Without further ado:
Chapter I
The Custodian entered his sparse
quarters and found something quite unexpected lying on the small table situated
next to his bunk: a book. Setting that unusual fact aside, a small robot sat nearby,
adorned with a few indicator lights that flashed in a slow, methodical
sequence. Ned blinked a couple of times, rubbed his eyes slowly, then opened
them and focused again.
Still there: A brownish colored book
with nine large symbols on its cover, lying on the small table, and a squat,
square metallic box that looked much like a trash receptacle with lights
sitting next to it. Ned could not fathom how these two objects arrived in his
tiny quarters with its simple furnishings. An uncomfortable feeling arose
within Ned as the robot sat still, appearing to study him and seeming to wonder how he would react. He understood- he wondered the same thing as his mind
swirled in a growing maelstrom of confusion.
Ned had never seen a real book
before. Plenty of robots roamed aboard the ship, but no books lying around. He had
seen pictures of books, and flipped through them in the virtual libraries he
had access to, but never had his hands held a real book. Never had his fingers
rubbed the pebbled leather or woven cloth of a hardbound book, nor had those
fingers carefully turn over one page after another. He never owned a book,
including the book on the table in his room. Ned blinked again and sighed,
still unsure of what to do.
Ned had no companions aside from
robots and his virtual friends in the DivSim, and Noah, the computer that
captained, monitored, operated, and maintained the ship. He thought he should
probably tell Noah, though he probably already knew about it. Noah controlled
all the robots, after all, and sensors of every sort filled the ship, even in
Ned’s room. Ned thought that several of the sensors had sensors, too.
His eyes flicked up to look at one
of Noah’s many eyes embedded in the ceilings of the vessel, this one centered
in Ned’s room. He blinked again- the camera’s power indicator no longer glowed
red, as always did. He looked back at the robot, which still had not moved. Ned
took two steps, bringing him to the center of his room, right next to the doorway.
He looked up at the camera again- no light, iris closed.
Ned heard the door slide closed
behind him, and a mechanical sound emitted from the robot. Ned spun and put his
back against his bed. The robot shuddered and a screen on its apparent front
side lit up. A video of a bearded man’s amiable face appeared.
“Greetings and peace be with you,
Custodian!” Ned sat on his bed, staring. He gasped once he realized his
breathing had ceased. He did not recognize the face- it did not belong to anyone
in the stasis chambers.
“My friend Cube, here- the robot
playing this video- will assist me in preparing you for a very important
mission. I realize this is all highly unusual, but I assure you my intentions
are nothing but honorable, and if we succeed, you will be a hero whose like the
world has never seen.”
Ned looked up again at the camera-
still off. The bearded man continued.
“We have little time to get started,
and this may well be the most important part of your journey. While you are
indeed the Custodian of the ARC, that does not mean what you may think. The
stated mission of the ARC has something missing. It is up to you and I to
revise the goals of the mission and see it to fruition.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure this is all
very unsettling and confusing, but Cube can help clarify some things for you in
a hurry. Please, take the vial and drink its contents. I realize it is a lot to
ask, but our collective fate relies on a modicum of old fashioned trust.”
A small door opened above the screen
and an arm with pincers came out clasping a cork-stopped vial. Cube rolled
forward as Ned leaned back, shaking, and eyes tearing up. His eyes kept darting
to the camera in the ceiling.
The robot’s screen flickered and the
video shifted. The bearded man remained there but now a different recording
played.
“Please, Custodian, this vial
contains a special compound that will aid in your comprehension of what I’m
about to explain. We have little time before Noah intervenes, and that would be
problematic in the least.”
Ned shook his head as Cube extended
the vial toward Ned’s chest. He stared at the face in the screen and he noticed
the earnestness and warm compassion exuding from the bearded man’s eyes. He
wanted to trust this man, wanted to embrace the humanity he saw there. Ned
surprised himself when he noticed his own hand reaching for the vial. His other
hand took off the stopper in another stunning development and his eyes widened
in shock, as he tasted the fluid within, a fragrant liquid imbued with a flavor
reminiscent of berries like those grown in the greenhouse.
Cube backed away and the video
shifted to another recording. The bearded man smiled now, nodding, and began to
speak again.
“We have a few moments before our
little elixir takes effect. I’ll take the opportunity to reassure you that this
is a critical time, and this first step will greatly aid our hoped-for success.
“I know you and your predecessors
were all born on the ship and were raised in a very focused manner. You spend
your lives mostly alone, having only the knowledge necessary to perform your
duties. The DivSim keeps you sane and your mind healthy.
“So what I’m asking you to do will
be difficult for you to grasp. But, as I said, it is vitally important that we
succeed.”
Ned began to relax. Memories stirred
in his mind. He closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to roam. Some of what
the bearded man said sounded confusing, incomprehensible even, but he felt if
he mulled it over long enough, it could start to make some sense.
“The elixir is like that you were
given daily as you grew up. It imparts memory, knowledge, and skills. My elixir
will prepare you to expand your role, and give you the tools necessary to do
something you would normally never conceive of.”
Ned opened his eyes and stared at
the screen on Cube’s body. “What do you want me to do?” Ned asked with some apprehension.
The bearded man smiled, and the
video shifted to another recording. The man looked serious now, leaning into
the camera, and he said:
“We
must take control of this ship.”
No comments:
Post a Comment