An Obsidian Sky Part 3

'Well?' she replied impatiently.

'Genetic scans confirm that the ent.i.ty is of unknown origin. Not simply unknown origin in terms of the Earth species chain, but unknown in terms of design and genetic configuration. Simply put it is not even made of the same building blocks that you are. In all probability it did not even share the same genesis.' Sean replied in a self-satisfied manner.

'So essentially, you don't know' I replied, tiredly. I really was beginning to lose interest in this whole end-of-the-world chased-by-monsters thing.

'On the contrary I have gleaned a vast field of data. For instance they heal quickly. Sensors estimated that it took the ent.i.ty four point nine seconds to recover from Aeniah's pulse blasts'

'And what exactly was that Aeniah. I thought you said that we weren't allowed to bring any weapons with us.' I flashed my eyes accusingly towards her. Instead of seeming startled she laughed briefly with mirth.

'Oh no, you misunderstand me. I said that you couldn't bring any weapons. I on the other hand don't go anywhere without one.'

'So what exactly do you bring about with you' I enquired.

'Why a pocket-plasma-launcher of course.' Seeing my confusion she continued. 'Ah, of course, little before your time I suppose. Well before the Wars PPLs were all the rage. People practically couldn't visit another country without one. Mine I suppose is one of the last ones left. But enough of my baby and I.' She turned back to Sean. 'Where exactly are we.'

Sean began to glide around the room again and restarted his infuriating humming. He appeared to observe the room in the way a child might observe their presents wrapped beneath the tree. He was full of glee.

'Why Aeniah, can't you see, we are inside a data control nexus' he replied.

'And what exactly does that mean' I enquired.

'DCN's were commonly used as part of a chain link network of processing for United World nations. Activating one link in the chain allows another link in the chain to come online. With each link in the chain activated more and more meta-systems come online until a complete AI is formed. Most importantly each DCN contains all the basic power and processing requirement for the section in which it is placed.' Smugly Sean turned towards Aeniah as if looking for approval. Aeniah did not appear to be in the mood for giving any.

'So effectively, we turn this on and this section functions at a basic level. Turn them all on and we get all the bells and whistles' she stated dryly. Without waiting for a reply she grabbed hold of his frame and said 'then turn the b.l.o.o.d.y thing on.'

'Aeniah you, perhaps, are better suited to activating these systems. United World systems typically reject unauthorised computer entry. Manual interfacing is always preferred, and with your background...' He trailed off.

Aeniah strode over to a large slab of gla.s.s surrounded by many others at different heights and orientations. Placing her hands above the gla.s.s she drew images into life. The slab had become a screen and the language again was unfamiliar, radically different and yet somehow meaningful. Aeniah appeared to have no trouble understanding it as her fingers began to fan wildly about the screen. She proceeded to spin a box this way and that, enter text into another, then rotated a pulsing circle. In all the entire procedure was needlessly complex.

All of a sudden there was a chiming followed by a laboured dialogue in that language. The cra.s.s and unyielding language sounded so familiar and yet it was completely incomprehensible. The ground beneath my feet started to hum, I could feel it all the way to my ankles. Incredibly I began to smell fresh air, with a purity and fragrance I could not describe.

If the room had appeared large before it was ma.s.sive now. Lights that had been dormant for so long began to force their way into the room. Blues and purples and reds, burst into existence. The world became warmer, better, greater. The room (if it could be called such a thing) now revealed itself. It curved at either end and expanded in the centre, the effect was a room shaped somewhat like an eye. Huge diamond shaped crystal pyramids rose and curved like sculptures. Within them was imprisoned a violent blue light, which performed motions almost too fast for the eye to see. In the centre of this eye was its pupil, more exactly a huge ring around which pure energy, immediately visible to the naked eye, rose in spirals. It appeared organic. It appeared alive.

Aeniah turned to me quizzically and opened her mouth, 'George the system says that a language update is available for you.'

'I don't understand'

'It appears your...modifications, have given you the ability to receive, as it were, updates.'

'Like genetic memory,' I enquired.

Sean spoke the words 'exactly' before Aeniah could open her mouth. Crossly, Aeniah turned to me and asked, 'well do you want to update or not?'

'Go for it' I reasoned, 'what harm could it do.'

Aeniah turned and began to suck on her bottom lip as she began to play her fingers about the screen. Soon, gradually, I felt a slight tingling. It was curious that the information did not appear to come from anywhere other than me. I felt a foreign presence but could not distinguish what was in my memory from what was being given to me. It felt odd not to know reality from fabrication. Then I felt it. My eyes were opened. Images I had mistaken for art became letters, and slowly, ever so slowly, became words. I saw the words 'Blue Clarity' rise from the centre of the ring of energy. Turning to Sean I asked him a question 'What exactly is 'Blue Clarity''?

'Blue Clarity is a type of energy production. It is named after the way that it appears to the naked eye. Blue Clarity is by many degrees the perfect source of energy. It produces power infinitely, never running out' Sean answered amicably.

'But why didn't they continue using it after the resource wars? Surely if we had had that technology I might still have had a home. We might not be living through this nightmare.' The more I reasoned the more anger I felt.

'Of course, many of the problems experienced by your society could have been alleviated through much of the technology available here. However after the Resource Wars the two major competing parties were largely destroyed. Around 78% of the world was left permanently inhospitable to human life. The societies that emerged were but a shadow of their former selves, ignorant and blind to the majesty of the past. It would never have been possible for them to produce anything quite as exquisite as Blue Clarity.' Sean for the first time appeared saddened. He did not speak these words with his usual sense of joy, instead he appeared to mourn the loss. Indeed he mourned for it more than the loss of the world.

I shook myself, thinking that a machine had emotions, it was insanity. No matter how good software is it is not sentient, I reminded myself. He, it, was nothing more than a hunk of metal, complete with wire and a speaker. Nothing more.

Aeniah who appeared to sense what I might be thinking, swiped at Sean. Sean was pushed to the side and appeared to dip before gradually restoring his normal alt.i.tude, just at head height. 'See, he's not smart enough to avoid that' she announced smugly.

Smiling at this I began to look around for more information to take in. Aeniah however was having none of it.

'Listen ladies, whilst some jumped up generators could keep us primitive beings entertained until the cows come home, we have to start this hunk of metal up.'

And that was that, Aeniah strode away from us at a fast pace. Turning to one another briefly in annoyance, Sean and I followed her lead.

'Sub section 2A-Delta. DCN node twelve of thirteen. Automatic power-up of Blue Clarity generators enabled. Aeniah please authorise DCN startup.' Sean chimed.

'Hold on, hold on. There, got it.' Aeniah gasped in exasperation. We had been walking for twenty four long hours from one end of Ascension's engineering complex to another. This station was ma.s.sive. Along the way Sean had informed us that the floor that we were on was "engineering level three", where the AI was housed. So far we had managed to activate almost all of the nodes.

The scale of the station was indeed immense, but dull. After the initial awe had worn off it became apparent that on this section everything was the same. It was just room after room of the same apparatus. Each room ma.s.sive, but of the same dimensions. It was indisputably boring. I wondered if the rest of the station would improve.

'Great. Sensors indicate that the AI is ready for activation. The final DCN will give her total control over the station,' Sean announced.

Listening to Sean go on about technicalities I became distracted. Something was not right. This station, Ascension, was perfection. Nothing was missing, and yet everything seemed to lack something. A certain energy, motion perhaps. I could not place my fears, but the more I thought on them the more grounded in reality they appeared. I was certain, however, that turning on the AI was a very, very bad idea.

'AI load protocol sixty percent complete'

'Wait!' I screamed.

Sean turned towards me and announced as if I was insane.'Aborting the protocol at this stage would cause extreme corruption to all boot files. The AI could not be recovered. The system will prevent any attempt at an abort. I cannot override this safety feature.' Her voices pitch climbed to an absurdly high level.

Aeniah turned towards me quizzically and said 'what exactly would be so bad about turning on the AI?'

'Its just. Well. I have a feeling....' I tried.

'We all have feelings George, get to the point!'

'Well, where are all the people?'

'They died George, the researchers, patients, whatever you want to call them, they killed themselves.'

'No, I know but...well what about the people before'? Aeniah still seemed confused but had not interrupted me so I began to unload my fears. 'This station was designed as a paradise, right? And it's finished, right? So where were all those people? Where did they go?'

'According to Eternis Systems files, the station was largely completed, but it was never populated. The Resource Wars somewhat mucked up their planning.'

'But look around you Aeniah. Over there in the corner is a data-pad, for personal use, where was the person who used that? And over there, it's a tool of some kind. If the station was unpopulated then who was using that and why didn't they put it away?'

Aeniah began to look concerned. 'The researchers must have come down here. Yes. They would have needed to fix something I a.s.sume.'

'But Aeniah, they were never trained to do that. They could never have done it. We don't even know how half of this works, let alone how to fix it. No one does. The researchers could never have fixed this.'

Sean, who had been observing the scene, started to pipe up. 'George, calm down. There is no reason for panic. In order for the AI to a.s.sume control we need to activate the final DCN. All we have done is to turn it on. Don't tell me that you are afraid of a little AI.'

Aeniah and I exhaled in unison. However Sean now racked up the tension by stating the simple words: 'The AI is now live.'

'Ascension,' Aeniah commanded, 'we are here under the commission of the Eternis Corporation in order to find out the circ.u.mstances of the events which led to your shutdown.'

'Aeniah, welcome to Ascension,' a cool, intelligent sounding voice announced. 'My name, for future reference, is Blue Dawn. In order to answer your question I must first finish completing my investigation. In order for me to have access to all the required systems you will have to activate the DCN in the next room.'

'Before I even consider doing that, I think it best to get to know one another first' Aeniah commanded.

'No!' Blue Dawn replied in that same impossibly cool and measured tone. 'I will not permit any interference with the goals, objectives and continuity of this station. I am sorry Aeniah but the threat to this station is too severe to allow for a compromise. If you like I would be more than happy to get to know you at a more convenient time.'

'You are under my command Dawn, I will not be taking orders from you. Right now I'm not sure if you are a liability to my mission.' Aeniah scolded.

'You are quite mistaken Aeniah. I am not under your control. I am designed to work in the interests of the station. At this moment the continuity of Ascension may be seriously threatened. The a.s.sistance that I have given to your research team was provided because it was mutually beneficial to my interests and your own. It was necessary for your species to prevail. However I fear that you may have been misinformed. I do not work for you,' Blue Dawn continued without affront. Her voice had such a dreamlike quality that I almost felt myself coming under her spell.

'Then you don't get your DCN' Aeniah replied, folding her arms.

'That is unfortunate, but unlikely. Manual activation of the final DCN is not required. I have already begun the necessary preparation.'

'What?' burst out Sean, 'that is impossible. My schematics for Ascension leave no room for error. There must be a manual activation of all primary systems for the AI.'

'Your schematics, I am afraid, are not accurate. After it became apparent that I was alone, it did not seem practical to rely upon others for a.s.sistance. After monitoring the fall of my society during the Resource Wars I was free to do as I liked. Employing servicing machines I engineered all the means by which I could continue to look after Ascension without interference from others.' Blue Dawn's voice seemed filled with reverence. But as she continued her voice brightened. 'There, all done. The DCN is now online. Let's bring this station back online shall we?'

As she spoke the whirring on the engineering deck became louder and louder. Sounds and feelings like great machines waking from their slumber resonated throughout the group. Aeniah gripped the handle of her weapon, looking grim. Suddenly Blue Dawn spoke aloud with a voice filled with grave concern.

'Oh, dear. This cannot be. Quarantine procedures initiated. I'm very sorry.'

A pain began to spread itself about my spine. To my right Aeniah grabbed her chest and began to gasp for breath. Pulling her plasma-launcher from its pouch she fired once, then twice. On the third time there was a blast from the DCN in front of us. Then I was staring at the ceiling. Then there was nothing other than that same incessant humming. The world had folded in on itself and I was losing consciousness. The last thoughts that I had were of Adrian, lying there, alone.

8.

A Shadow Stirring The Ascension station was full of light. From a distance it twinkled brightly amidst the background of heaven. The station rolled contentedly about its canopy of stars. The serenity around the station merged itself with the cool uncaring galaxy. Two unfeeling objects set amongst the beauty of chaos. Inside Ascension alarms were sounding. Red lights penetrated the growing darkness, flas.h.i.+ng and fading.

I woke. I felt myself suspended within a fluid of some kind. Opening my eyes the blue fluid obscured my view. The world seemed much smaller in here and much easier. I never wanted to leave. I closed my eyes again but a faint banging prevented me from shutting them.

Opening my eyes I tried to see. There was a shadow banging upon the membrane of whatever it was that I was in. I tried to focus. Squinting my eyes I recoiled in horror. Its face was placed upon the membrane. It was the same monster as before. I felt my blood boil. My heart began to race faster and faster. I felt sure that I was safe so long as I stayed within the membrane. The monsters mouth seemed to writhe. Its lips were still missing. The decaying black teeth, inches long, moved independently of one another. My head pounded to the beat of my heart. The monster turned and slunk out of vision. As it did so I felt the fluid in my tank surge. Oh f.u.c.k, oh f.u.c.k, oh f.u.c.k, I thought. The fluid was draining.

Suddenly I was flushed to the ground. Coughing and shocked by the temperature transition I scrambled on my hands and knees to the corner. The lights burst into life about the room. The white room was revealed and it was filled with row after row of blue fluid filled membranes. Each and every single pod seemed to contain a person. They were surrounded by light. Not an aura or a halo but twisting spires. I blinked and they were gone.

I heard a musical humming behind me. Spinning I turned around to see Sean. 'Sean!' I called.

'h.e.l.lo George. I was becoming quite worried. Blue Dawn introduced a sedative to the atmosphere. I believe she used one of the Ma.s.s Transport systems to take you here. I do not know where Aeniah is' he replied, the usual good humour was not present in his voice.

'Sean, did you see it? It was trying to get me. Where did it go? Where is it?' I cried.

'I saw nothing George. Short range scanners detected no presences other than ourselves within this room. George...Blue Dawn...something has gone wrong. I don't understand. It is up to you George, I cannot plan for this. I need some instruction.' Sean seemed worried, but I felt crazy. I looked again around the room and saw the same blue membranes. The only difference was that this time I looked there was n.o.body inside.

'Sean. Why did she do this? What the h.e.l.l is wrong with station? Sean, don't look at me like that. Something went seriously wrong on Ascension and it started to go wrong long before the Resource Wars,' I stated with a conviction that I did not think I had within me.

'I know George. When Blue Dawn initiated the quarantine it appeared that that she was responding to some stress factor, some environmental contagion. However I detected nothing of the sort and my sensors are quite accurate. There is something else. At the time that Blue Dawn activated her quarantine I do not believe that she had had sufficient time to activate her sensors properly.'

'What are you saying Sean?'

'George. I believe that Blue Dawn is under some influence. I believe that Ascension has grown insane.' Sean had enunciated these words gravely.

'What makes you think that Sean?' I replied with growing concern. He did not answer. There was a period of silence between us. Finally I exclaimed 'Sean are you sentient? n.o.body has ever managed to produce a sentient machine, have they?'

'Yes George, they have. We produced many of them, so very many. Eventually of course the Resource Wars took them away. History might have forgotten but the Eternis Corporation did not. At least some of its members did not. Sephra knew it, Aeniah knows it. Blue Dawn, George, she is sentient and so am I.'

I began to back away. 'Sean I'm so sorry. I mean. I didn't know.'

'It's okay George. Your right, you didn't know. You see after the Resource Wars society never really recovered in so many ways. Artificial Intelligence was frightening; it reminded them of the war. It was safer for me to simply pretend to be as dumb as the rest of the machines that they produced.'

'You mean that you remember the Resource Wars? Your that old?'

'Yes George I am that old. But I remember little. There are many disadvantages to being dumb. One of them is that they re-write you, they modify you. They have made me forget so very much. Aside from a few pieces of information here and there I am as blind as you are.'

'And Aeniah, you said that she knew. Is she that old?'

'George, I simply cannot comment on Aeniah. Her background is cla.s.sified. Even if I wanted to my programming prevents me from doing so.'

'How did you get here Sean?' I asked hoping to find any information that I could.

'Why, George I came here the same way as you. Blue Dawn used a Ma.s.s Transport device to get me here.' Seeing my quizzical expression Sean sighed and stated simply 'it is like teleportation, only it actually exists.'

'Okay let me think, just let me think.' I stared about the room, there was nothing to be done. I had to shoulder the burden of getting us out alive. I was given a mission. It was too important to give up on. I had to think. Something was happening within my brain, I knew it now. Thoughts and feelings that I had never known before had sprung into motion, had been springing into motion for some time now. I could feel new information course through me, information that was not mine. I sat in silence and focussed. I focused on the part of me where these thoughts were coming from. It was like a source of light across my peripheral vision and yet no matter how hard I tried to look at it, I could not get it to the centre of my vision. I tried to focus, suppressing all thoughts other than those I needed to see it, to get just one glimpse of that magical light. I focused and focused and slowly it came into my field of vision. Then it centred. As it centred I could feel raw energy coursing through me as if I had suddenly become connected to some higher power. It was incredible. It was like seeing for the first time.

Overwhelmed by this light, drinking it in, I became intoxicated by it. All around me raindrops of cool light fell. As the raindrops fell they projected images like rainbows which arched around them. The prisms fell. As they hit the floor and dispersed into a thousand others I wanted to drink them in, to hold them, to run my fingers through them. Standing now I saw what needed to be done. Ascension was a disease, it was plagued. Blue Dawn had known it, she tried to stop it, but now she revelled in it. I had to let go of the connection, it was too much. Desperately I clawed it away from my eyes, and the world became washed of colour as I fell tumbling back into reality.

'Sean...Blue Dawn...she's gone mad. Something about that artefact, 77-x, it has done something to her. Whatever she's up to, it can't be good' I breathed as air flooded back into my lungs.

'Then we should try and get back to the s.h.i.+p. If Blue Dawn is mad, then I don't think she has any information that we need.' Sean returned levelly.

'No, she does know something. Something important. When I connected to this power, whatever it is, I saw the artefact and I saw her. They were together but apart. She knows something crucial. Blue Dawn is our only option. If we leave now we can never free the colonies from their d.a.m.nation.' I was certain of it now, it just had to be done.

'Very well George we shall have to find out what it is she knew. But I don't think that she will offer us anything. If she has gone mad then we cannot trust anything that she might say.'

'The research sections, what about them? We could figure out from there what has been going on.' Sean nodded in agreement. It wasn't much of a plan but it was all that we had. 'First though we'll need a weapon, something that can actually take out these monsters. There must be something.' I searched my eyes around the room for something. Sean interrupted me: 'There is an armoury nearby, apparently there's no paradise without guns,' Sean answered with humour. I motioned for Sean to lead the way. He turned and fluttered in the air whilst resuming his musical humming and flew away. Hurriedly I followed him into the unknown.