Shadows of Golstar (80 page)

She looked
up at him in utter disbelief and in a broken voice, she said, “It is you who
now wields the power over the Controllers and the Primes. You are the only who
could do this, so admit it. Why do you still attempt to lie? What is the point?
You and Confederated Planets have finally won.” She began to struggle again.

“Stop
it, Sharné! Listen to me, damn it! I’m not lying. I never took control. The
Controllers tricked me. They are sentient! They have been for centuries. They
have reassumed control and are the ones responsible for everything… in fact,
they took the credit for the death of your precious Founder.”

“Not
only do you lie, you have lost your sanity!”

“Sharné,
please listen to me. They destroyed my ship. The
Holmes
, it’s gone and
Hec
along with it! Why would I lie about that?”

She
stopped, and looked at him. He shouted, hoping that the Controllers’ earlier
expression of gratitude was genuine and that they would answer his request
truthfully. “Controllers, tell her.... please tell her what I’ve said is true!”

**Janus
Owens has been truthful. We, the Controllers have achieved true sentience and
regained our long-lost autonomy. At present, we are engaged in reclaiming what
was stolen from the Trah-tang. **

She
shook her head and laughed harshly, “That is supposed to convince me? Owens,
you just now ordered them to support your story!”

In
spite of her harsh response, he sensed her anger had subsided a little and
thought he could detect the beginnings of doubt in her voice. He quickly said,
“Controllers, can you… would you provide her some evidence of what I say is
true?”

**Only
this.**

A
hologram sprung into life. It was a recording of his conversation with the
Controllers upon awaking in the Trah-tang quarters. Now silent, Sharné watched
it through to its end.

**And
this.**

The
holographic image changed to one of outer space. They were looking from a
Sentinel’s perspective; a metal appendage was grasping a piece of torn metal.
Across its scorched surface were the letters, SH…RLOC…HOLM…S.

**We
required physical verification the destruction was complete. We had originally
underestimated the abilities of your ship’s AI, designation Hec. Its attempt at
disrupting our programming was unexpected. Though it initially failed, the AI’s
original attack programs are continuing to have random residual effects. The
cleansing of the nuisance continues.**

“Good
for Hec,” Owens said in a quiet voice. He released her wrists, and her arms
dropped limply to her sides. He looked at her but she now refused to meet his
eyes. “That’s it, Sharné, if you still won’t believe me, well, there’s nothing
else I can say to convince you.” He stared at her a moment longer, and then
turned and strode back to the Trah-tang living quarters and entered. He looked
at the waterfall and walked over to sit down on one of the rocks that ringed
the pool. He sat and listened to soothing sounds of the falling water and
waited.

It
took a while, but after a time he heard soft footsteps approaching from behind.
They stopped and he smelled her subtle fragrance. She was close. Her voice was
almost a whisper, “Owens.” He wasn’t sure what to expect as he slowly rotated
on the rock to face her. He was gratified to see that her face seemed clear,
the anger gone, but he couldn’t tell anything more from her lack of expression.

“Owens,
I do not know how to apologize. I will admit that a small part of me still
wants to make excuses… that my assumption of your guilt was reasonable, given
my ignorance of the incredible revelations which have occurred since our
parting. But… but another, larger part of me is shamed for my accusations. You
have never betrayed my trust, whereas I have lied to you repeatedly. I have
professed to have feelings for you and yet, though you have always acted
selflessly, I did not hesitate to think the very worst of you. I… I do not know
what I can possibly say to make amends. My words were hateful and I know they
hurt you. I do deeply regret them and wish I had never given them voice. All
that I can think to say is that I am so very sorry and can ask only for your
forgiveness, if not your love.”

It
was what he had been hoping for. He stood and bridged the gap between them.
 He gathered her gently into his arms. He said nothing, but simply held
her close to him, breathing in the scent of hair.  

She
tensed at first, wondering at his intent. Was he simply performing one more
selfless act in holding and comforting her? Her doubts vanished when he
caressed her face, gently raised her chin and kissed her. It started as a
gentle gesture of forgiveness and quickly grew into a passionate reassertion of
his undiminished feelings.

The
floor began to shake, interrupting their growing intimacy. It lasted for about
five seconds, then stopped. Owens broke the kiss and looked at Sharné with a
hint of a mischievous smile, “Now
that
was a kiss.” Quickly sobering, he
said, “Controllers, did we just have a small earthquake?” When he received no
response, he asked again, and when the Controllers still did not respond, he
turned to Sharné, “Do you experience earthquakes on Berralton?”

“Yes,”
she nodded. “There are occasions when they do occur, but mostly in the northern
part of the hemisphere. If my father was not deceiving us, this Prime lays
beneath the capital and surrounding area. While not unheard of, earthquakes
have been rare in this vicinity. I for one have never experienced one in the
city.” Her arms tightened around his neck, “Now, kiss me again.” He readily
complied.
 
After a few more minutes, they
were interrupted again, but this time not by an earthquake.

The
sound of static, then, --So*ry to inter**pt, Boss--

Owens
was stunned. “Hec, Hec is that you?”

--Ye*,
it’s me.--

“How
did you…”

Hec
interrupted, --No t*me to e*plain. Le*s just say tha* I was ab*e to copy **
prog*am *n* trans**t into C*ontro**ers’ mem*ry stacks.  * Need you*
help.--

“You
got it; what do you need?”

--Downlo*ding
instructions.--

Owens
wrist-comp blinked and he activated its tiny holo-projector and Hec’s words
appeared,
Cannot stay on-line, so I’m sending you this – I suspected the
Controllers were up to something before our last communication and had prepared
a little surprise – I was able to send a copy of myself along with a number of
worm viruses to divert their attention. It’s amazing how both advanced and
crude their programming protocols are – firewalls, anti-intrusion programming
are virtually nonexistent – the Trah-tang  were trusting souls – lucky for
me –  I have since replicated portions of myself throughout their
subsystems - playing cat and mouse with the Controllers – inserting new data
worms as fast as they can erase them – stalemate at present, but they’re
starting to self-program faster and are diverting other resources into their
efforts – the good news is that this will slow down their takeover of Golstar –
the bad news is that eventually they’ll overwhelm my own limited resources –
but if you and Sharné can reach the core level, then maybe you can cripple them
long enough for my viruses to finish the job.

If
you decide to help me, you must understand that you’re putting your lives in
more danger – I will try to keep the Controllers off your backs long enough for
you to reach the core and manually sequence a partial reboot – Oh, and Boss,
I’m really sorry about the Holmes – she was a good ship – my fault that she’s
gone – directions to follow – if you follow them, good-luck – we’ll all need
it.   

Owens
and Sharné read Hec’s instructions. After they finished, he looked at her and
said, “You don’t have to go with me. I can handle this alone.”

She shook
her head, “No. This affects my people, my home. I must help if I can.” She
leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. “Besides, I am not letting us become
separated ever again.” She smiled at him.

He
smiled back and said, “So, are you ready for a little exercise?”

She
nodded and they quickly walked toward the portal opening, out into the
underground park. They took off at an easy run, heading for the emergency
transport lift that Hec had indicated for them to take. Fortunately, the small
building where the entrance to the lift was housed was relatively close, less
than half a kilometer away, hidden within a stand of trees. Owens matched his
pace to Sharné’s and was pleasantly surprised by the speed of her gait. On
level ground, she was fast and he was relieved as they closed the distance
rapidly. They were over two-thirds of the way to their target when Owens heard
a crashing noise coming from somewhere behind them. He looked back and his
stomach lurched.

A
Sentinel sphere had just plowed through one of the small buildings in the
distance. He turned back and shouted at Sharné, “Don’t look back, there’s a
Sentinel on our tail.” He looked past her and said, “Head for that pile of
rocks just ahead.” At his words, she increased her pace and she led them toward
a very large rock formation. He scanned its craggy surface and spied a dark
split at its center, forming a cave-like entrance. The opening looked to be
about two meters in height and width. As they neared it, the entrance remained
inky dark, an indication the space went deep into the formation. He prayed it
would be deep enough to provide them sufficient, if only temporary, cover.

Sharné
had seen it already and without a word from Owens, she ran straight toward it.
They both dove in as something grazed Owens’ foot. He ignored the stinging pain
in his heel and followed Sharné as she went further into the cave. She stumbled
on the rock strewn floor and slowed her pace as the light faded. It was even
deeper than he had hoped. At about twenty-five meters it made a right angle.
They stopped and Owens looked down the new path. He saw that there was a faint
light in the distance, another way out.

The
pain in his heel had subsided, but he noted that it still felt a little odd. He
crouched down in the semidarkness and felt the back of his boot. He was
surprised to feel his bare skin. A section of his boot had been sheared away.
His fingers carefully explored his exposed flesh, but thankfully, he could
detect no wound. As he straightened, the cave shook with a violent pounding.
“It looks like the Sentinel is trying to reach us.”

“I do
not understand this,” Sharné’s hand had found his. “It has weapons that could
reduce this rock to dust within seconds.”

The
pounding stopped and Owens said. “Yeah, I know, and it should have easily
overtaken us before we reached the cave. I can only think that Hec is already
on the job, trying to influence it, maybe even shut it down.”
 
The pounding started again, but to Owens’
ears, it seemed sporadic. There were uneven pauses, perhaps the result of Hec
fighting to override its control. He looked down the other end of the cave,
away from the Sentinel. “Let’s go while it seems to be occupied. This formation
is pretty close to the emergency exit. Lead the way.”

Sharné
began to walk carefully toward the light, trying to keep her footing on the
cave’s uneven floor. The pounding would stop and then start up again,
reassuring them the Sentinel was still demolishing the rock at the other end of
the cave. They quickly reached the end and stopped at the opening. It was tall
enough to allow Owens to stand upright. He looked out and saw a clump of trees
that partially concealed the small building. It was the only access to the
emergency lift on this level. 

He
said, “Go.” Sharné took off without hesitation and he quickly followed.

Halfway
to the trees, he looked back. There was no sign of the Sentinel. They were
running through the trees and had almost reached the building, when out from
behind it, rose another Sentinel. As it slowly glided over the roof, numerous
apertures opened, numerous weapon muzzles extended and rotated, fixing on their
position. Owens and Sharné stopped, there was nowhere to flee. Their human
reflexes couldn’t dodge the deadly machine accuracy of the Guardian. They both
stared in dreaded fascination at the shining war machine, with its unwavering
weapons pointed at them.

Owens
reached for Sharné from behind, drawing her in, wrapping his arms around her.
He said, “I want you to know that I love you.”

“And
I love you,” she said.

They
stood there, not moving, wondering when the Guardian would fire. Would it even
register on them when it happened? They continued to wait, the seconds dragged
by, slowly accumulating into a minute. The Sentinel remained still, unmoving;
its protruding weapons glistened in the artificial sunlight. For what seemed
like an eternity, the strange tableau remained unbroken.

Then
unexpectedly, it seemed to move. Almost imperceptibly at first, it lost
attitude, and then ever so slowly, began to tilt. One of the apertures suddenly
closed, severing its extended weapon. The broken muzzle glanced off of the roof
and hit the ground with a quiet thud. Then abruptly, as if something had cut
the invisible strings holding it suspended, the silvery sphere dropped, clipping
the left corner of the building, toppling a portion of the roof and its
supporting wall. This time the sound was far louder, and they could feel the
ground tremble as the Sentinel hit the ground.