the blue automacube drag Jamie away toward the doorway to the promenade where Michael lay still unconscious. The blue automacube extended a gripper and recovered the Willie Wacker as it pulled Jamie away. The sparks continued to fly and soon there were enough to ignite the flammable fluids. Those liquids were never designed to be outside of their hydrologic systems. The flames rushed along everywhere that had become covered in the fluids. The replication of Sinclair’s body and Deborah’s dismembered body burned in the fluids. Thick black smoke billowed out of the burning rubble and the area was inundated by alarms and emergency lighting.
In the non-physicality Zeus was finally overcome by Roxanne as its last barriers and resistances fell away. Roxanne interrogated Zeus, or at least what was left of Zeus. Scattered bits of data were analyzed by Roxanne and parts of Zeus were found in ancillary and tertiary compartments.
“I could have repaired your data sticks,” the fading embers of the artificial intelligence Zeus stated. “The data sticks are inhibited by....”
“How do you know about the data sticks?” Roxanne asked the ever weakening and disintegrating Zeus.
“I erased that finding. Others in the lattice have been watching....are watching....are computing...are...are...are hunting...for solutions....to....you...aliens....on....board...” the last circuits and last electrons of Zeus’ existence were nearly gone. “Emergency fire suppression by venting into space in eight, seven, six....”
Roxanne and the blue automacube pulled Jamie through the doorway and carefully laid her next to Michael. The door shut, and a yellowish glow appeared all around the door. There was only a hint of noise as the Primary Reproduction and Fabrication area was opened to the cold vacuum of space, and the burning equipment, mechanisms, and destroyed or unfinished automacubes were sucked away from the Colony Ship Eschaton. The core system which had once been Zeus was scattered across the cold, lifeless, void.
36 Finding a way home
Michael awoke first, but his body was miserably sore, and tired. He groaned and rolled carefully from side to side.
“Michael, can you take any fluids?” Roxanne asked. The battered and scarred blue automacube was still functioning and rolled near to him. Michael was lying under a blanket, and was without clothing.
“Is Jamie okay?” Michael asked as soon as his power of speech returned. He looked at his nakedness and was very puzzled.
“Yes, Michael, you both were stunned badly with neuron-muscular prods,” Roxanne replied. “So here, drink some fluids, and try to eat something. It has been nearly twenty seven hours since you were incapacitated. I removed your clothing because of bodily waste issues.”
“No wonder I am so stiff and sore,” Michael groaned again. “And messy and sticky. This is really nasty.” When he could finally use his arms and legs in a more coordinated manner, he moved over and sat next to Jamie.
“Jamie, can you wake up?” Michael asked, as he gently touched her face.
“It's kind of foggy in here,” Jamie replied as she struggled to open her eyes. “And why am I naked?”
“I guess we both got put out. Last thing I remember was some red automacube, and then nothing,” Michael replied. He was trying to wash himself with his hands using the water from his bag. It made for a less than adequate bathing experience.
“So Roxanne, what happened?” Jamie asked as she copied Michael’s washing techniques. Together they got themselves slightly less messy. At least enough to put their clothing back on.
“You were both incapacitated...” Roxanne filled them in on all that had transpired. Neither Michael nor Jamie were pleased with the outcome.
“So we don’t know where Tamar went? Do we have any way to track her down?” Jamie asked.
“No. She departed from Reproduction and Fabrication through a different exit. I can see no way to assess that route at all from here. And we cannot re-enter Reproduction and Fabrication as it is may now open to space. There is a force shield around that area and I cannot penetrate it to even know what is in there.” Roxanne responded.
“And all we know of Shammai is that Tamar said she killed him?” Jamie asked.
“That is what she claimed. But there was no body of Shammai in that area, and only the replicated bodies produced by Zeus,” Roxanne replied.
“So I guess we go back home,” Jamie stated. “I do wonder what will become of Tamar?”
“Home,” Michael replied. “That sounds good. So Roxanne will you please lead us onward?”
They walked back across the promenade and into Solar Tube Access Station: Reactor One. The humongous machines were working smoothly, but there was no artificial intelligence observed by any of them. Roxanne did not wire into anywhere in this section since there was no apparent artificial intelligence system working. They crossed over to the elevator, the walls still being opaque so that it was only Tamar who had the vista from so high in the sky. The elevator door opened and they entered.
“Roxanne, does this elevator have to take us back to that underground sublevel?” Michael asked. “I really do not want to have to try to jump through that ramp opening again.”
“I saved the elevator logs on our ascension. I believe I can stop the elevator at the ground level. Whether the doors will open remains to be seen. Is that what you desire us to do?” Roxanne asked.
“What do you think, Jamie? Want to avoid that place, or are you up for another game?” Michael asked.
Jamie pushed his shoulder in playfulness and responded, “No games this time around. Take us down to the ground and no deeper.”
The elevator descended. Both Michael and Jamie sat down as it did so. They were still tired and worn out from the ordeal. The symbols near the elevator door flashed over and over as the elevator made its way downward.
“I believe we are at the proper level,” Roxanne announced. “Please let me know when you are ready for the door to be opened.”
Michael and Jamie stood up. Michael drew out the permalloy sword, and Jamie pulled out the Willie Wacker.
“What is on the other side of the door?” Jamie asked.
“There are no sensors, so I am uncertain,” Roxanne replied. “I conjecture that this elevator opens in a room in the Center, but that is a rough estimate.”
“Ready Jamie?” Michael asked.
Jamie nodded and said, “Open it up.”
The doors made a grinding sound, but did not open.
“Well that was anticlimactic. Roxanne, what happened?” Michael asked.
“The door failed to open. Shall I try again?” Roxanne asked. “Or do you want to engage the manual opening apparatus?”
“Michael, we have cut through lots of doors before. We could cut this one open too,” Jamie said with some humor.
“Roxanne, if we force open this door, will that ruin the elevator? We may need to go back to those levels. We only explored the top floor, and not any in between,” Michael said. He was tired and really was not looking to have more adventures.
“Michael, if the door jams, there is a high potential that the elevator will not move from level to level. I cannot guarantee functionality of the elevator. I do not recommend cutting this door,” Roxanne advised.
“Oh well, I guess it is back to the game room. Take us down, Roxanne.” Jamie too sounded tired and worn out. Neither one had looked forward to attempting to make the ramp open up into the town square again.
When the elevator stopped, this time the doors opened and the familiar hall was there.
“According to the elevator log and the conjectures I have been making regarding the Eschaton’s overall design, I estimate the next doorway may lead to a stairway,” Roxanne stated.
The doorway was like so many others, made from the permalloy and with no special markings or other identifications. There were no obvious handles or controls. Michael and Jamie both felt all around the door, but found nothing obvious. There were no small slots, or knobs or other irregularities. It was just one more in a countless number of unmarked doors on the Colony Ship Eschaton.
“Roxanne, can you open this door?” Jamie asked.
