Target 10 S1.6 A Terrifying Tour
RJ tried to identify their path through non-descript gray corridors, the occasional empty room and more than one gravity-defying lift.
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It all looked the same. RJ tried to identify their path through non-descript gray corridors, the occasional empty room and more than one gravity-defying lift. They were hopelessly lost. The few symbols or signs they came across were so convoluted he couldn't tell them apart.
The lifts were the most amazing yet uncomfortable part of the tour. They were common enough and used everywhere in the CR, but all of them lifted people in something. These lifts had no doors or floors and often no walls. The first time they came across one, Clay leered at him, coaxing him to walk over what looked like an oversized open pipe—literally a big hole in the floor. RJ had stood firm, refusing to be goaded. Then Clay had stepped into it with the shit-eating grin and gently floated upwards.
I hate him. I really hate him. RJ did his best to hide the desire to knock Clay flat and stomp on him. It all made him uncomfortable. Not only were they completely dependent on Clay, he clearly liked Reby. That would have ticked him off at any time, but the idea that a man who'd been alone for a decade wanted her... well that made it so much worse. Desperation made people do bad things. He knew that all too well.
As they were walking toward another lift, he saw Reby look at her nexo. "How long have we been walking?" he asked.
"Forty-five minutes," she answered, keeping her voice low.
Jemy and Clay were discussing the purpose of the last room they'd traveled through and were farther ahead.
"Any idea where we are? I'm totally lost." RJ pulled out a small device from one of his pockets. "No connection to the Demption or the shuttle, so my tracker isn't working. I tried to set the reference point when we left the lounge but it didn't take." He shook the tracker and tapped the screen before showing her. His tracker usually created 3-D maps as they traveled. It was on, it just didn't register any data.
"I know. Same with my nexo. No connection to anything. I'd understand the Demption since we're under the field protecting the star." She shook her head. "But why can't we connect to the shuttle? It's like our transmissions aren't transmitting."
"I have some ideas, though I need to do some tests. Even if I'm right, I don't think there's any way around it. We'll have to learn the native systems." RJ looked ahead at Clay and Jemy. "If we ever get to this mysterious comm room."
"We have to," she said.
They walked together down the corridor, making sure Jemy didn't get too far ahead. Around the next corner, Clay stepped to the side to let Jemy go up a lift first. RJ sped up so he could see Jemy go.
"Your turn?" Clay asked.
RJ didn't answer, and instead stepped back to let Reby go by. No way I'm leaving you with her. RJ made sure he entered at the same time. He clenched his jaw and throat to keep his stomach down where it was supposed to be, though he'd adjusted somewhat to the short-term effects of the lift.
When they stopped moving upward, he noticed they weren't in another long corridor, but in a room. This one was white rather than the uniform gray he'd seen everywhere else, and smaller than other rooms. In the center of the room was a chair. A really big chair.
"Whoa!" RJ said as he walked over and joined Jemy, who was already examining it. It wasn't dissimilar to the chairs in the cockpit of the Demption, except for the height. The seat began just below his rib cage. If he sat in it, his feet would probably barely reach the edge and the back would tower over him. "It's mighty narrow for something tall enough to sit on this chair. The Obexpl must be very thin for their height."
"That's right," Jemy said. "Clay's figured out they were about twice our height but about the same width." He looked at RJ. "Well, the same width as me."
RJ had long ago come to terms with the ribbing he'd get from Jemy and Reby about his height and stockiness. Parkan's higher gravity meant they were sturdier than Azuans. A characteristic he'd been grateful for on more than one occasion. Still, he wished he'd grown a few more inches since he'd lived on Azu for so long. He smirked back at Jemy, who had moved on to examining the arms of the chair.
"Here, at the ends of the armrest." Jemy poked them. "It's squishy."
"You've discovered the secret already. I'm going to have to remind myself what an intelligent group you are," Clay said as he glided out of the lift.
"Secret?" Reby asked.
"Yes. That section of the chair is an interface. You place your hands there at the end, and when you're ready, the chair holds them and you can communicate across Havenstar or to anything within a reasonable range of Haven."
"But how? There are protocols that need to be established, certain connections made - even in the CR not every ship is standardized yet."
RJ could tell Reby stopped herself from ranting too long, and giving away how much she didn't know.
"I don't know. I really don't. Obi showed me the basics of how their systems work, not the science behind them. All I know is that if you do as I said, you'll be able to contact your ship. Or I can do it for you."
"No. Please let me try," Reby said, putting up her hand to stop him from getting in the seat.
RJ opened his mouth to argue with her, to let him try. However, he could tell by the look on her face she was determined. He understood she felt as violated as her protocols. This was something she had to do.
She climbed up into the chair, sitting with her legs hanging off the edge at her knees. If she reclined, her hands didn't reach the end of the armrest so she had scooched herself to a good spot. Her hands rested on the squishy armrests. Nothing happened.
"What now?" Reby asked. She rubbed her fingers up and down the suede-like surface of the armrests, stopping where her fingers felt the material give under the pressure. There was no transition in the texture, it just gradually became softer, squishy.
"What now indeed," Clay said and walked up to her right side. He pressed against the back of her upper arm and lifted her hand to move it even farther down the armrest. She adjusted her other arm to match.
"That's better," he said. His eyes had a sparkle in them that made her heart leap. The gentle caress he gave her hand tingled. Her body wanted to jump off the chair into his arms. She resisted, holding herself fixed, and looked straight ahead. Aida. I need to talk to Aida.
The tingling sensation stopped. Her hands sank into the soft material. A warm goo forced its way between her fingers and under her fingernails. It pressed on and into every contour of her hand up to her wrists. Though there was no pain, it was like her hands were being consumed. Instinctively, she tried to pull away.
"Reby, I'm listening."
Her body relaxed, her hands still held firm by the strange material. Aida's clear and calm voice drove away her fear. "Are you alright?"
"All my operating systems are functioning at or above required levels. Though, I am pleased to confirm your safe arrival on the planet."
In the background, she heard a muffled conversation and sensed movement around her, like silhouettes in a fog.
"Are you detecting anything anomalous about this transmission?"
"No."
"Does it appear as an internal or external comm connection?"
"It is a valid connection."
"Yes, but is it using internal or external protocols?"
"I'm sorry, Reby. That question doesn't appear to make sense." Aida said with the genuinely regretful tone and apology Reby had programmed her to use when she wasn't able to do as instructed.
Reby never expected to hear Aida say the words, at least not in reference to their own ship's systems. We're fucked. Her mind raced to find another approach, another test Aida could run, some other way to get control back.
A shift in the pressure on her palms began pushing her hands out of the squishy hold they had on her. The connection with Aida faded away and the room around her came into focus. Not yet! She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on speaking with Aida. Her hands sunk back into the chair, though she barely noticed the physical sensation this time.
"Aida, I'd like you to do a data dump of the communications systems starting five minutes before you saw the valid connection."
"Where would you like me to send the data?"
"Just save it with the system logs in the usual format. I'll—" What if? "Aida, show me the system logs." Reby held her breath.
"Of course," Aida responded.
Reby's eyes widened, and she pushed back on the chair. The ship's system reports popped into her view, just like they would on a display in her lair. Only she wasn't just looking at the data, it was like she was in the data. Or the data was in her mind. Nausea crept over her as she scanned files and tried to use her hand to tap open the comm link recording. The sensation passed when she stopped trying and just looked at the display.
Focus. He said focus. She identified the comm system reports on the list. She thought "Open" while focusing on it. The display exploded with all the comm reports the system had ever recorded or archived. There were far more than she could see visually on a display, but she was aware of all of them, every single one in the system. She swallowed down another bout of nausea and calmed herself by breathing slowly.
She accessed the files, examined, and compared them. The process seemed cumbersome at first—she just wanted to scroll and tap the display—but after a few tries she adapted. The sickness in her stomach completely disappeared, replaced by the thrill of becoming one with her creation. She sensed Aida all around her as the AI's code touched every system. With just a thought, she could change anything. Aida. Comms. Navigation. Life support. Anything.
Her hands emerged from the chair. They felt cool, like naked skin in an ocean breeze. She bent forward, disorientated. A vibration hummed inside her, as if every cell rang like a bell. The sensation dissipated but didn't go away. She looked up. Jemy and RJ were wide eyed, frowning, and stiff, standing in front of her.
"What happened?" Jemy asked.
The words registered in her mind, but felt strange, like hearing him speak through water.
"Are you alright?" RJ held out a hand to help her out of the chair.
She took it, sliding forward and letting gravity pull her down the rest of the way. Her feet hit with a thud that reverberated up her body and she wavered. RJ held her steady, his touch a warm comfort. A whoosh sucking sound rushed through her ears.
"Are you alright?" RJ repeated.
This time, the words were clear. "I'm alright." She pulled away from RJ and turned toward Jemy. "That was amazing. It was like I was there, inside the ship, chatting with Aida."
Clay stepped up beside her.
"I can't believe you thought that would be disappointing," she said to him.
"I meant the chair, the room. Not much to look at when you think what a non-human communications center might be."
She glanced around at the room, taking in more details than she had before. Here and there on the walls were small lights lined up vertically. Where the walls met the floor and ceiling, they curved and had no visible boundary. Above the chair there was a circle recessed into the ceiling. Everything was a vibrant white, no variations or shadows anywhere.
"What happened?" Jemy moved in front of her and held her arms.
The concern in his eyes was familiar. This time, instead of crying, she smiled. Everything's going to be ok. "Clay, do you mind if I talk with my brother and RJ alone for a bit?"
"Oh. Of course, yes. Go right ahead. I'll wait down below." He walked to the lift and drifted down out of the room.
"What is it?" RJ leaned in and whispered.
"I was in the ship's systems, surrounded by them. It's difficult to explain the sensation, but I know we're safe. We don't have to worry about Clay. If he wanted to harm us, he could have with a single thought."
"What do you mean?" RJ's forehead furrowed.
"It's like I said on the ship. When he was listening to us, he could have done anything. He could have shut off life support, waited for us to die, then piloted the Demption down for himself."
"Or maybe you saw what he wanted you to see." RJ's voice grew louder.
Reby shook her head. "I don't think he can. I believe him when he says he has no idea how this works. I don't know how this works... it's so much more advanced than anything anyone even dreamed of at university. We have thought controlled systems, but they're clunky. This, this was seamless. I wasn't controlling it, I was it."
She breathed in and held her breath before letting it out slowly. Her heart raced and her body still buzzed, like she'd been electrically shocked.
"What about the star? Did you see anything about the builders?" Jemy asked.
"No. I only focused on Aida and the Demption. You could try to focus on them and see what happens."
Jemy let go of her and moved to climb onto the chair. RJ grabbed his arm.
"Shouldn't we finish this tour first? Figure out where we are, how to get around? How to get back to the shuttle?" RJ glanced back toward the lift. "Without help?"
Reby saw the tension in Jemy's stance. He was still pulling away from RJ. "He's right Jem. Let's get settled, then you can dig in. Figuratively this time."
"I just want to see—"
"I know you do." She stepped in front of him. "And I know you. Once you're in there, you won't be coming out for a long time. Assuming that it works the same way for the star as it did for Aida. It also doesn't come without side effects."
"What side effects?" Jemy's attention didn't sway from the chair.
"Like you've been electrocuted."
"What?" Jemy and RJ said together.
"Ok. A mild shock, like you'd get from handling volpar chicks. Only it hasn't passed, and it isn't pleasant. I feel... charged."
RJ pulled out his analyzer and aimed it at her. "You aren't carrying any excess charge, but your bio-electric signature is different...." He turned and examined Jemy. "Yours is ok. I say no one gets on that chair until we understand more of the effects."
Jemy looked between Reby and the chair.
He wants to do his scholarly thing so bad. She grabbed his hand. "You've found it. Hell, we're in it. There's plenty of time and we won't leave until you have everything you need to show the Academy. We need a baseline, though. Isn't that always the first step?"
"There're no rules for this. Not yet. It's never happened."
"Define them then. Set the example. Don't just return with proof you were right. Put them to shame by doing a better job of it than any of them could hope to do." She stared at him until he met her eyes and squeezed her hand.
"Fine. But I'm not going to let you have all the fun on this trip."
"Fun? Are we having fun?" RJ raised his eyebrows.
"Starting now. We know we aren't in danger, so let's enjoy this," Reby said.
"Oh no. We have no idea of the danger we're in. It's a fucking alien structure with a creepy human guide—"
"I told you, RJ. He doesn't want to harm us. It would have been so much easier to take us out before we even got here."
"Unless he's the hands-on type—"
"And he's survived here on his own for ten years. Hell, he's thrived based on what he's done in the lounge—"
"What happened to you in that chair? Twenty minutes ago we were on the same page." RJ patted the pocket with his E-blaster.
Reby resisted the urge to growl at RJ and run off. He can be so stubborn!
"Everything alright?" Clay asked as he floated back into the room.
"Everything's fine," Reby said. "We're ready to go." She turned away from RJ and stepped into the lift with Clay and didn't look back.
A refreshing burst of air hit Jemy. They'd circled back to the lounge after hours of exploring the star. Reby had plunked herself down on one of the white cubes and RJ was at the far end of the table. Jemy knew they'd seen only a tiny portion of the structure. Clay had seemed bent on showing Reby the technology of the builders.
Jemy wanted to know more about them, though, and found himself frustrated with so little information. Still, he needed to capture what he had seen and start building the species profile.
A tightness in his stomach was followed by a rumble. He'd eaten the small wafru as they'd explored, but as Clay suggested, they were mostly water. His body needed solid food, preferably warm, tasty, and fast. He'd settle for warm and fast from the auto, though, as RJ's cooking was rarely fast, even if tasty.
"Please help yourself to any of the food. I wish I could offer you some sort of meal, but I dispensed with that formality long ago. I just eat from the harvest when hungry."
"You don't cook anything?" RJ asked as he picked through the pile again.
"No need."
RJ humphed. "There's always a need." He examined a dark pink, oblong fruit before cradling it in his elbow and grabbing more.
"I think we'd like to get back to our shuttle for the night," Jemy said. "Can you show me how to use the teleporter?" He felt both Reby's and RJ's eyes on him. They can't be first to try everything.
"Oh. Yes. Of course." Clay glanced between Jemy and the food. "Don't you want some refreshment first?" He grabbed a long, thin green fruit and waved it at Jemy. "Greenies are densely packed with protein. A few bites would satisfy you."
"Thank you. No. I think we could all use some rest, too. Will it take long to teach me to use the teleporter?"
Clay's face sunk, then brightened again. "That depends on how well you can focus."
"I consider it one of my specialties." Jemy said.
"It's true." Reby stood and walked over to him. "Give him an artifact and he'll stare at it for days."
"I study. Not stare." Jemy said with a slight nod.
Reby turned her head down.
The words had come out too sharp. He put his arm around Reby and squeezed. "But I guess it's hard to tell the difference."
She glanced back up at him. Her thin smile and the sparkle in her eye told him he was forgiven.
"Can we get started? It's been a long day already," Jemy said to Clay.
Reby yawned, then nodded.
"Yes. Of course. We'll go right now." Clay put down the greenie.
As they walked back through the lounge to the teleporter, Clay gave him instructions. They weren't difficult steps. Put your hand in the square, relax, and focus on where you want to go.
"That seems incredibly simple for such an advanced race," Reby said as they approached the teleporter door.
"Teleportation isn't simple no matter how you do it." RJ said. "Disassembling molecules and reassembling—"
"I meant the interface, RJ. All that complicated stuff happens with a single focused thought."
"Oh. Yeah, you're right." RJ winked at her.
"Think of it, though. The builders created all this complicated technology, yet made it so simple to use that even a non-native can navigate their way around with ease," Reby said.
"Is it easy, though? Can it go wrong?"
Jemy shifted his balance from foot to foot. RJ's questions were slowing them down.
Clay entered the teleporter. "I don't think it can go wrong. It either works or it doesn't. When Obi first taught me, he assured me that safety measures were in place. If you aren't focused enough, nothing will happen."
"So, there's no chance of half of you ending up in one place and half in another?"
Clay's face contorted at RJ's question. "No."
"Then let's get started." Jemy walked into the room towards the back wall. A pattern of three lines surrounded the square: thin, thick, thin. Jemy ran his fingers over the lines. Just inside the innermost line, the wall recessed slightly. He could feel it dip, but it was so shallow it was hard to see, even in the bright light. This pattern is significant.
He recalled seeing it on doors during their tour and had assumed it simply signified enter or exit. The monochrome template and construction methods often made doors indistinguishable from a regular wall except for the lines. The same symbol used on a teleporter and a regular door means it isn't literal.
"Put your hand in the center."
Clay's voice broke him out of his analysis.
"Then focus on where you want to go. In this case your shuttle."
"But I don't know where in the star it is," Jemy said.
RJ and Reby had entered the room and were standing together next to Clay.
"That's the beauty of it. The system connects to your consciousness and interprets what it is you're focusing on. You just need a clear thought about where you want to go."
"Sounds easy enough." He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. He thought about the shuttle, its shape, color, the front that never got its painted face. Next, he tried to imagine it in the dock. He slid his hand into the square and closed his eyes, holding a clear image of it resting inside the star's docking ba`y.
His eyes snapped open, and he dropped his hand. He'd done it. Somehow, he simply knew they'd moved. The palm of his hand tingled, but it didn't look any different. He hadn't had the same sense of falling or movement he did the first time Clay teleported them. Is it different for the operator? What kind of intelligence are the builders that they could make it so simple?
"Well done," Clay said. "Assuming your shuttle is on the other side of that door."
Jemy stepped away from the wall, but RJ made it to the door first, his hand up to brace for the intense blue light. Jemy also lifted his arm up in anticipation of the light as the door slid open.
"Huh. That's different," RJ said. "I guess Jemy can control it."
Jemy squinted past his forearm, then dropped it. The shuttle sat where they'd left it, but now it was illuminated with light similar to the transporter. "I didn't do anything. Not intentionally," he said.
"Unintended consequences?" Reby asked. "A non-human system interpreting human consciousness the best it can?"
"Seems to have done quite well, whatever the mechanism," Clay said. "Shall we schedule a time for me to return in the morning?"
"No. We're good. We have our own teleporter operator now," RJ had turned back into the room to answer Clay.
"Thank you," Jemy said to Clay. "Is there a way to call you? Let you know we're on our way to the lounge?"
"Not that I know of." Clay dropped his gaze to the floor. "I haven't had any need to contact someone else in Havenstar."
Well, I feel like an idiot. "I'm sorry," Jemy said. "We'll meet you in the lounge in eight to ten hours then." He exited the room with RJ.
"We'll be back. I promise." He heard Reby say before catching up with him.