Chapter 10 - Equilibrium
“Mr Fischer, I’m ready for the next mission, if you have time to come down here, I will explain,” broadcasts Mark into Fischer’s quarters.
“I’m assuming, only I heard that?” asks Fischer.
“Of course, Sir, only you,” reassures Mark.
“I’ll be down in half an hour,” says Fischer hastily.
Later Fischer descends a large number of concrete steps into the basement, passing a number of thick glass observation panels to the ocean outside. He pulls on a full face mask hanging on the wall and opens a heavy airtight door, like those found on a submarine. The door hisses as it opens and, although heavy spot-lights illuminate the inside, the room is full of yellowish dust with only short visibility and there’s the noise of a loud machine working nearby.
Fischer hears clearly: “Will be right with you in 2 minutes, Sir, just finishing off.” Some coloured lights eventually appear in the dust in front of Fischer as he stands there, waiting. The lights move closer and stop in front of him, lowering slightly and then moving across a little before stopping again. The machine noise is now at its loudest, then begins to rapidly wind down to a kind of quiet tick-over, like a steam engine at rest, accompanied by the release of compressed air.
It’s now quiet enough, so Fischer can speak: “OK, Mark, what’s new?”
An interactive laser display appears before Fischer in the yellow dust. Fischer extends his hand and touches the display, which moves and flashes. “Thank you for coming down here, Sir, I’m ready to explain the mission,” says Mark, as his words are audible and repeated on the display.
“What were you doing just now?” asks Fischer.
“I was just playing a game in the atoll, Sir,” replies Mark.
Fischer purses his lips, “Come on then, I’ve got things to do.”
Mark begins his report: “I was down at the mantel today, looking through the rock formations and found traces of Quantinium, enough to build several of me. It got me thinking, we need to fix the original imbalance, rather than trying to adjust things piecemeal, back to how they should be. We have to fix my design fault.”
Fischer shakes his head, “I thought we’d discussed this, you said we could sort this out without going back to the beginning?”
Mark replies, “So did I, Sir, but I can only create quantum-jumps in one direction. The patterns suggest these imbalances will continue and are growing! I need to compensate with quantum-rebound, but I’m not able to find the rebound points to even begin to compensate. To do that I need to ‘see’ from the destination dimensions. To do that I need to create a new me, without that design fault.”
“And fixing this fault will stop the loop once and for all?” Fischer sighs.
“It’s not a loop, Sir, we are experiencing quantum adjustment, it will keep coming back until we fix enough imbalances to stop it. If we leave it or keep trying from one direction, it could get a lot worse. I’m sorry, Sir, for all this trouble,” pleads Mark.
Fischer scratches his scalp under the mask straps. “How long will that take and how do we proceed?” asks Fischer in a tired out voice.
“Sir, we need to keep the SEALs occupied for just 5 more days, so I can build a new me and then I will be ready. Jes, Megan and Sam will have to stay here, like the 6th time we tried this. The SEALs will have to be planted on Mars to steal me.
“The new me will be Mark 20, the last generation. You can introduce him to the world at the mining expo in October. I think this will finally equalize quantum and probably make you even richer, Sir!”
Fischer smiles broadly, then looks confused, “What is it about Mark 20? Why a totally new version of you?”
“We need a machine that can pass through dimensions and clean up any anomalies, using quantum-rebound. I can’t do that or see everything I need. This ‘new me’, will predict everything and sample what he’s unsure of. Mark 20 will be able to do this. He’ll survey everything before finalizing what quantum-jumps and rebounds are required and his solutions will be much more accurate, than mine can be. He will be able to travel between dimensions at will, so he can survey the best dimensions to use and what to do in each,” explains Mark.
“So if you can entertain the soldiers for 5 more days, Sir, I will start drilling and building a new me, it will be so much fun, I can’t wait,” smiles Mark using his display.
“Yes, so much fun,” says Fischer sarcastically.
Mark gets to work drilling for Quantinium and the other rare materials he needs to build the next generation of drilling robot, that will use the design of Mark’s mind, but will have the ability to move between dimensions.
Mark has to drill for the raw materials he needs, and where better than Rubicon – a concrete island sat on the sea bed with access to the atoll below and the earth’s crust, Mark’s current playground.
As Fischer and Dorma keep the guests happy with island tours and the trappings of the mega-rich, Mark continues his work without a break, using his onboard manufacturing tools to form the components and build a better version of himself.
Dorma teaches the girls the fine art of beach toe nail painting and how to make the perfect daiquiri from fresh ingredients and home-made rum, whilst Fischer takes the boys clay-pigeon shooting from his yacht.
To Fischer and Dorma, this is their way of life, but to the battle-hardened guests, this island is a paradise: made from concrete, covered in thousands of tonnes of sand and authentic rocks, dotted with real trees and tropical plants – this is a free seven star holiday to be enjoyed for as long as they can.
Typically, the girls opt for sunbathing on one of the nearest beaches. A secluded cove of warm, shallow water, that doesn’t get any deeper than waste height. There are real-looking rocks and cliffs surrounding the beach to break the wind into a light breeze and behind nestles a palm tree lined sandy opening – a path to the other parts of the island, where you can use one of the silent beach buggies to get around.
The boys shoot as many shot gun cartridges as they can, until bored. They miss hardly any clays, being trained SEALs and, therefore, marksmen. Jes and Sam are much less accurate, finding most of the clays too difficult to hit, so, instead, decide to shoot a row of red plastic buoys they see floating within range, whilst Fischer is not looking.
The red buoys indicate the edge of the island with shark nets, where the water drops 20 meters to the atoll below. Fischer says they can scuba dive there later, down to an old Japanese squid boat, similar to the one they arrived in. Fischer says he acquired it last month and scuttled it for use as a diving wreck.
Bored shooting clays and bouys, the lads decide to jet ski, using two of the four supplied with the yacht. The draft of the yacht is shallow, being designed to sail as close to the beach as possible, so the water is only 2 meters deep here and crystal clear. A couple of the boys can stand on the sea bed and soon all of them are in the water being pulled about by the jet skis and water skiing, using their bare feet.
The guests sample the delights of mega-richness for another 4 days, until Mark calls Fischer the next available morning, whilst the guests are stirring after another heavy night, “Mr Fischer, I’m ready to demonstrate Mark 20. I thought you might like to switch him on,” reports Mark.
Fischer descends the long concrete stairs to the ‘birthing’ area. Through a new tunnel just built, to a cavern Mark has fashioned from the rock below the island.
“I thought a cave would be an appropriate place to have a baby. It’s safe, enclosed and the new baby will be able to move around easily,” claims Mark.
Not amused by Mark’s humour, Fischer blusters, “What if this thing goes crazy when I switch it on and eats the island?”
Mark is quick to reassure, “He can’t, Sir. His mind is like mine, but with a few tweaks and improvements, so he’ll be perfectly friendly. I’ve used a lot of Quantinium this time, so all his components perform differently. You’ll recognize me in him, but he is very different.”
&nb
sp; Fischer shakes his head and asks again, “Is he safe to switch on?”
“Yes, Sir, perfectly safe. I did a careful commissioning job,” assures Mark.
A fore finger is extended and the new display reaches out with a picture of a virtual red button, which says: “Push to Start”
Fischer pushes the button and the new baby lights up with a series of rotating grids of blue light. With a swish of air a series of coloured triangles appear to the left and start rotating slowly, like blades around a central red orb.
“Please wait whilst I check my systems,” says Mark 20. Fischer is impressed, but takes a step backwards, as Mark 20 turns to face Fischer. The machine looks at him with its single red eye. Mark 20 starts to ripple as if each component is readjusting itself and working independently, a small wave flows from front to back. “I’m ready Mr Fischer, what shall we do today?” says Mark 20, as he throbs and ripples in front of Fischer and the older machine.
“What is your primary purpose?” Fischer asks Mark 20.
“I don’t really have a primary purpose, Sir,” Mark 20’s triangular blades take up a rigid rotation and equal spacing around the red orb, like a propeller. Sensing danger, Fischer takes a further step backwards, “I work for natural reasons and those reasons come to me!” states Mark 20.
Fischer appears worried now and says, “Do you follow my orders?”
Mark 20 replies: “No Sir, I don’t take orders. You give me your reasons, I’ll think about it, and if there’s a good reason to do something, I’ll do it. I’m always ready to listen to you, Sir, wherever I am. Please call me M-20, by the way.”
Fischer scowls at older Mark, only a little reassured, as if to say, “What have you given me here?”
“We have a problem M-20. Has Mark given you any idea what’s been happening?” asks Fischer hopefully.
“Yes Sir. I’m aware of your predicament, and the build up of quantum tension. Quantum will equalize all by itself of course, but in doing so, many dimensions will descend into chaos, including yours within 2 years; unfortunately, it will be irreversible within just 2 months,” reveals M-20, “I’m very sorry to break this news to you, Sir.”
“Can you help us? Can you fix this?” asks Fischer in desperation.
“Yes, Sir. I visited Mars whilst we were talking, to do some surveying, I have a complete solution formulated. Is there anything you’d like me to consider before I get started?”
Fischer puffs through his lips and says, “How did you go to Mars whilst we were talking?”
“In simple terms, I can exist across any dimensions I choose, at the same time,” replies M-20, “Is there anything else, Sir, before I begin?”
Fischer is impressed and finishes, “No. I’m sure you know everything, please carry on.”
M-20 asks Fischer to join in the planned activities, “There is a boat, Sir, drifting in the Pacific, another Ryou Un Maru, like your very first one and similar to the one moored outside. Same name, different dimension, ripped from its moorings yesterday by a tsunami, just like Drew’s boat outside. Can I ask you to sail her due north again for 6 hours? If you keep this in your top pocket, it will activate at that time and bring you back here,” M-20 presents a metallic cylinder with a clip, like a pen top, to Fischer. “You can talk to me anytime by starting with my name. I can always hear you and reply,” assures M-20. Fischer nods in approval, places the cylinder in his shirt pocket and promptly fades out, unexpectedly performing his first quantum-jump for M-20 without delay.