The Caverns of Mare Cetus (13 page)

   "Until now," sneered Renata.

   "I also had to get the girls settled down and talking again," said Trent. "I saved you a lot of grief, let me tell you. Here, take these." He handed Hunter some pills and a canteen. "They'll take care of your slight concussion."

   "What concussion?" asked Devon. "I told you he doesn't have one."

   "Why do you think he was unconscious then?" asked Renata, appearing irritated.

   "That was then," said Devon. "This is now."

   "Concussions just don't magically disappear," said Renata. "They're always a reason for concern."

   "Then obviously you don't understand," said Devon. "Didn't you see how I brought him out of it?"

   "What do you mean I don't understand? What I saw, I didn't like."

   "I didn't find fault with what you were doing. Why are you finding fault with me?"

   "What I was doing was helping him. I'm sorry if you think your holistic crap had anything to do with him recovering, but it didn't. You were just getting in the way."

   "I was getting in the way? Why is it you hate IO so much it clouds your vision?"

"Who says I hate IO?"

   "That's pretty obvious to me," said Devon. "And tell me, how were you helping him? How? In what way? I think you know who you were really helping. You."

   Anger came to Renata's face.

   "Ladies," said Trent, raising his voice. "It doesn't matter who helped him more. I can't believe you two are arguing about that. Hunter's going to be fine. Let's get back to the business at hand."

   Hunter was amused. Renata and Devon arguing over how they each brought him back from unconsciousness. What more could any man ask for? He popped the pills in his mouth, took a drink, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Okay, the business at hand, let's hear it."

   "Kalo Two is gone," said Trent, grim apprehension in his voice. "No response. Nothing."

   "But how?" asked Hunter. He began rubbing the back of his head.

   "Don't know," said Trent. "It could have been in an accident."

   "But that's not probable," said Renata. She nudged Trent's arm.

   Hunter squinted inquisitively.

   "Well, I really don't want to believe it," said Trent, "but it's possible the malfunction on Kalo Two has let it become an Independent Rogue."

   "Not just possible," said Renata. "More like—it has. From the data we've analyzed, we believe Kalo Two has turned off its signaling equipment because it's running independently now. It's had a triple FASI."

   Trent sighed, almost as if in disgust.

   "FASI?" asked Hunter.

   "A Failed Synchronous Inhibitor," she said. "Or a fazz." She held up three fingers. "We've confirmed three of the five modules on Kalo Two are no longer under the operation of the asynchronous controllers. Because of that we can't shut it down."

   "Yeah," said Devon, holding up three fingers. "Three out of five modules are crapped up. Because of that we can't shut it down."

   "But I can," said Garrett. He sat down beside them, his eyes sparkling with a determined self-assurance. "When I find it, I'll put the thing's lights out once and for all."

   "If you find it," said Renata.

"Yeah, if you find it," said Devon.

Renata gave Devon a hard stare.

   "But from what I've heard about Kalo malfunctions, it shouldn't be much of a threat, right?" asked Hunter.

   "Maybe, maybe not," said Renata, taking her eyes off Devon. She clasped her hands together on her lap and began bobbing her left leg. "A triple fazz is unprecedented. If it has become an independent entity, as
we
suspect…" Renata's eyes were drawn toward Devon again.

   Devon had her hands clasped on her lap and was bobbing her left leg.

   Renata stopped bobbing her leg—Devon did as well. Renata looked at Hunter. "Uh…theoretically it could alter its own programming."

   "Theoretically," said Devon. "It could do that."

   "What's that mean?" asked Hunter.

   "Remember, besides exploration," said Renata, "one of a Kalo's primary functions is self-preservation. If the programs that support its
diametric
or
intrinsic
functions have gone fazz as well, then we can't know what to expect. Its
geometrics
are highly complex. It does have
physical
laser sampling capabilities—any of those could be turned against us."

   "Yes," said Devon, "any of those could be used against us."

   "But blindly," said Trent. "Remember, we're still talking about a Kalo here. Even with four inhibitor failures, it's not likely it could achieve a sync mode or something even close to sync. The fifth inhibitor, which controls the transform module, would prevent that from happening. That is a failsafe device."

   "When was the last time you heard of a unit that had a triple fazz?" asked Renata. "Or an async device that broke off com? You even said so yourself it seemed pretty strange P, I, and G could have all fazzed within a thirty second time frame, but that's what the data seem to indicate. Hell, for all we know by now, the entire unit could have fazzed."

   "You two don't agree on this?" asked Hunter.

   "I've worked extensively with the Kalo line," said Trent. "With the most recent line of Controller Specific Inhibitors, there is no way the entire unit could have fazzed. That is an impossibility."

Renata let out with a short, loud sigh.

   Devon sighed as well. "You know she's right. It's crapped up. Listen to her."

   Renata glowered at Devon. "Button it, will you? And
crapped up
is hardly the term for it."

   "But still," said Trent, "I'm puzzled the CSIs would have permitted an almost instantaneous triple fazz to occur. Theoretically that could happen if the inhibitor blocks don't respond, but that is under the most unusual of circumstances. Perhaps our data are wrong."

   "Trent," said Renata. "Why are you waffling like this?"

   "We need to follow SP7A guidelines," said Garrett. "If we have a Rogue, then I have to get it. I've signaled for the BAT to zip in more monitoring equipment and some added firepower."

   "And I've programmed the other Kalos to maximize their search efforts for number Two," said Trent. "If they find it, they'll try to immobilize it."

   "If you don't think the Kalo is, uh…crapped up," said Renata, "then why are we wasting the efforts of the other three to search for it?"

   "I didn't say it wasn't crapped up. By the way—nice terminology. I just don't see how that could have happened based on our telemetry data. I mean, there's always the possibility…" Trent seemed suddenly perturbed. "What matters is—you know I'm going to do everything I can to reduce the chance of another Bad Act. Among other things, I've got the other three running full diagnostics every twenty minutes now. Do you have a problem with that methodology?"

   "Look," said Hunter. "When it comes to operations, you three are the most competent. If you feel we should consider a mission abandonment, then tell me now. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of a damned BA."

   "Do it my way," said Garrett, "and no one's going to get bit. I'll play lead and hard press one of the Kalo Signal Monitors I'm having shuttled in. Those beasts use either a Seven- or Nine-dot ultra-radar frequency for maximum scanning. The detection capabilities of the KSMs should peg the Rogue long before it pegs us."

   "With proper coordination we'll be fine," said Trent.

   Renata licked her lips nervously. She looked at Devon—Devon was licking her lips as well. Renata took a loud breath, and Devon did the same. "Snow," said Renata. "Would you quit copying everything I'm doing. You're making me nervous."

   "Copying what? What are you talking about?"

   "Renata," said Trent, raising his voice. "If you're concerned about your mishap in the cave, Garrett and I think we have an answer that fits in with this Bad Act. Unfortunately, it vindicates Ramon. Kalo Two could have been malfunctioning yesterday. It could have swiped your boots."

   Renata shook her head forcefully. "No way. My boots maybe, but not my…" She stopped, her words seeming to have piled up against a wall.

   Trent's eyebrows rose.

   "Ramon took my boots," she continued. "There is no other answer. A Kalo is too noisy to have done it without me hearing it. That whole mess reeks of Ramon's childishness. I can't believe you'd think otherwise."

   "How do you know what I'm thinking?" asked Trent.

   Renata blushed. "You know exactly what happened. How could you even consider letting Ramon off the hook? You know better."

   Trent stared in her eyes. "Just what do I know?"

   "What are you implying?" she asked as she returned his stare.

   Hunter began looking back and forth between their faces, trying to fathom the conversation slipping between their eyes.

   After a moment, Trent spoke. "I'm not implying anything."

   "And I don't lie, either. Good or not." Renata folded her arms in front of her.

   "Of course she doesn't lie," said Devon, folding her arms as well.

   Garrett cleared his throat. "Rene, I'm the last to give Ramon the benefit of the doubt, but with recent advances in Sound Reduction Reprogramming, it's possible K2 could have snuck up on you without you realizing it."

   "Is that true?" asked Devon.

   "Yes," said Trent. "SRR is sound reduction via software. These Kalos are SRR prototypes."

   "Take my word," said Garrett. "I've seen them in action at the Kalo Robotics proving grounds. Some of them can be as quiet as a mouse."

Devon began humming
Three Blind Mice.

"En tierra de ciegos, el tuerto es rey," said Renata.

   "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king?" asked Devon. "Now that's interesting. I've always been told—in the land of the blind, the queen is king."

   Astonishment coming to Renata's face, she turned toward Devon.

   "Rene," said Garrett. "We need your input."

   Renata's eyes were fixed on Devon who had started humming again.

   Garrett cleared his throat. "Rene. Rene…" He waved his hand in front of Renata's face, getting her attention. "We need your decision."

   Renata turned toward Garrett. "Uh, uh…yes. I'm okay with going on…" She pointed at Hunter. "But from now on I expect you to be working with me on everything." She lowered her hand. "I also want you to remember—I am Second in Command down here, and I expect to be treated as such by everyone. Is that clear?"

   "It's clear," said Hunter. "Crystal clear."

Chapter Five

Robotic (
Vimap Entry)

The preferred term for robots after the Earth year 2083. Robotic was
defined in the worldwide Robotic Reform Act (RRA) of 2082 as any robot
designed in non-human form, specifically as dictated by the legislative
and technological guidelines of the RRA. The RRA of 2082 was a result
of the series of devastating robot-assisted wars that occurred on Earth
between 2068 and 2080, which resulted in nearly three hundred million
casualties, the assassination of thousands of world leaders, and the
destruction of 15 percent of the Earth's infrastructure. In 2084, the
development of robots resembling humans was outlawed as specified in
the 2084 Addendums to the RRA of 2082. Outlawed robots included
artificial persons, artificial beings, synthetics, robohumans, and all such
classes of robots meant to mimic humans in physical form. The RRA was
revised in 2093 to expand the ban on such robots to include all places of
human habitation outside of the Earth. The penalty for violation of the
RRA is death. The term robotic is still often used interchangeably with
robot, but the latter is normally considered a generalized and archaic
term.

Kalo Robotics, Inc.
Headquarters, Salania, Prolixus Lacus, Novia Cetus
Company founded by Arthur C. Kalo, 59/(2138)*
First Kalo prototype developed, 73/(2147)
Acquired Donovan Energy, Inc., 79/(2151)
Acquired AI Innovative Systems, 85/(2155)

Bought FDNA Technologies Weapons Division, 90/(2158)

Kalo Series EDV-Seven placed into operation, 98/(2163)

*
59/(2138) = Novian Year/(Earth Year)—(Year 0 Novia = Year 2100
Earth)

   Hunter collected his thoughts and gathered the group around him. As he began to elaborate on the possible severity of their situation, much to Hunter's surprise, Ramon blurted out an apology for his lack of judgement and accusations against Hunter. Hunter nodded, accepting Ramon's apparent sincerity, but eyed him dubiously.

   "Our supplies are here," said Edison, before Hunter could continue.

   Hunter listened to the distinctive, pulsating whine of the approaching BAT and watched its four lights glaring brightly off the cavern walls as it zipped down the passage toward them. Within seconds it was upon them, its speed decreasing dramatically. Once on the ground, its power shut down and a diminishing hum piped through its engines. Garrett pulled open a thin greenish-brown membrane that covered the bat-shaped dark green shuttle, and he and Edison began sorting through the supplies. After a few minutes, Edison gave Hunter one of the light blue Kalo Signal Monitors.

   Hunter switched on the KSM and watched as the device went through its diagnostics, the small oval screen at the top sifting through countless lines of code. After a moment, it displayed a 3D map of the local area on its lower screen. A glowing green message in the upper screen indicated the surrounding area out to two kilometers was clear of both Kalo operating wavelengths Seven-hM and Nine-hM.

   Hunter pressed a small pad at the bottom of the KSM. A largescale virtual image of the 3D map on the KSM's screen instantly surrounded him. This process was called "stepping-in." An invaluable tool on all of their handheld computers, like the Vimap, stepping-in could be used by a viewer or viewers to literally see inside of a map or other graphical display that was called up on the screen. As Hunter looked at the map surrounding him, he began to manipulate it to different viewpoints with just the movement of his hand. He motioned for the map section covering the most distant end of the main passage to move toward him, then examined the profiles of two small side channels leading off to the left, which were about one hundred meters ahead of them in the direction they had been traveling.

   As Hunter stepped out of the image, he noticed Garrett showing a gray and black pistol to Renata, but it didn't have the characteristic shape of an electra. He walked over to her. "What are we looking at?"

   "Insurance," retorted Garrett. "A big fat insurance policy. I called up a Machine Cutter and two Iravano pistols in the shuttle. The Iravanos are for you and Rene. Each clip holds fifteen nine-millimeter rounds. There are two spare clips for each. Even against armor plating, these babies can still cause some serious damage. The rounds are supercharged and high-impact, effective velocity of over eight hundred meters per second. The muzzle flash has been suppressed for night fighting, but they have one hell of a kick. Watch out for it."

   Garrett rambled on for several minutes more about the technical modifications and kill-power of the Iravanos, then held up the Machine Cutter, a thin, sleek, telescoping-barreled rifle that was capped with what looked like a long, thin silencer, called an ElectroMagnetic Concentrator or EMC. There were ten cylindrical, bent metallic prongs projecting from the gun barrel, near the base of the EMC. The prongs were equidistantly spaced around the barrel and projected out at about a twenty-degree angle from the barrel. The bend in the prongs occurred at about a third of their length from where they projected out from the barrel, the longer portion of the prongs paralleling the EMC and terminating just slightly in front of the end of the EMC. In the closest analogy Hunter could think of, the EMC-prong assembly resembled slim, bent petals encasing a thin cylinder. As strange as the Machine Cutter looked, Hunter knew it was lethal to machines.

   "This is the MC-771," said Garrett. "Also called a Machine Killer". Hunter listened closely as Garrett went over the operation of the weapon. Then Garrett broke it down to its storable size, which was slightly smaller than a human forearm. Garrett then placed it in Renata's pack. "Remember, the MC is totally harmless to us unless we're in contact with or too close to the machine we're trying to fry. Then it's almost always lethal."

   "Hey, Hunter," said Ramon—Arielle and Edison by his side. "What do you say we call it a day? We're almost to that rough section."

   Hunter agreed. "We'll camp here. I've been looking forward to your gourmet meal."

   "I'm really sorry, señor," said Ramon. I've been acting kind of brainless lately." He put his hand out. "We're still amigos, right?"

   Hunter shook Ramon's hand firmly. "No more crap, okay?"

   "You people get the camp ready," ordered Garrett as he examined the other KSM that had been shuttled up. "I've just picked up Two's signal. I've got to go out on S and D. I'll need someone to go with me."

   "Search and destroy?" asked Ramon. His expression looked uncomfortable. "Who'd be stupid enough to volunteer?"

   "A stupid volunteer, of course, señor." Garrett began passing his G40 rifle back and forth between his hands. "You want to be it?"

   "Why do we have to do this at all?" asked Ramon. "Let the caves keep it. It isn't likely to bother us."

   "STEPS Section 44," said Garrett. "We, that is Explora, are responsible for our monster. No uncontrolled robotics shall be left in the caves if at all possible. Shall I go on?"

   "Well, Section 44 is ignorant," said Ramon.

   Hunter observed the upper screen on his KSM. The green message had turned red and now flashed in a steady rhythm:
Robotic
Wavelength Seven-hM Detected
. Statistics concerning the identification of the unit's processor and the magnitude and range of the signal were updating continuously across the bottom of the screen. He looked up. "Volunteers?"

   "I'll go with you," blurted out Isis. "I'm not afraid of some stupid piece of hardware roaming the caves."

   Renata frowned. "It's not a stupid piece of hardware. It's a highly sophisticated DENAR."

   "Not with me hunting it, Rene," said Garrett. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

   "But STEPS call for three to a party," said Arielle as she nervously twisted strands of her hair around her fingers. "Especially in a situation like this. What about it, Hunter?"

   "She's right. In a situation of robotic malfunction, STEPS state we must keep at least three to a group. We're directed to use amplified D-range frequency communications—wait. On second thought. This might not be such a good idea. What about the com and HID problems we've been having?"

   "I'll go," said Trent, stepping forward and surprising everyone, especially Hunter. "I spent six months at Kalo Robotics. I probably know more about what makes them tick than anyone else here. That makes me the logical choice."

   "And we'll need a monitor," added Garrett.

   "That's me," said Renata. "But what about these problems I haven't been told about?"

   "Oh, yeah," said Hunter, then he quickly filled her in.

   "I think I've solved that problem," said Trent. "I've been meaning to show you the results of my com tests. I've already tweaked our HIDs for high-range signals. If we push the frequency of our coms to F-range, we should be okay with them as well. Apparently there could be a rare disseminated mineral in certain layers of the rocks that can dampen our low range communications and HID signals under certain conditions. The strength of the dampening effect could be constrained by the angular repose of the bedding."

   Hunter's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure about that?"

   "Absolutely positive," said Trent. "At F-range we will not have a problem."

   Renata folded her arms in front of her. "Sounds like there's too many '
c'
words in your analysis to support that statement, don't you think?"

   "Belay your fears," said Trent. "I ran some thorough tests and analyses. Check them out. The results are in file TL-77C."

   "Well, let's just tie me up and hang me," said Renata sarcastically. "Tell me, what mineral is it?"

   "Lotonite," said Trent. "It's been found in four caverns to date. Some of the teams exploring those caverns reported sporadic com problems. If it will ease your fears any, I'll run a continuous lotonite scan."

   "It's not my fears that need
allaying
," said Renata. "Arielle, you're the geologist. What about lotonite?"

   "Um, I'm aware certain minerals can cause com dampening," she answered. "Mainly because of the metals involved and their unusual molecular bonds. I'm not sure if lotonite is one of them. I have been running my standard mineralogical analysis routines, and though the system seems to be popping up with a few more quirks than normal, so far lotonite hasn't shown up in any of the runs. Still, those routines aren't going to catch everything. I don't have any reason to counter Trent's analysis. I mean, he's done his research I'm sure."

   "So, have you found any lotonite?" asked Renata, turning toward Trent.

   "No," said Trent. "None to date. But the projected curves of com dampening and the occurrence of lotonite in other caves, as well as other data you'll find in 77C, is evidence enough for me. If you need time to…"

   "Come on," interrupted Garrett. "Time is what we don't have. If that beast turns and runs, we may never catch it. What about it, Rene?"

   "Let these folks go already," added Edison.

   Renata looked at Hunter for a long, anxious moment, as if waiting for him to tell them to stay put for a while.

   "Okay," said Hunter. "Go. "F-range. With fifteen-minute status updates. I trust you can abide by that."

   "Trust isn't an issue," said Garrett.

   "I think you should have this though." Hunter handed his Iravano to Trent. "Renata, why don't you give the other pistol to Isis."

   Renata seemed to hesitate, but then gave her the pistol.

   "What about the Machine Cutter?" asked Hunter. "Won't you need it?"

   Garrett waved him off. "No. Keep it. My darling has never failed me before. Besides, we'd have all the firepower with us." He put a finger to his temple. "Not a smart move, right?"

   Hunter nodded. "About how long do you think this will take?"

   "No more than a couple of hours," answered Garrett. "The signal's getting stronger. It's coming this way."

   Hunter began nervously cracking his knuckles. "The sooner this is over with the better off we'll all feel."

   "And don't worry. We will save some dinner for you," said Ramon, chuckling and crossing his fingers. "Yo prometo."

   Garrett's rifle clutched in his right hand, he slung his pack on his back and looked at Trent and Isis. "You two ready?"

   Trent raised his head, appearing to be woken out of deep thought. "I—I just need to make sure I have my Kalo Systems Diagnostic Monitor." He went for his pack, which was over by Devon.

   "I'm ready when you are," said Isis, aiming her pistol and giving Garrett a sinister grin. "I want to see Kalo entrails covering the walls."

   "Isis," said Richelle. "You know I d-d-don't like it when you d-ddo this kind of stuff. You t-t-told me you'd stop. You promised me…"

   "I know I did, buddy, but…" Isis slipped her left arm around Garrett's waist. "My man here. He'll protect us. Won't you, guy?"

   "Of course I will," said Garrett. "That's my job."

   "B-b-but you p-p-p-promised…" stammered Richelle.

   "Ritchie, I don't need this now," said Isis, her gaze cast downward. She glanced up at Garrett. "Come on, Garrett, let's go."

   "Richelle," he said. "I'll take good care of your buddy. Count on it."

   As Richelle folded her arms in front of her, Isis abruptly turned and started down the passage, Garrett following.

   "I'm ready," said Trent as he came up to Hunter, his pack on his back; Devon was beside him, holding onto his forearm. He whispered something to Devon, gave Hunter a thumbs-up sign, then turned to follow Isis and Garrett.

   Hunter turned around. "Renata."

   "Already on it," she answered. "Got them covered." A Vimap in her hand, her knees pulled toward her, she was sitting beside a number of gray blocks that looked as if they had been piled "by someone" into the shape of a crude one-meter high "step pyramid," but Hunter knew any resemblance of the rock pile to a pyramid was nothing more than the fortuitous result of the actions of powerful water currents that once flowed through the passage. "Hey, Garrett," she said into her com, "coms to F-range. Okay?"