The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 74
“Rarely will an animal be born with defects like you describe. And even more rarely does a RC come from the mother in such a condition. But I do not think this,” he gestured down at the animal’s corpse, “could be something like that. This is just different. It is a mysterious type of animal. We will need to take it back to the others as well. I will use my bed roll and tie it up in a bundle. If you can carry that helmet thing and some other samples from that first body?”
“Certainly. If we go quickly we can make it back to Antioch today. But we should go directly to the Rector and Rectora, and not stop to see the boys. We have no answers yet anyway.”
Zunang helped Paavak pack up the body, and then she packed up the helmet and its accessories as well, along with as much of the clothing as she could strip away from the bloody mess.
They thoroughly searched the area, but found no other things of interest. Then they hurried away from where they had seen found the bodies. They did not know that the entire time they were being watched.
5 so what have we here?
Paavak and Zunang made good time carrying back their mysterious findings. The birds sang in the forest, and the hares ran away through the prairie grasses with their white tails bouncing. The farmlands were still covered in the green growth of crops, some ready for harvest, some newly planted, and the sky tube was still illuminating all of Habitat One: Coastal Plains as they made their journey. Yet in each of their minds they wondered just what they had found. They also pondered the meaning of the hole which was burned through the wooden slats over the permalloy doorway. They spoke little, but marched hard and steady and made it back to Antioch just as darkness was starting to come.
“Hello Paavak, Zunang. Did you find the frog-monster?” Levi asked in joking manner as they approached. He and Gideon were walking about the outskirts of the town. Levi was shorter than Gideon, but both men were very muscular. Their bodies showed the scars of long time service as legionnaires. The scars showed a bit more on Gideon because of his darker complexion, but Levi had serious scars on the side of his face due to injuries in the habitat called Tropical. Some of the scars were new and had been acquired since the Domers had arrived. Both of them were wearing the new armored vests made from a multitude of tiny permalloy rings, instead of the brown armor of the legionnaires. Their original sets of brown armor had been lost in fighting. But the new armor was in some ways better than the old, even though it carried no traditions with it.
“Levi, Gideon, it is good to see you,” Zunang replied. “Yes, we found something, and have brought it back for proper analysis. We will need to have Rectora Lydia and Conner, I mean, Rector Conner examine them, and then we need to get Roxanne the AI to come and do a scan so we can know what this is.”
“Hold on, Zunang. Just what did you find?” Levi asked. He and Gideon were very interested now. When they had heard, they assumed it would be a prank by the brothers, but they too had checked in on Lindsey. While she was doing well now, what she related was odd and troubling, but could still be explained as one of Jacob’s and Joel’s stunts, or perhaps by a rare animal such as a puma.
“We should take it inside and show you,” Paavak stated. “I honestly am not sure what to make of it.” Paavak’s expression told Levi and Gideon more than his words. This was serious, and this was unusual.
“Indeed. Well, shall we go to the Center and see what this is about,” Gideon added. “I believe the Rectora and Rector are still there. They were discussing allotments and renovation of cabins and how to distribute the things being found in the underground garage.”
“Is Michael or Jamie there?” Zunang asked. She was hoping for some insight from those two adventurers as they would have excellent knowledge about equipment and gear. She wondered what they would think of the helmet.
“I believe Michael is at his cabin. He wanted to do some work in their garden, and Jamie is either in engineering or medical. She was helping to get that nursery built, and was also helping to try to get more machines running in engineering. Are they needed for this?” Gideon asked. As soon as he said it, he could tell from the looks on both Paavak’s and Zunang’s faces that they were needed. “Okay, I will run to Michael’s and get him. Levi, will you have that talking machine, Theta Four see if it can contact Jamie?”
Gideon sped off, and Levi and the other two walked to the Center. The Center was the largest building in Antioch and like most structures it was made from permalloy, the metal which was spun and used to manufacture the Colony Ship Eschaton. To the people of Antioch, it was known as the hard metal. They approached the Center in silence, Levi was unsure what this was all about, but he intended to get to the bottom of this mystery quickly. He liked things which were finalized and completed. His wondering about these mystery bodies reminded him of the guilt he carried over the death of his comrade, Deborah. The mess with the place called Tropical still weighed heavy on his heart, and like a festering sore, it was unresolved.
As they walked into the Center, only Zunang considered the words which were molded above the entryway, Faith, Obedience, Honor. She had not asked about the history of those words. But she had seen the people of Antioch, especially the legionnaires, living out personal codes of conduct and attitudes which were very honorable. To the other legionnaires, those words had been there for their entire lives, and they did not even consider them anymore.
They proceeded to the portal room where they could interact with the talking machine, Theta Four. The room had a number of portals, more like hatches, in the wall on one side. These portal doors opened to vehicles which would could take people from this world, over to another one. Or like the Domers said, from this habitat of the ship to a different habitat all in the same ship. The idea of all of them being inside some giant hard metal box was tough for Levi to comprehend. It was so strange. But he had seen many strange things since the Domers had arrived.
On what had been a long vacant wall, there was now a doorway. This doorway had been cut into the hard metal by Jamie and Michael and opened to a stairway that none in Antioch had previously known about. Many dead bodies had been found on the landing one level down. Those bodies, mere skeletons in bizarre clothing, were being evaluated by both Domers and people of Antioch. Hulda the healer had said the bodies were at least a generation old. One of those bodies had been taken to the medical place for the talking machine Kurat to examine. The others were stored in a small room off the hall in the Center. What was further up or down the stairs had not yet been explored and remained a mystery.
Levi studied the newly constructed seals for the portal hatches. They were hard metal bars which prevented the portal doors from opening. They had been placed on these doors to prevent unknown people from coming through the transport system, or from sending things through the transport system.
“Well, can you unpack the things you have found in here?" Levi asked. “I will take a look, and when Michael comes he can as well. While you lay them out, I will see if the machine knows where Jamie is located." Levi turned to address the wall where the portal doors were located.
“Talking machine, Theta Four, can you assist me?" Levi asked.
A display screen was illuminated near the doors with a greyish light. Theta Four's mechanical voice then answered. “Yes. Would you like transportation in this system?"
“No. I need you to tell me where Jamie is located. Will you do that for me?" Levi asked. He was uncomfortable speaking to a machine. No one had ever done that in Antioch before the Domers came. At least no one remembered anyone ever doing so.
“I believe Jamie is in engineering right now. She transported to engineering a short time ago from Medical Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy 12. Do you want me to ask for her in engineering?"
“Yes, please do so,” Levi stated.
As they waited, Paavak and Zunang unpacked the animal carcass, and the helmet. They laid them out on the floor for inspection.
“Regina was near the portal door in engineering. I told Regina you desired to speak to Jamie. Regina has gone to tell her of your request. May I help in any other way?" Theta Four asked.
“Please let me know when Jamie can speak to me,” Levi said and turned back to look at what the legionnaires had found. He was perplexed. He had heard the jokes about a frog monster, and the helmet did have some of that kind of look. But the animal remains were more disturbing. “That is no wolf."
“I did not think so either. Nor a coyote. But what is it?" Paavak asked.
“I have never seen an animal like that. Was there only this one?" Levi asked.
“Only this one animal, but the helmet was found near to a set of clothing which had some other kind of animal body stuffed inside it,” Zunang stated. “I think Paavak said it was a tailer deer?"
“White tailed deer, yes," Paavak said with gentleness. He tried really hard to be patient with the Domers on the things they were ignorant about. Sometimes Domers were very smart, and sometimes more like the very young. Paavak did not understand that dichotomy.
Levi was examining the body. The head had long and floppy ears, and sharp teeth. The teeth were similar to a wolf, but the eyes and ears were totally different. Not to mention the fur being a different color, texture, and length. It was hard to tell exactly what the creature looked like because of the severe injuries and dried blood covering much or it, but Levi was certain he did not know what it was.
Michael and Gideon walked in a few moments later. Michael’s brown hair had recently been cut short again. He was wearing Domer pants and a knitted shirt. Michael looked at the body and the helmet and immediately walked over to the helmet. The body was some kind of unknown dead animal. He did not know much about animals, having only seen his first live specimen when coming to the Eschaton. So the technology he saw immediately caught his attention.
“The boys Jacob and Joel found these two dead bodies.....” Zunang related what they had found and brought back. While she was explaining, the AI interrupted her.
“Jamie is now in engineering. What message shall I relay to her?” Theta Four spoke from the display near the door.
“Theta Four, ask Jamie if she has time to come here. The legionnaires have found some fairly sophisticated technology which she needs to see,” Michael responded.
“I will relay your message,” Theta Four said.
A moment later, Theta Four replied. ”Jamie is en-route to this habitat. The lattice is operational and medical artificial intelligence Kurat is available to do remote assessment at your location. Do you want Kurat to assist?”
“Perhaps in a moment, let me know when Jamie will be here, and unlock the seals for her transport,” Michael instructed Theta Four.
“Those are low-light enhancement goggles correct?” Zunang asked.
Michael looked up at her and nodded.
“With acoustic systems to enhance hearing? And the helmet seems to be powered by lufi-amalgum batteries. I have not seen that in the habitat,” Zunang added.
“You make a great legionnaire,” Michael said. As an adventurer in the dome, he had been on the cutting edge of technology, and Zunang had just impressed him with her recognition of what the helmet was, and how it was powered. “Yes, you are right about this. But these components are ruined. I suspect they were this badly broken before when you found them?”
“Yes, it seems a mystery.”
6 a meeting of the minds
I “….I understand that Lydia. What I am asking is, when someone is elderly and in need of a cabin can we ask people to switch so that families can stay closer together to help those in need?” Rector Conner was saying to Rectora Lydia as they walked into the portal room. They both were wearing the yellow robes of office. “For it seems to me that when someone is unable to care for himself or herself, they should not feel trapped in the same home.”
Conner was one of the refugees from Dome 17, but had been elected to position as Rector just recently. His election was a bit of a surprise, but he was supported by both the people of Antioch and by the Domers who now resided there. He had a medium complexion and intelligent brown eyes, and tried to understand all that had happened in the huge transition from living in Dome 17 to living on board the Eschaton.
“Yes, Conner, we all have a duty to care for people in need, that is essential, but respecting that person’s desire to stay in a place they have lived for decades also needs to be considered,” Lydia responded. “So each case will be looked at individually, and with flexibility. In a way, the elderly are like babies, we all need to care for them.” She was just about in middle age, and was a tall and thin woman with sandy brown colored hair. It was pulled back into a tight bun today.
They both stopped their discussion as they saw what was laid out in the portal room.
“Conner, perhaps we finally found that ferocious beast from the forest?” Lydia chided Conner. He blushed just a bit recalling the prank played on him by Joel and Jacob.
“Yes, now I will be vindicated,” he smiled back at Lydia. They were working diligently to forge a good partnership as Rector and Rectora. She knew the ways of Antioch and he knew the ways of the Domers. Together they were becoming a good leadership team. They walked over and looked at the body and the helmet.
“Transport from engineering is arriving. Unlocking the seals on the portal doors per programming acceptance,” Theta Four’s voice announced. Michael hurried over to be ready to greet Jamie when she arrived. When the door opened, Jamie nimbly stepped out. Michael gave her a huge hug and held her for a bit.
“My, you are the affectionate one,” Jamie replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Her hair was red and in a shaggy short style. Her freckled face was only split by her wide grin. “So what did you find?”
“Not me, but our friends, Jacob, Joel, and Lindsey. I guess it shook them up badly enough to send out the legionnaires. Look what they brought back,” Michael made a sweeping motion with his arm to indicate the body and the helmet.
Jamie greeted the legionnaires, and Lydia and Conner.
The group of people discussed what was discovered. They poked and prodded the body, but none of the people knew what kind of animal it had been. Again, the Domers asked about mutations, but the people who had grown up in the habitat said those were so rare and seldom seen, that it was not seriously considered as a possibility. Lydia could not recall anything like this creature before.
“But as to this helmet,” Jamie said. “I think we know what it was used for. It is an older technology, but we understand how it works.” Jamie looked around, she felt a bit badly about calling the technology older, and was being careful not to offend. “The goggles are for seeing in the dark, and the helmet would allow a person to see and hear much better than normally possible. It also looks like there are filters for cleaning the air that would be breathed while wearing this helmet. It is not functional now, but it would have been a pretty sweet bit of gear to use in exploring dark places. As Jamie examined the helmet, she found several apertures which when she placed her finger into them, she could adjust and modify the helmet. This allowed the entire helmet to fold flat. Had it not been broken, it would have been reduced to a rather small size. “This is a handy gadget.” she said with some admiration. “You say you also found ropes going down from the Knobs doorway?”
The legionnaires Paavak and Zunang nodded.
“So I would say we have a visitor to this habitat. Maybe an explorer?” Jamie concluded. “But why put meat in clothing and attach a broken helmet? And how does that connect to this beast?”
“I have an idea, but it may sound strange,” Gideon said. He and Levi had been listening intently to the others as they discussed what had been found. “Could the deer in clothing was some kind of bait for that beast?”
No one said anything for a while. They were all pondering Gideon’s theory.
“But that would mean the beast was already here? Yet, none of us know of this beast?” Rectora Lydia said.
“What if the beast came through the cut door?” Jamie said. “After all, Michael and I have cut through our share of doors.”
“The beast does not look to be capable of cutting, nor even climbing. It looks functionally like a wolf, and wolves do not climb much. But it could be like the puma, and that animal is an expert climber. So it could have climbed in here,” Levi added.
“But the beast would not use ropes, and burn through wood?” Paavak said. “Seems to me that some person entered through, and that helmet confirms that. But how are these things related? We have the dead beast. We have the wooden planks which were burned open. We have the deer meat stuffed into clothing, and the helmet.”
“Jamie, can Roxanne come and analyze this body and the helmet?” Michael asked.
“Our AI friend Roxanne was needed in the medical unit. They are having problems upgrading Kurat in regard to the new nursery. They have found so many hindrances to getting the nursery up and ready to go. Roxanne said it would not take too long. Should we have Roxanne come here?” Jamie replied.
