Galileo (Battle of the Species) (12 page)

“It also works as a camera,” Leo said, as Renn accidentally took a picture of Leo, mid-sentence. The tablet then identified him as a Class A Crystallian, listing Leo’s origins, food habits, and kill zones.

“That’s a little intense,” Renn said, tossing it on his bed. He picked up a long rectangular piece of metal, finding it smooth on both sides. “I can’t even guess. What is this?”

“Oh right on, you can’t live on this ship without one of those,” Dylan said. “It’s your vicom.”

Renn stared at Dylan, blinking.

“Your video communicator?” Dylan said, as if Renn would suddenly recognize the common device. “Seriously, how do you talk to your friends when you’re not in school?”

“I go over to their houses.”

“Like...you physically walk there?” Dylan asked, dumbfounded.

“Well...yeah,” Renn murmured.

Dylan walked over and took the metal rectangle from Renn, wrapping it around Renn’s wrist. Dylan then tapped his own vicom and scrolled through pictures of students. “We’re not allowed to have Federation vicoms, so this will only work on the Galileo. It’s so Ava can regulate them. They’re useless during class, but the moment the bell chimes, you should be able to send and receive messages.”

Renn’s vicom chirped with a picture of Dylan’s face. He tapped on the picture and Dylan’s face animated.

“Hey, man,” Dylan said, creating an echo in the room.

“Classic,” Renn replied. He continued digging through the box, pulling out a pair of black gloves with padding on the knuckles and a clear shiny cloth on the palms. “Okay, what's the point? There's no winter in space.”

“Those aren't to keep your hands warm,” Dylan replied. “They're Mindeerian simulation gloves to go with your battle suit,” Dylan said, pulling out the black suit and holding it up to Renn.

Renn looked at it with a blank expression.

Dylan looked at Leo and mouthed the word, “Wow.”

Leo smiled, lying back on his bed of ice.

Dylan looked at Renn and grinned. “Come on, you’re gonna love this. Bring your gloves.”

Renn followed Dylan down the school corridors and into a white room. He looked around, wide-eyed. There were no walls and no ceiling; it just seemed to go on forever.

Dylan lifted his hands in the air and exclaimed, “This is where all the magic happens. Ava, douse this white boy with water.”

“Producing water,” Ava replied. With that, water seemed to materialize out of thin air, drenching Renn. There was nowhere for him to go. Water poured all over him, until his hair and clothes were soaked through and through.

“What the hell?” Renn asked, wiping his eyes once the water stopped generating.

Dylan laughed. “Ava, clear water simulation.”

The water instantly disappeared.

Renn stood there in shock, running his fingers through his dry hair and scrunching his clothes without finding a drop.

“What was that?” Renn asked. “It felt so real.”

“Well, it wasn't. It works like a hologram,” Dylan explained. “Now, a hologram tricks your eyes into believing what it sees is real, right?”

“Yeah…” Renn replied.

“Well, that’s using only one of your senses. The simulation room tricks all the senses. It uses haptic technology for feel, using energy forces, vibrations, motion and temperature to trick your mind into believing what you feel is real. There’s sound at various levels traveling at different points in the room to create Doppler effects, giving the illusion of distance and location.

“All of the senses can be fooled, but they haven't quite mastered smell or taste yet. Ava does them for battle simulations, but doesn’t always get them right.”

“Amazing,” Renn said.

“Now put your gloves on,” Dylan said, hopping with excitement. “Ava, eliminate pain for the rest of the session.”

“Pain eliminated,” Ava complied.

“And Ava, stop repeating everything I say, just do it,” Dylan said, daring her to repeat the last command. Nothing. Dylan grinned. “All right then,” he said, returning his focus to Renn.

Renn looked around, a little paranoid, while he put the gloves on. He had to admit, it was a bit unnerving knowing he was standing in a room that could create physical pain on command.

“Okay, now zap me,” Dylan said to Renn.

“I’m sorry, what?” Renn asked, hoping he had misheard.

“You know, do that lightning thing,” Dylan said, while thumping his chest. “Right here.”

Renn put his hands up, palms facing Dylan, but couldn't convince himself to release. Electrocuting Eminites and Aranea was one thing, but Dylan seemed like such a nice guy and Renn didn't want to kill someone, especially his first time away from home. “Are you sure about this?” Renn asked.

Dylan flinched the longer he waited, “Come on, just do it.”

Renn fired the lightning, hitting Dylan in the chest.

Dylan screamed in pain as a hole seared through his body.

Renn stopped, screaming along with Dylan. He remembered the Aranea he electrocuted in Searsmont and how it withered and contorted in pain before it died. He thought he was going to be sick, unable to believe he had just done that to a human.

Dylan stopped screaming, replacing it with hysterical laughter. “You should have seen your face!” he said, wiping away the tears from laughing so hard. “I told you it wasn't real!”

Renn took a deep breath, relaxing. “Man,” he said, punching Dylan in the arm.

Dylan stopped laughing, rubbing his arm. “Um, ouch. Now, hitting me with your fist will bruise me, because that's with your body, not a simulation weapon.”

“Oh, sorry!” Renn said.

“Don't worry about it,” Dylan shrugged it off. “Ava, clear wound.” The burn wound disappeared.

“So, this is where students practice fighting?” Renn asked, looking around again into the empty space.

“This is where anything you want to happen, can,” Dylan said. “Ava, give me a pool.”

A large pool instantly appeared in the white floor with crystal clear water, sparkling from an unseen light source. The invitation was too overwhelming. They looked at each other, smiling, and jumped in, clothes and all.

They laughed, splashing around and enjoying the water until a voice called out behind them, “Are you two just about done?”

Renn and Dylan turned around to find a professor standing in the doorway with a group of snickering students behind him.

“We have a class scheduled in here. You two are going to have to schedule a time to swim.”

They got out, dripping wet.

“Ava, clear the simulation,” the professor said.

The simulation vanished and Dylan and Renn were once again dry. They walked out while the professor mumbled something about Ava not repeating his command.

They spent the rest of the day walking around the ship, trying to familiarize themselves with the lay of the land. They found their classrooms, hoping they could find their way back again once classes started, especially in view of the fact that they had gotten lost a few times throughout the day already.

After a few hours, they became so turned around, they finally asked Ava how to get back to their dorm. In response, a blue arrow illuminated on the floor and glided in front of them towards their destination. A few minutes later they got the impression that walking with an arrow was the equivalent to wearing a dunce’s cap at school and they asked Ava to take it away so the Fourth Years would stop laughing at them.

They were almost to the dorms when Renn noticed a group of Second Years running into a room. “What’s in there?” he asked curiously.

“Probably the observation deck. Word has it, we just jumped to the Christmas Tree Galaxy. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing it either,” Dylan said, following the Second Years into a large auditorium.

Students sat on carpeted steps, facing large windows. The Christmas Tree Galaxy shimmered with sparkles of red and green clouds of dust, as planets seemed to stand suspended in space, waiting to continue a colorful dance.

“A couple Third Years said this place is usually empty,” Dylan said. “Like, we're just traveling through the void most of the time, but every once in a while, the ship will pass something really cool and this turns into the hangout.” He leaned into Renn, whispering, “Not a bad place to take a pretty girl on a ship with no privacy, if you know what I'm saying.”

Renn grinned and nodded.

Sleep regulators emitted soft warning beeps throughout the auditorium, prompting half the species in the room to stand up and walk towards the door.

“Come on, we gotta go back to the dorms and get to bed,” Dylan said. “Our sleep regulators will make us fall asleep wherever we are and the last thing you want to do is fall asleep while walking down the hallway and be found snoring on the floor.”

          When they got back to the dorms, Renn found two large boxes sitting next to his bed.

          “They’re from Earth!” Leo exclaimed, wiggling in anticipation.

          Renn opened the first box and found personal items his dad had packed. He smiled, pulling out a few t-shirts from his favorite bands — Orgot’s Destruction, The Pea Coats, and Lithium's Dead. His dad hated those shirts, but knew how much Renn loved them.

He pulled out a small black tablet and tapped on it, scanning through pictures of his friends and his dad; everything Cybernex had missed at the port junction. On the left-hand corner of the screen were three horizontal white bars, blinking. Renn pressed his finger over them, bringing up a video of his father.

Adam forced a smile, unable to hide the worry and upset that drained him.

“Hi, Son,” Adam began. “I’m glad you’re all right and I know you’re in a place where you want to be. I just wish it had been under different circumstances.

“I’m going to have an intergalactic phone installed and will call you soon, but at least your mom’s been in contact and is keeping me more updated on what’s going on. She said she sent you the school supplies, but if you need anything, just get word to me.”

At that moment Max jumped up on Adam and licked his face.

“Max says, ‘Hi’,” Adam continued, “and I sent you something...a little unusual, so the second box is locked,” he said with a wink. “I love you. We’ll talk soon.”  

When the video message ended, Renn set it aside and walked over to the large box.

“Locked? You got a key?” Leo asked, peeking into the first box.

“My dad uses audible keys. It’s probably a riddle,” Renn said, tapping on the box.

A deep male voice resonated.

“Eternity, my loyalty will last

A loving reminder of all things past

By your side, is where I belong

To keep you safe, to keep you strong.”

Renn and Dylan kept going over the words, trying to guess what it could be, while Leo just stared at the box.

“What if you can’t figure it out?” Leo asked.

“Spare key,” Renn replied.

“An audible spare key?” Dylan asked.

“Yeah.”

“What’s that?”

“I give up,” Renn said, prompting the metal door to open.

“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” Leo asked.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Dylan replied.

Renn lifted the box and let out a gasp of excitement. “It’s Max!” he said, looking down at his dog before thinking how that could possibly be. The dog’s animation was, however, disturbingly frozen. “Oh my gawd, please tell me my dog’s not dead.” Renn worried his dad had officially lost his mind.

Dylan leaned over the box, running his fingers through the fur. “Oh cool, it’s a robot!” he said, opening a control panel on the back of the dog’s neck.

“Thank God,” Renn sighed with relief.

“Man, these models are so expensive. Your dad must be rich,” Dylan said jealously.

“Yeeeeah, not so much,” Renn said. “You know how to turn it on?”

“No, but it should be pretty straightforward,” Dylan replied. He pulled out a clear rectangular tablet and tapped on it, scrolling through the instructions. He then reached into the box and fussed with the dog’s controls. “The cool thing about this model is that it should have the same personality characteristics as the dog it was cloned after,” Dylan explained. “It’s the same process they use for humans. They take the body’s memory and brain waves, make a copy, and insert them into the robot. Like, the dog probably won’t even know it’s a machine. It’ll just think it’s your dog. It’ll have the same likes, dislikes, dreams, everything as the one it was modeled after. So don’t yell at it or anything, because you can actually hurt its feelings. It just won’t eat, poop, need to be walked, slobber or shed. Though, it should obey all commands, even if the old dog didn’t.”

“In other words, it’s your dog, but upgraded,” Leo added.

“Cool!” Renn replied, grinning.

Dylan turned the dog on.

Max took one look at Renn and jumped up, licking his cheeks over and over.

“Hey there, upgrade-dog,” Renn said, scratching behind the dog’s ears. “All right, sit,” Renn commanded, and the dog complied, plopping his furry butt on the floor. “Yeah, you’re definitely not Max,” Renn said, laughing.

Their sleep regulators gave two quick warning beeps and two flashes of blue light, which Renn was already becoming accustomed to, and he made his way to his bed.

“What’s it supposed to do at night?” Renn asked, looking at his upgraded pet.

“What did your dog do on Earth?” Dylan asked, climbing into bed.

“He slept next to my legs.”

“Then that’s what it’ll do now,” Dylan said, as if patiently waiting for the Earthling to get the hang of the robot.

Renn climbed into bed and closed his eyes, just to see what the dog would do. The dog jumped up on the bed, resting its chin on Renn’s leg, just like Max did every night when Renn went to sleep. He smiled at the familiar feeling, grateful to his dad for that.
Clever
, he thought, v
ery clever
. His dad figured out a way to send a large part of Renn’s image of home in a large tin box.

CHAPTER 7

Battle of the Species

Renn yawned, waking up to an artificial morning light. He followed suit as his roommates peeled themselves out of their beds and poured themselves into their uniforms.