Machine, p.6
Machine, page 6
part #1 of The Peradran Legacy Series
I listened intently, amazed at what I was hearing. When he finished I asked. Not a little tension in my voice, “What about the breakdowns, and the animated stasis effect. It effects the whole world. What if he doesn't return? Like me. Maybe longer?”
Alan was prepared as usual, to answer me. “Kevin is the best choice. He is single, young, healthy, and he knows all the implications. He is more ready than you were. This is the second mission. We've learned a lot in the passing of linear time.” That was all fine and good but he left out one thing.
“What about the Suit?” I indicated the control board connected to the next room. “What if it happens again?”
Alan responded coolly. “That's a factor we've considered at great length.” He stood and added, “I would like you to be there, in the control room when we send Kevin off. The mission is scheduled to begin at oh-eight-hundred Saturday morning. With luck it will be over by thirteen-hundred.” He smiled and left the room. He had no idea what could happen after another mission. To Kevin, the Earth or its people. But he was going to try anyway and I was going to help, I had to – to make sure Kevin would be alright, if I could.
* * * *
Oh-seven-thirty Saturday morning I sat drinking coffee at the control panel that would monitor Kevin's live radio. Alan would be at my side by eight, ready to give the command. The main screen showed the Void Runner, fueled and ready. The air above the runway rippled in the heat, little mirages made the runway look wet.
The next screen showed the Void field generator and the Void field. The energy arcing at the edges refracted the morning light like electromagnetic lenses, casting multicolored shadows on the little mirages. The effect was surrealistic, almost imposing in its spectacle.
A smaller screen off to the side monitored the helmet camera. The view was distorted by the wide angle lens. A technician regarded the new Suit with a clipboard in one hand, pointing with a pen at other technicians, who would appear to take orders and leave again. There was no sound from the helmet camera.
Kevin was in the new Suit, checking the final details of its operation from manual control. The technician waved Kevin on, he was ready to approach the Void Runner.
The image changed from a room to a corridor to the outside, the camera adjusted to the light. The Void Runner came into view, he was about a hundred feet away. Field crew joined in the approach, they ran through the illusory puddles. The refraction was so great that they appeared to be knee deep in the glistening pools.
The new Suit came into view on the main screen as it drew closer to the vehicle. Field crew surrounded the Void Runner, carrying portable computers and disconnecting cables. The light illusion cut the image in two, causing the Void Runner to appear as a hulking monstrosity in the distortion. Stubby-legged workers surrounding their queen, tending the tasks at hand.
Kevin's voice came in, “Radio check, how do I sound Eric?”
I fumbled with the headset, surprised by the early transmission. “The first radio check was set up to be from the Void Runner Kev.”
“I know, but it is a long walk.”
“You sound nervous.”
“If the padding wasn't so tight I would be shaking like crazy.”
“Hang tight Kev. And lets try to follow a little protocol, ok?”
I was nervous too, the whole mission had a bad feel about it. It was put together too fast. Alan led me to believe that this mission was based on the concept that there was a relative time distortion ratio between the Void and Earth. Alan also knew that the Suit might be altered, like the first. But Alan knew of the transmutative nature of the Void before the first mission. Everyone knew. What everyone did not know was that technology like that of the Suit would self animate, even show random signs of intelligence after exposure to the Void. Now they planned to duplicate that effect. All we had to do was wait, until after Kevin’s return from the Void.
The Runner was set up on the runway, about a quarter mile from the Void field. After that was a landing strip about a quarter mile long, where the Void Runner would re-enter normal space. The original design was much simpler. The one I was to use was merely desert, cleared of debris and leveled with a rented earth-mover. But that all changed before I returned; to the way it was that day.
Alan arrived at five before eight. Kevin was in the Void Runner ready for the first checklist. Alan donned his headset and took the chair next to mine.
“Hello Eric.” His smile was generic but believable.
“Hi Alan, Kevin checked in early. He's really nervous.”
“I'll bet, I remember when you were waiting for countdown. You sang commercial slogans to relax.” Alan smiled at me, like the memory was old. For me it had only been a few weeks. For Alan it was ten years plus.
I really wanted to delay the mission. To tell Alan it was too soon. But that would do no good. We were too far into it to stop now.
Alan pressed the code blue button. Technicians sat alert at their stations, adjusting headsets and typing information into computer consoles.
“Prepare for primary checklist Kevin.” Alan spoke evenly into the headset, adjusting volume levels as he spoke.
“Ready at your mark.” Kevin's voice sounded distant in the headset.
Alan began the checklist. “Primary Power...”
“Primary Power, Check.”
“Support Suit Power...”
“Support Suit Power, Check.”
The checklist continued until the countdown was started.
“T-minus fifteen, fourteen, thirteen,” We could hear Kevin’s breathing in the helmet, louder and louder as the countdown reached the single digits.
“Five, four, three,” The Static-field shimmered to life. “two,” Booster rockets fired behind the Void Runner, the ten thousand horsepower engine began to roar. The helmet camera monitor was showing a vibrating image of the Void Runner control console. One could see the hands of the Suit moving about the console, on automatic.
“One.” The Void Runner shot flames back fifty feet, the hulking vehicle accelerated to three hundred miles per hour in ten seconds. The Void Runner reached the Void Field and disappeared into it. The control room filled with the cheers of the staff.
“That's all there is to it.” Alan folded his hands behind his head, beaming with satisfaction. I wanted to share his victory, but something was bothering me. The new Suit must have been completed before my return. I haven't been back long enough for one to be constructed brand new. The construction of Suits like these took years to complete.
“Alan, I have a question.” He turned to face me and took off his headset to listen.
“Was there going to be another mission while I was gone?”
“Yes, at first, but then we were afraid to complicate the time distortion factor. Right now, none of us are aging. If another was to enter the Void, time for us might stop all together. Causing planet-wide destruction. Both pilots would be trapped in the Void for ever and we would all be dead.”
“I was just wondering how the new Suit came to be. And maybe if a rescue mission could be implemented or not.”
“Why a rescue mission?” Alan was truly confused. “Nothing will go wrong, we know Kevin will return. We know that there is a time differential. Time flows slower in the Void than on Earth. There is nothing in the Void that could interfere. So we know that he should return within three hours.”
That wasn't entirely true, Alan could not be sure Kevin would return within three hours. That time matrix was based on the first mission, a thousand times longer than the second. There was no knowledge that the duration in the Void could affect the time differential or not.
Alan spoke, “You know Eric? You worry too much. I can see your face, its a mask of concern. Go get some coffee, relax. We've got a couple hours to burn before we prepare for re-entry. Its going to be great!” Alan remained excited, he picked up a phone and called another office. His conversation was in low excited tones. I got up to stretch my legs, maybe coffee would be good right now.
I left the control room and headed toward the lounge. As I walked I decided in mid-stride that I should visit the isolation chamber. I turned to enter another hallway, my pace quickened as I walked. I could not help feeling that I was missing something. A sense of urgency filled me, I began a slow jog.
When I reached the door to the monitor room, I paused before I opening it and caught my breath. I opened the door, sitting at both stations were technicians.
“Hey guys, have I missed anything?” They both looked at the ID pinned to my jacket. They saw my name and relaxed.
“Hello Sir. No, nothing. The Suit has remained still for...” He checked his log. “...fifteen hours twenty minutes.” He shuffled the log sheets. “The last action recorded was random changes in position around the room, as if watching each camera.”
As the first tech was talking, the monitor closest to me caught my eye. The Suit had slowly turned to face the camera.
“Hey guys. Check this out.”
“I see it.” Said the second tech, who began to record the video time in his log.
The Suit opened all of the access panels display fashion and began to 'breath' with the padding. Its rhythmic inflation-deflation had us fixed. It really had the power to amaze.
A short minute passed, the breathing continued. Then all at once the Suit closed up. It clenched its fists and charged the camera, pummeling at it with its fists. The wall was armored but the camera lay behind mere plate glass. The Suit was strong enough to smash the glass with a couple of blows. There were other cameras, but the Suit faced this one.
It continued its one on one with the plate glass which had lasted a little longer than I thought. Empty, the Suit weighed seven hundred pounds. You could hear the pounding through two feet of steel re-enforced concrete. As quickly as it started, it stopped and drew back from the camera. Then it returned to the center of the room.
“Should we shut down for repairs?” The first tech asked.
“Not now, wait until today's mission is complete. The camera is still functional. If it tries that again we'll see it.”
The second tech spoke. “You know what's really strange?” He paused for the effect. “Nothing has happened for the past fifteen hours. Then as soon as Eric Trayden here entered the room the Suit freaks out. You piloted the Suit during the first mission, right?”
“Yes.” They looked at me for more. I decided to keep it on their level and tell only of what happened in this room. Which was quite a tale. I continued in depth.
“I've noticed that the Suit is more active when I observe. Especially when I'm alone. There seems to be a link, like the Suit knows when I am present. I'm not sure, but there could be a connection between today's mission and the actions of the Suit.”
“There must be some kind of preservation thing. Like you brought it through. It could have sensed your thoughts about the mission. Maybe it wants you to bring it back.” These technicians were an imaginative duo. I could see why they were posted in this observation.
I took a breath and leaned over the console to get a closer view of the damaged wall from another monitor. “Damn that thing is strong!”
I zoomed in on the damaged area. Pieces of twisted metal and fragmented concrete hung from the wall. The plate glass was crushed and pushed in about six inches. I moved the camera to the Suit. I zoomed in on the hands, except for a little dust there seemed to be no damage. The Suit seemed unnaturally resilient. It was built tough. After being exposed to the Void, it had become tougher.
It was hard to believe. When it destroyed the first isolation chamber, the room was weakly constructed, being designed for beings of flesh and blood. The Suit easily stripped the walls to the concrete blocks in seconds. Casting the sheet metal aside like paper. But this isolation chamber was different. It was designed specially for the Suit. Perhaps that is why the Suit stopped before it reached the camera, to avoid damaging itself – the preservation thing again.
My own ideas were growing more and more strange. The more things played themselves out, the more fantastic my thinking became.
What was it about the Suit? How could it animate during power down and perform like it was possessed. Possession there was a concept, not very scientific but it would fit the puzzle. The behavior of the animated Suit was very hard to explain. What explanations there were, none seemed to fit completely. Not if science were left to do it all.
The Void also defied explanation, it too was a puzzle. A puzzle that was missing many pieces. How did I fit? Was it simply because I entered the Void? Had the Void changed me, somehow altering my physiology like a human machine.
...this is real...
The voice in my head made me look around. No one was paying me attention, they were engrossed in recording the events of the Suit.
...this is happening...
I looked to a monitor. I expected to see the Black-haired man, folding his hands together. There the Suit remained in his place. Subtly the hands twitched, servo switches clicking together gently. The helmet seemed to turn just slightly toward the camera I was viewing, then back again.
...remember...
CHAPTER FIVE
KEVIN'S RETURN
It was precisely eight a.m. when Kevin entered the Void. He returned precisely two hours thirteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds later.
“Set ground crew to code yellow.” Alan's voice echoed through all the empty headsets lying about the control room.
Moments later men in environment suits could be seen on the main screen, running to their positions on the field. Simultaneously the Void Runner was piercing the Veil. Static plasma streamed behind the Void Runner, stretching its resistance back to the Void field. It remained in place as the Void Runner slowed half way down the runway then stopped. At that moment the Veil disappeared. The Static-field glowed its swirling copper color.
“This is all happening much faster than when you returned.” Alan spoke quickly, covering the headset microphone with his fingers. The control room was filling rapidly behind us. The commotion increased when the new Suit would not respond to radio contact.
“Radio failure, ground crew code red. We have yet to determine if the Suit has lost power. Stand By.” Alan gave the command for code red. That meant that the Suit might be animate and dangerous. The Static-field might be all that is keeping the Suit at bay, the cabin of the Void Runner was not much compared to the Suits strength. The Static-field was nuclear powered, like the Suit, and strong enough to handle all the Suit could dish out. The Void Runner would remain sealed until the Static-field was deactivated from the control room. One thing remained, Kevin was in there. Maybe alive, maybe dead. We had to get him out.
I gave the command. “Runner station, deactivate Static-field.” A moment later the Void Runner was exposed. One of the ground crew with a radio approached the vehicle to determine if the Suit was animate or if Kevin was in control or trapped in the Suit without power.
The voice of the crewman came on line. “The Suit is hunched over the control panel... I can't see into the helmet... nothing is moving.”
I continued with the reentry shutdown. “Runner station, powerdown main drive. Decompress Void Runner cabin.” I covered the mic and said to Alan, “We'll need a truck to remove the Suit without power.”
“Lets try to restore power first, from here. Then, if we have to we'll mobilize a team to restore power on the field.” Alan was typing as he talked. Then he said, “I've got the helmet camera on line, here it is.” The small screen came to life, the image of the control panel up close filled the display. Orange and blue lights blinked in time with the panel in front of Alan.
“The Suit to seat magnetics have been disengaged - or something pried him loose.” That was Alan's attempt at humor, nothing could pry the Suit loose. There was ten thousand pounds of magnetic pull in that seat.
I focused the main screen on the Void Runner, zooming in on the cabin door. Then I switched the Void field view to a progress report screen; a large version of what I had in front of me on my console was now on a large screen at the front of the control room. All that was left was to open the cabin door. Locked and sealed from the outside.
“Ground crew, prepare to open the hatch.” On screen the crew could be seen closing on the vehicle and the cabin door.
“We're ready.” Was the return message.
“Break the hatch now.” They opened the access panel and broke the seal. The door swung open, like a giant gull-wing. Kevin and the Suit fell out onto the runway, his legs still inside the cabin. The crew members backed away as if a carcass had fallen out in his place.
“Jeez that thing is heavy, it crushed the pavement.” Then, “His eyes are open...”
“What was that crewman?” I asked into the microphone.
“His eyes, they're open. I think I can see his breath on the visor. I think he's in shock.” I could see the crewman bending down to get a closer look on the main screen. He backed away, I could hear his breathing in the headset. He was choking back in deep gulps. Then he managed to say, “There is something wrong - he needs a doctor now!”
I looked over to Alan. Who seemed engrossed with his keyboard said, “I cannot restore power from here. Its been cut off at the source, like the nukes have been drained. We'll mobilize a medical crew with the techs.” Alan picked up the phone and called sickbay.
Meanwhile I ordered all the data recovery equipment to be salvaged and brought to the main lab. “I want someone to keep an eye on Kevin while we mobilize a medical team.”
“Confirmed, I'll stay here.” The field cleared of crewmen. The one remaining commented on Kevin's status in graphic detail. “The visor is smeared with blood around the edges and the padding around Kevin's face seems to be very moist with blood too. I can see wires.” The crewman lapsed, coughed then cleared his throat. “They are passing through his skin as I watch, he can feel it too; his eyes, they are moving. God! What's happening to him?” The crewman could not watch any longer. He drew away holding his arm in front of his face, as if to protect himself from the morbid image he saw.
