Living in Syn (20 page)

Before
anything else, Mission accessed the datalink at the station with his com.  He
wanted shift schedules and rosters, he wanted to know all the station entry and
exit points for the crews, he wanted dressing room, equipment room, and staging
room locations.

All this
information was readily available and he downloaded it.  He figured to start by
watching the crews coming in at their end of shift.  He checked for map
coordinates and headed toward the connector between modules A and B.         

Mission
stood there at the junction for a moment, trying to figure out what he had done
wrong.  The only hatchway in the area connected the two modules.  He looked at
the map graphic again and saw his error.  Although he was only a few yards from
the passage to the outside, he would have to retrace his steps far down the
hall to get to the entrance which led through the mining supply rooms and
eventually to the outdoor exit/entrance.

The
crews propped the hatch door open to provide unobstructed access to the mining
rooms.  Mission walked in and looked around.  The place was virtually empty. 
He checked the schedules and found that a crew left for the mines fifteen
minutes ago, and that another crew would return for the day in another fifteen
minutes.  Standard procedure.  You scheduled a thirty minute overlap between
arriving and departing shifts to make sure that the production rhythm kept
moving.

He
wandered into the locker rooms.  Nothing new here.   Hundreds and hundreds of
floor to ceiling lockers with thumbprint locks.  The cold metal benches, the
floor that could serve as an advert for athlete's foot, and the smell of men
who performed tough physical labor all day.  The showers were typical too. 
Half of the shower heads leaked continuously and one out of ten hot or cold
water handles was missing. 

Next he
came to an equipment room.  No matter how sophisticated technology became and
no matter how many twenty ton mining toys showed up, every mining operation
still used picks and shovels.  There were boxes and boxes of heavy duty
insulated work gloves.  There were work boots, some of which went up to the
hips.  He couldn't figure that one out.  An entire shelf held probably twenty
varieties of flashlights.  Handheld small beam, the handhelds comprised mostly
of a huge battery clipped underneath, lanterns, and hard-hat mounted models.

The
adjacent room was locked and the door displayed a
Danger - Explosives
warning.  The next room contained secured drawers filled with radio
transmission explosives detonators.  There was sounding gear to map out the
ores under the ground and portable chemistry field kits to determine the types
of minerals on site.

The
following rooms really functioned as big bays to hold a variety of engines.  He
recognized some as massive water pumps to clear shafts and trenches as they
filled with water.  There were huge pneumatic air hammers and the largest
handheld drills he had ever seen.  He supposed some of the other engines
powered transports, and conveyor belts, and small elevator units.

This
took him to the bay that opened to the outdoors.  It was massive and he
pictured all the entrances to the bay sealing, and then the huge doors swinging
open to accept a shift's worth of miners with their accessories.  Mission
looked around for a place to observe since he couldn't stay in the bay when it
de-pressurized.

There! 
A three foot by two foot observation window in the far corner, the largest he
had seen in any of these airtight facilities.  He checked again against the
floor plan graphic and pinpointed the room and the route he would take to get
there.  This led Mission out of the operations area and into the management and
administration, planning and scheduling realm.  The rooms held compartments
much like the vue phone booths at the airports.  You stood upright with a
desktop at about six inches above waist high and connected your com to the
databay on the side.  These booths held a small locking drawer underneath the
desktop, presumably to hold one's office treasures.  The desktop itself yielded
a small microphone for voice command, and a vue screen hung on the far wall.  A
lonely and battered metal barstool parked underneath for when you tired of
standing.

Mission
shook his head.  Four booths against a ten foot wall.  Four more just like them
on the opposite wall with about three feet between a worker on one side and a
worker on the other side.  He wondered how often people went stir crazy in
these settlements, and started shooting anyone who walked down the hall.

As he
weaved through the passages, he realized he hadn't seen anyone since he stepped
into the mining area.  Odd.  After all, this was the daytime shift.  He thought
that at least the management area would be busy.  He finally came to the room
with the observation glass.  The nameplate on the door read Jesse Bolton. 
Again, no one was there.  Perhaps Bolton was the type of guy who wanted to be
on site most of the time, making sure he got every second of his eight hours
from every worker on the shift.

The
lights in the office barely produced a glow.  Mission dimmed them a little more
to insure that the miners wouldn't see him as they entered the bay.  He
envisioned the scene as the miners returned.  Tired, dirty, and discouraged. 
That's how you have to feel after pushing the envelope all day, trying to make
quota.  Jeff told him once that often crews would turn on a mate that didn't do
his share, and beat hell out of him right there at the mines.  And nothing made
you angrier than working to exhaustion next to a syn that never even strained. 
Quota and bonuses were the only reason any of them were there and the end of
the day meant complete exhaustion.

The
siren almost brought Mission out of his chair.  He failed to anticipate the
docking procedure would have to start before the miners could come back in. 
Great visualization there, Mission.  Everything looked alright, you just failed
to remind yourself that an earsplitting siren would go off the entire time.

Even
from his vantage point, Mission could feel the entire room vibrate as the doors
opened.  When the first break in the seal occurred, the doors groaned under the
pressure to fly open immediately.  He could hear the low, whirling shush as the
atmosphere in the bay rushed out.  A minute later, a final boom echoed through
the area as the doors locked into the open position.

The crew
members moved quickly inside with the smaller pieces of equipment and thirty
seconds later, the siren screamed again as the doors started their slow trek
back to the closed position.  The crews stowed their gear and stood ready for
the bay to re pressurize.  As the doors locked down, Mission felt and heard the
whine of the engines pumping the atmosphere back into the room.

He
watched the miners carefully.  The mix appeared to be half and half.  The syns
didn't wear pressure suits and the humans, of course did.  As the environment
indicators changed from red to green, the humans broke the seals and pulled
their helmets and then their suits off.

This was
completely different than Mission imagined.  These miners acted more like they
just played eighteen holes with four beers along the way.  They looked fresh
and happy and energetic.  In fact, even their clothes and their pressure suits
looked clean.  He never imagined that even the crews about to go out on shift
felt this good.  And something else was wrong.  He couldn't put his finger on
it, but he knew that he had seen something just now that wasn't right.

As the
miners exited the bay, talking and laughing, flirting back and forth, Mission
realized that he should leave, before he got boxed in by the workers coming out
of the showers and hitting the dressing rooms.  He navigated back out of the
mining area and headed for the diagnostics room.  On the way, it occurred to
him that the bay was the first social scene he had witnessed since they entered
the settlement.  Everything else had been a bored worker or two, here and
there.  But those miners looked like people who got together to drink and
listen to music and play cards and ... well, the things you expect people to
do.

Mission
shook his head.  He hoped one of the other three found more than he did.  Otherwise,
the four of them would sit around the table agreeing that something was wrong
without a shred of evidence.

When
Mission reached the diagnostics rooms, two people he presumed to be syns, sat
in chairs waiting.  Mission said hello and moved into the work space.  Susan
sat there alone and she stood and smiled as he came in.  He crowded her into
the corner and kissed her hard.  Reluctantly, they let go of each other and
Susan said,  "Mission, if you don't learn to express what you're feeling,
you're going to have a heart attack someday."

Mission
smiled evilly and said, "You're right, Doctor.  Will you work with me on
it?"

Now
Susan's smile was wicked.  "I think we can come to some arrangement."

Several
possibilities ran through his mind and Susan seemed on a similar wavelength. 
Then Montag and Pierce arrived and it was time to put some effort into the
diagnostics.

The four
of them sat down at one of the tables in the cafeteria.  Carson looked at his
food and said, "Montag, you don't know how lucky you are, not having to
eat."

Montag
stared and then replied, "You don't have to eat."

Everyone
nodded slowly and then there was silence again.

Mission
said, "Okay, why don't we each summarize what we saw, and then we can talk
about plans for this evening?"

When
they finished, Mission said, "So Carson, you saw two people and they were
syns.  Montag you saw none, Susan you saw one, and I saw maybe forty.  But no
one in the entire mining complex before the crews came back.  I don't get it. 
If Susan hadn't told me the population before we came, I'd estimate there are a
hundred people here.  At most, I would say a thousand because of the mining
crew rosters, if we can believe them.  Something’s wrong with this picture. 
Maybe they’re confined to quarters until we leave.  I don't know.”

Carson
nodded. “It’s what we do in the military. If a big wig is visiting, we show ‘em
only the folks we want him to see. Everyone else is given leave or confined to
quarters.”

Now
Susan nodded. “It’s the same everywhere. You don’t want to give auditors and
critics any ammunition. You show them only what they specifically asked to see,
if even that, and then send them home.”

Mission
sighed. “So this doesn’t strike you as suspicious? In fact, you guys are
telling me this is what you expected?”

Carson
and Susan looked at each other and nodded. Finally Mission nodded too and said,
“What should we look at next?"

Carson
said, "I need to go back to Hub D with a pressure suit."

Montag
said, "I still have three locations to explore as possibilities for a
synthetic repair facility."

Mission
nodded.  "And I have to take a look at the refining plant."

He
turned to Susan and said, "I was thinking that you ..."

Montag
interrupted.  "Mr. Mission?  I strongly suggest that we adopt tactics that
employ a higher degree of safety.  Our current method places each of us alone
in a potentially hostile environment.  I believe we should work as a group and
carry armament sufficient to repel a worst case attack."

Pierce
grinned and turned to Mission.  "I like this guy better than most of the
people I know.  He’s right."

Mission
nodded.  "Yeah, he is.  I guess we all would agree that safety is more
important than speed.  In that case, I recommend us working in this order. 
Montag's three locations first, the refinery second, and manufacturing third. 
And I say manufacturing last because borrowing pressure suits, getting them on
and checking out their operation, and then moving about while trying to
maintain a defensive posture will be …difficult.  Are we happy with eating at
six and then doing our sightseeing?"

Everyone
agreed and they returned to the drudgery of the diagnostics.

When
they completed the diagnostics for the day, the group moped back to their
rooms.  Mission walked Susan to her room.  Once she opened the door, she turned
to say good-bye and he swept her up and through the door.  He kicked the door
shut and they crashed into the wall, kissing passionately.  Somehow Susan
managed to wriggle out of the Paradox coveralls she was wearing.  They were so
consumed that only after fifteen minutes did the bed occur to them as a
location.

Afterwards,
they reclined on the bed, both somewhat amazed by the strength of the feelings
that surfaced.  He ran his hand down the side of her face and over her lips.

Susan
sighed and said, "We have to be at dinner in fifteen minutes."

"Then
we have fourteen more minutes in bed."

"Okay."

Susan
propped her head up on by resting her chin on her palm. “So how do you
celebrate holidays?”

He knew
he hadn't heard correctly.  "What?"

"Holidays,
there’s one coming up. I go to visit my family, we have roasted turkey, catch
up with my brother and sister, with my parents, that sort of thing. How will
you celebrate?’

"I
don't really celebrate holidays.  Well, except for Edgar Allen Poe's birthday. 
Holidays are a family thing.  I don't have any family to celebrate with."

"Sure
you do.  You have Troy and Julia."

He shook
his head.  "No.  They're far away and ….we just don’t celebrate together."

"Why?"

"I
... I wasn’t around much.  And when I was, I was probably a little stern.”

Susan
looked at him.  "I bet you were pretty good.  And why do you think anyone
else is any better?  People have to balance work and a relationship with a
spouse and parenting and who knows what ... I think we can work on this
one."

Mission
managed a half smile.  "I like the
we
part.  I can’t believe I’m
saying this, but let's dress and get back out there." 

At the
cafeteria, they talked defensive strategies.  They didn't want to alert anyone
to their intentions, so they would not go fully armed, but they would bring
everything they could carry unobtrusively.

Montag
said, "My primary duty is to protect Dr. St. Jean, since she is not
armed.  As a result, I would propose that she and I stay inside the file while
Major Pierce and Mr. Mission cover the front and rear."

They all
nodded and Carson looked at Mission and said, "Whatcha got under the
trench coat, fella?"

Mission
smiled and said, "It's true.  You really have to let the best straight
lines sail on by without comment.  I have the Glock, my battery pack, an
ultrasound grenade, and three interrupters."

Susan
said, "Well, now that we are all prepared for a quiet, innocent walk,
where are we going?"

The
group put away their trays and as they moved into the hallway, Montag said,
"We must examine a room in the middle of living quarters for the miners. 
A
21 08
is the location."

Again,
as they moved through the settlement, there was almost no sign of activity.  It
started to wear on Mission.  He had seen episodes from the Twilight Zone.  Each
time they explored, the feeling became stronger that something very strange,
akin to a Zone episode, was happening.

He shook
his head and tried to clear his mind.  He remembered that the best way to
dispel all thought is to talk.  "Does anyone know anything about the
quarters here?"

Carson
said, "Yes, I came across the terms of the contracts the miners sign.  The
standard calls for a double room.  You can elect to have a private room about
the same as ours, for $300 less pay per month.  And if you're really looking to
stash some cash, you can live in a barracks and collect an extra $250 a
month."

There is
one private room inside each barracks for a Housing Chief, usually a crew chief
who collects extra for the duty.  I don't know, I guess they keep the guys from
setting each other on fire."

Mission
grinned.  "Nah, nothing like that.  But if someone does set one of the
guys on fire, the Chief makes them put it out and clean up the mess."

Carson
looked back at Mission.  "Something like that.  Anyway, they have
something similar to the Housing Chief on each of the hall segments with the
single and double rooms."

Montag
said, "This hallway section is the first of the living quarters.  We
should reach our location in about five minutes."

Mission
shook his head as they made their way down the hall.  "No obnoxious signs,
no trash in the hall, no nudie pics, no doors open with loud music blaring, not
even the strips of white tape by the doors with the occupant names penned in. 
I see no evidence these quarters are occupied."

They
came to their target room and the closed door stared at them.  Carson started
to pull out his weapon and Mission shook his head no.  Then he pulled his coat
back with his left hand to show that he had his right hand on his Glock.  He
took up a position to the right of the door and motioned Carson to the left. 
Susan hugged the wall behind Mission.  Montag gradually applied force to the
door handle and slowly, and quietly pushed it open.

Mission
swung in quickly to find ... an empty rec room.  A state of the art rec room. 
On one end hung a wall size vue screen with theater type seating for sixteen. 
There were several Virtual Reality setups, and a library of over a hundred
different VR games.  Computer access to video, book, and music libraries.  And
the reason for the huge data channels.  This place picked up a video feed from
Earth with all 800 channels.

Curiouser
and curiouser.  A bunch of young miners with no place to go outside the city,
have an incredible facility for entertainment, and no one is there.

"What's
next Montag?"

"Now
we must travel to the B Hub to a room inside the hub proper."

It
occurred to Mission that this exercise felt very much like the simulated
mountain ranges in the health rooms.  It kept them just busy enough to obscure
the fact that their position hadn't changed in the least.