*Addendum to prior mission report: Apparently, the Maltaran drone venom has the additional side effect of extreme hallucinations, lasting twelve to twenty-four hours; now that I have recovered and upon further review, there were never any pink pterodactyls or unicorn bodybuilders on the Hive World.
I
Gliding silently toward the landing spot indicated on his sensors, Alton marveled at the city below. A floating metropolis the size of a small continent, it was an impossible combination of technology and nature. Everywhere he looked, the planet’s twin suns cast complicated dual shadows across buildings made of smooth woods and stone, melding with bright LED lights and shining metal alloys, all hovering in the clouds over this alien landscape.
The city consisted of numerous separate pods, each miles in diameter, arranged in a rough hub and spoke pattern, with a large central area consisting of greenways, common areas, and water features. Elevated walkways radiated out from the hub, leading to a wide array of structures. The buildings varied widely, from skyscrapers nearest the hubs, made of gleaming metal and glass soaring hundreds of feet from the clouds below, to rows of plain stone one and two story buildings lining the outer rims of each pod. As Alton skimmed by on his way to the landing site, he let out a low whistle. “Is it just me, Nix, or do those buildings look like they grew in place?” The artificial intelligence had become his sounding board during their travels, often providing valuable insight on their missions. He glanced down to a small cluster of brown and black stone buildings that reminded him of a shopping center back home, “I mean, they just look so…organic.”
“You are correct, Commander, in that I cannot detect seams and joints that would be common with most construction methods used on Earth. Also, I am detecting byproducts of photosynthesis, so it would seem that at least parts of the buildings are indeed organic.”
Alton shook his head at the thought of living buildings combined with modern technology, but his thoughts were interrupted as Nix informed him they would be landing in two minutes.
Thrusters hissed quietly as the Voidskipper drifted to a gentle landing on the edge of the central hub of the largest pod. An octagonal stone dome with black ironwood doors a dozen feet high rose in front of him. Even before the ship had fully settled, the quicksilver metal canopy slid back soundlessly, and Alton lifted himself from the pilot pod. Running a hand over his non-reg, salt and pepper stubble, he listened to the click and ping of the cooling Voidskipper shell mixing with a buzzing undertone that he couldn’t immediately identify. Dropping to the ground, he surveyed the platform and the huge dome facing him.
The platform beneath his ship was between the dome and one of the greenways. It appeared to be smooth granite, white with silver streaks throughout, yet somehow…alive. There was a light coating of some type of purple dust on the ground, and his foot sank slightly with each step, cushioning but never leaving an imprint behind.
“Nix, what is the atmospheric makeup again?” Alton murmured, knowing his comm implant would automatically open the channel to his ship AI.
“Oxygen level is dangerous at thirty percent, and nitrogen is twenty-four percent, but your nano-cells have compensated; you may feel slightly unbalanced for a few minutes, but no long term disorientation is expected.” The slightly lilting female voice he preferred for the AI replied with clinical precision. “Atmospheric pressure is below Earth norm, while gravity is slightly higher due to a larger planetary core consisting of an incredibly dense, unknown substance.”
Alton knelt down, running a finger through the light coating of purplish dust as he looked across the platform to the large ebony doors gleaming in the sunlight. Striding toward the doors, the smell of rotten eggs washed over him. “Sulfur, huh? Anything our systems can’t filter out, Nix?”
“No Commander, I am already replenishing my storage tanks.”
“Great. How long before the engines are recharged?” Nothing dangerous had shown itself yet, but Alton wanted to be ready for a quick getaway if needed. This world looked promising; but then again so had the previous planets, initially.
“At the current rate, the Void Engine will be fully charged in eighteen hours. We can jump thirty minutes after that.”
Running a hand along the smooth surface of the door, Alton searched for some type of handle or other method of opening it. “And our passengers are resting comfortably?”
“All twenty cryo-pods are functioning at optimal efficiency, if that is your implied question. All of the colonists are in a state of cryo-sleep hibernation, so they have no awareness as to the comfort of their surroundings.”
Grinning, he pressed a small, swirling, dark brown bump resembling a knot of burl wood, blending into the rest of the black door. It depressed with a quiet click. “Well, I don’t guess I can get into too much trouble in less than a day, right Nix?”
“History prevents me from confirming your assessment, Commander.” The AI sounded smug for a machine.
Alton laughed as the doors parted slightly with a tiny hiss of equalizing air pressure. “Fair enough,” he said as he peered through the gap between doors, “so we check out the area, make sure it’s safe, and then start waking passengers. Sound good?”
“Given that the city appears to be abandoned, yet still functional, a thorough safety scan and analysis will take less than eight hours, not including the time required to investigate unknown factors.”
Shadows and dim lighting obscured the view beyond the doorway as Alton strained to make out details. “Picking up anything here, Nix?” He pulled the closest door open a few more inches.
“I have a fairly complete map of the surrounding buildings in the immediate area, which I am uploading to your cerebral display. My sensors are picking up slight anomalies several blocks away, but I am unable to pinpoint their cause or exact nature.”
Alton peered between the doors, “Well, sounds like something I should take a look at, since I have some time to kill.”
II
The octagonal dome turned out to be a transportation depot with numerous tunnels leading out into the city, and it took him only minutes to find the tunnel leading toward the anomalies. Thirty minutes later, Alton’s legs were burning from exertion. The combination of heavier gravity and the sponge-like flooring seemed to suck his legs deeper with each step. He felt like he was walking through a hollow branch of some giant tree. The tunnel around him was seamless and perfectly round, with clear glass windows set at regular intervals on either side.
Leaning against the tunnel wall, Alton pulled a hydro cell from his pack, taking several deep drinks as he caught his breath.
“Nix, you there?”
“Of course, Commander. Where would I go without you?”
Alton chuckled and shook his head. “You found anything else? Still no bio signs?” Despite scanning for sentient life forms from orbit, local scans were more sensitive.
“Nothing yet, although I am detecting slight energy leakage from the area of the anomaly.”
“Anything I should be worried about?” He already knew the answer; Phoenix would have warned him if she had detected any danger.
“I don’t believe so, but I am continuing to scan and analyze.”
Twenty minutes later, Alton faced an enormous chamber resembling a sunken amphitheater, easily three football fields across and a hundred yards deep. Row upon row of seating circled the huge arena, and the features of the bottom blurred from this distance, even with his enhanced vision. Pulling his scanner from its holster, he tapped the screen for several seconds before sweeping the area.
“Nix, I’m sending you some readings from this amphitheater. The energy spike appears to be coming from a small booth of some sort on the other side, but it doesn’t read as any energy signature I’ve ever seen. It’ll take me a few minutes to check it out. Stay in contact, and let me know if anything new shows up.”
“Of course Commander. I have to tell you that—”
Alton cut her off, “I kno
w, Nix; you don’t recommend I go near the anomaly, it’s too risky, blah, blah, blah. Your concerns are noted and ignored.”
The flat AI voice managed to sound affronted. “Very well Commander. I was only fulfilling my responsibility to ensure your safety.”
Alton re-holstered his scanner and drew his particle blaster before moving behind the top row of seats ringing the huge arena. He made his way along the narrow walkway, constantly glancing down the steep drop to the arena floor. Several minutes later, he pulled himself over the far side railing and stood facing the structure that was radiating the anomalous energy spike.
Resembling a large rounded phone booth in size and shape, the small building had the same hybrid techno/organic feel that the rest of the city had. Torpedo shaped and seamless, it appeared to have grown up from the ground. Alton circled the booth twice, pulling out his scanner on the second pass.
“Nix, the energy is definitely coming from this thing, but from the outside it just looks like a solid piece of stone or wood. I don’t see any kind of controls or input devices. If it does something, I’m missing it.” Holstering the scanner, he raised a hand, “about the only thing I haven’t tried yet is—” his fingers lightly brushed the surface, and a three dimensional menu flared to life as he jumped back, “—touching it.”
Stepping back, Alton watched as the holographic menu expanded to several feet across. The symbols and letters were completely alien, yet hauntingly familiar.
“You getting this, Nix?” he whispered, not wanting to interrupt whatever it was he had triggered. “Any of this hitting in your language databases?”
Several heartbeats passed before the AI responded, “I don’t have any direct matches with known languages; although it appears to have components from almost every language we currently have on file. I should be able to come up with a rough translation codex within a couple of hours, given the complexity and scope visible here.”
Alton gave a small grunt of frustration, “I’m not going to stand around for two hours while you figure out how to say ‘hello’ to the computer here.” Scanning the largest symbols, the familiar feeling washed over him as he focused on an interconnected trio of diamonds with a dozen alien letters below them, “any idea what that one is?”
“Given the limited context and syntax I have to work with, it could be anything from a power switch to a drive-thru order for a donut and latte.”
Alton snorted, “Was that a joke, Nix? AI’s aren’t supposed to be capable of humor, you know.”
“Not at all, Commander. I was simply attempting to convey to you the extreme range of possibilities based on my current understanding of the language, in an attempt to prevent you from pushing the symbol that you clearly intend on pushing.”
Alton smiled at her comment as he reached toward the symbol. “Well, Nix, who am I to argue with an advanced artificial intelligence such as your—”
Without a sound, Alton disappeared.
III
Intense light flared before he could squeeze his eyes shut, sending a stab of pain into his temples. It lasted less than a second before dying, leaving only floating after-images as his eyes struggled to adjust. Alton took several deep breaths as his nano-cells repaired the minor damage to his retinas and activated endorphins to stop his building headache. The pain subsided and he looked around. He was in a completely different location. A large, featureless room smothered him with blank walls.
“What the hell? Did I press the ‘Jail’ button?” he mumbled, hoping he was joking, but dreading the answer, “Nix, what the hell happened? I’m in a box, but I have no idea where I am.”
Silence washed over him. “Nix? Can you read me?” he pulled out his scanner, which appeared to have survived the transition, but several seconds of taps and adjustments yielded little results. “Nix, if you can hear me, my scanner doesn’t appear to be able to read anything in this room. I need an extract as soon as possible.”
Switching off the scanner, he sat with his back against the nearest wall. “Why build a room with nothing in it? Even a jail cell needs a window and a door,” he tapped a finger against the brushed metal floor as he struggled to figure a way out.
“Commander? Can you hear me?” Phoenix asked in his ear.
“What happened to you, Nix? I thought I lost you.”
“Nothing happened to me, Commander. You, however, appear to have been transported instantly to another part of the city. I am approaching your location now.”
Relief flooded through Alton. “Great, can you tell me how to get out of this room?” he asked.
“I am unable to access your visual broadcast for some reason Commander. Can you describe the room?”
Alton chuckled, “Not much to tell, Nix. Four walls, ceiling, and floor. All metal. That’s it.”
The AI didn’t respond for several seconds. “Based on the holographic interface that teleported you, logic would suggest a similar interface would be used in your current location. You simply need to find the correct location for tactile response.”
“You want to put that in English?”
“Start touching things until something happens, Commander.”
Alton walked toward the opposite wall with a hand extended, “Why didn’t you say that in the first place? So I just keep going until I find the right—”
The rest of his thought went unspoken as a holographic pedestal materialized in the center of the room covered in the same alien language as the previous console.
A soft male voice emanated all around him, “What is it you are looking for, human?”
Swallowing his surprise, Alton replied, “For starters, I’d like to know where I am, and how to get out of this room.”
“You are currently in auxiliary control node Omnicon, approximately 250 feet below the surface,” a slight hiss alerted Alton to a panel opening behind him, “and you may exit this room through that doorway. Is there anything else you require?”
Alton couldn’t suppress his growing excitement. This level of technology could not only sustain us, it could take humanity to the next level, he thought. If they can teleport me here, what else can they do? Extend life? Wipeout disease? End war?
“Nix, did you get all that?”
“Yes Commander, but I believe we have a problem.”
That doesn’t sound good, he thought. Voice dropping to a whisper, he asked, “What kind of problem?”
“I am currently directly above your location, but as soon as I landed, some type of interference field appeared, preventing me from sending or receiving anything other than audio between us.”
“So you can’t help me find my way out of here, right?” Running his finger over the pedestal, he called out to the room, “Any chance I could get some help here? You opened the door, care to point the way topside?”
The same male voice surrounded him. “Stand by for security assistance.”
That sounded ominous, but before Alton could respond, the pedestal disappeared without a sound, followed a second later by the open door. He stood in the center of the blank room again, looking around with a gulp.
Seconds later, four columns of light grew around him. Tensing, he turned slowly. Guess this is security. The columns formed into humanoid shapes, three males, and one female. Each was a different color from head to toe; hair, skin, eyes, and clothing were all one specific tone per individual. Overcoming his surprise at seeing intelligent life forms, Alton addressed the closest being. “My name is Commander Alton Ramses, and I—”
The leader flicked a finger at Alton with a sneer. “Do not move, human. You have violated this node’s security, and you will now be judged.”
Invisible bands of power wrapped Alton in an electric embrace that prevented any movement as the four closed in on him.