The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (5 page)

Michael nodded
and pushed the hover trolley out into the corridor. The elevator
door closed behind him. He walked forward into the gloom. Solid
steel apartment doors lined the way. He continued along until he
reached door 331. A small panel on the apartment door read:
Thompson Vega, Robotic and Synthetic Organisms, Construction and
Repair. He looked around for a doorbell or console; there was a
speaker, but there didn’t seem to be a doorbell.

‘
Looks like I’ll have to knock,’ he muttered under his breath
as he reached out. A small hatch opened at the top and a thin
tentacle with a synthetic eye looked down at him. He drew his
plasma pistol and the eye quickly retreated inside and the hatch
closed.

‘…
Does your android need repairs?…’ asked a voice from the
speaker.

‘
Yes,’ answered Michael. ‘What was the eye on the tentacle all
about?’

‘…
Oh, that’s just one of my projects; don’t be concerned. You
can bring your android inside for me to have a closer look…’ said
the voice.

An instant
later the apartment door slid open. Standing directly inside was a
short old man with long white hair and spectacles with crimson
lenses. In one hand he was carrying a metal pot and the tentacle
with the eye was curled up inside. In the other hand he was holding
a screen that was a picture of what the eye was seeing.

‘
My name is Thompson Vega. I specialise in the construction of
synthetic organisms.’

‘
I’m Captain Michael Cornelius of the Out Drifter,’ said
Michael. ‘That’s a scary looking thing you have there.’

‘
This is probably my best invention to date. It’s made using a
programmable silicone base overlying a micro carbon skeleton with a
replicating nano-bot matrix. The nano-bots give this one the
ability to grow and develop.’ Thompson looked down at the synthetic
organism; his eyes were twinkling with pride.

‘
I have no idea what you’re talking about; how can a synthetic
organism grow?’ asked Michael.

‘
The technology is advancing at a rapid rate and entering a new
era of development. Self-replicating synthetic organisms will soon
be the norm. It really is a fascinating time to be working in the
field. Please, follow me.’ Thompson Vega turned around and walked
into the apartment.

Michael
scanned the dark and dingy room. The entire apartment was crawling
with bizarre synthetic creatures and other more conventional
droids. There was a giant robotic ant, which was about a metre in
length. It was walking in circles around the apartment. There were
several massive synthetic spiders on the walls, and a large dog was
sitting in the corner of the room. The dog was staring at him with
glaring, dark eyes. Michael had only seen a few dogs in his life
and this one was by far the largest he had ever seen. It had thick
black fur, ears that pointed sharply upward, and an oversized
jaw.

‘
Is the dog real?’ asked Michael.

‘
No. Dog-Two is an advanced synthetic battle droid. About three
years ago a customer came here and asked me to construct a
synthetic dog that could endure severe battlefield conditions. He
paid up front, but he never returned.’

‘
Why do you call him Dog-Two?’

‘
Dog-One was my first attempt. Unfortunately Dog-One tried to
kill me, so I had to start again from scratch. Thankfully Dog-Two
is more stable than his predecessor. I have programmed him to be as
loyal as he is savage, yet he has been sitting in the same position
for the last twelve months. I think his loyalty programming is
competing with his battlefield programming and creating a state of
perpetual stagnation. He won’t let me near enough to check what the
actual problem is.’

Michael stared
at Dog-Two for a moment. The dog bared its fangs at him and its
nostrils flared.

‘
He likes you,’ said Thompson.

‘
He looks like he wants to eat me,’ said Michael
nervously.

Thompson
laughed, which sounded more like a mad cackle. ‘Don’t be
ridiculous. Synthetic organisms cannot eat.’ He leaned over the
trolley and looked down at Ivan’s body for a few moments. He then
examined him with a handheld scanner.

‘
I can have your android fixed in twenty minutes.’

‘
How much do you charge?’

‘
Nineteen hundred credits for a full restoration.’

Michael
groaned and shook his head. ‘Are you joking?’

Thompson’s
eyes narrowed and he laughed anxiously. ‘Actually, my price is
reasonable.’

‘
I was hoping to pay less than a thousand.’

‘
Hmm, I could do a basic repair for a thousand, but I can’t
give you any guarantees. It would only be a patch job. He
definitely needs a new hydraulic motor; the cheapest one available
is four hundred and ninety nine credits. I will then have to
restore his internal wiring, and I can get away with using inferior
components. His battery terminals are cooked; I can use generic
terminals, but he won’t operate on full power, and he will be
vulnerable in high stress environments. I will also have to rebuild
his synthetic tissue and replace his missing arm; I would have to
use low-grade silicone fibre. He also has some radiation damage to
his inner circuit boards and his processing unit. I don’t have to
replace them, but he just might display some unusual behaviour. The
job can be done on the cheap, but if he starts falling to pieces
then it has nothing to do with me.’

Michael knew
it was probably the best price he would be able to find on the
station. His GCTD account was dwindling down toward nothing, and
the fact that he still had to pay his crew as he had promised was
at the forefront of his mind.

‘
Near enough is good enough,’ he said.

‘
Agreed, please take a seat,’ said Thompson as he drew the
trolley through a door into another room. ‘I will return in twenty
minutes with your repaired android.’

There were two
metal chairs in the centre of the room. He sat down on the one
furthest away from the spiders; he had always been a little afraid
of spiders. Dog-Two was still snarling at him; however, the
synthetic K9 hadn’t made the slightest move from his place in the
corner. Michael was ready to turn his rifle on the android dog if
it attacked. He sat still and waited patiently in the bizarre
apartment for twenty minutes, and the eeriness was more than a
little disconcerting. Thompson returned exactly on time, and Ivan
followed him into the room.

‘
Captain, thank you for paying for my repairs,’ said Ivan in
his monotone voice.

‘
It’s a pleasure, Ivan,’ replied Michael.

‘
For an extra hundred credits I can update his voice program.
You must grow tired of that dull monotone.’

‘
No, I like his voice the way it is. I’ve had to listen to his
voice for nearly three years, and I’m used to it.’

Thompson
nodded as he reached for his GCTD. ‘That will be one thousand
credits.’ Michael lifted his own GCTD and transferred the one
thousand across, which was a wireless transaction between the two
devices.

‘
All right, Ivan, let’s get out of here,’ he said as he turned
for the door. They both walked toward the exit. Dog-Two stood up
and followed them across the room.

Thompson
Vega’s brow deeply furrowed. ‘No, you can’t go with him. He isn’t
the one who ordered you!’

Dog-Two
whipped his head around and bared his large teeth. Thompson took
several steps back as the dog started barking at him. Meanwhile
Michael and Ivan watched on from where they were standing beside
the door.

‘
How dare you bark at me? I made you! You have to do what I
say; it’s in your programming!’ shouted Thompson. Dog-Two snarled.
‘You better return to your corner or I will be forced to remove
your batteries!’

Dog-Two backed
away from Thompson and sat down beside Michael and stopped barking
immediately. Thompson scratched his chin and pondered the
situation. He eventually shrugged his shoulders.

‘
It seems that his loyalty program has started operating.
Unfortunately, for some unknown reason he has made you the prime
focus of the program. I don’t think I’ll be able to deactivate him
without a fight, and even if I could I would have to completely
remove his internal circuits and start again. I simply don’t have
the time for such nonsense. I’m afraid Dog-Two will have to go with
you.’

‘
I can’t afford to buy him,’ said Michael as he glanced down at
the large dog. Dog-Two was looking up at him with glowing eyes, and
his tail was wagging.

‘
Consider him a gift.’

‘
I’ve never owned a dog before,’ said Michael in a low voice,
feeling unsure as to whether he should accept the offer.

‘
He’s technically not a dog. He’s highly capable synthetic
organism; nevertheless, his programming is designed to make him
think and act like a dog.

‘
Well, all right then; I guess I will take him.’

Thompson
nodded. ‘I am sure he will be a valuable asset.’

Michael gave a
curt nod as he walked out of the apartment. Ivan and Dog-Two
followed. They proceeded back toward the elevator door.

He lifted his
wrist-com. ‘Hey crew; Ivan is fixed. I’ll find a place for us to
meet up before we set out.’

‘…
Yo, Cap, I found a bar down on level fourteen…’ said Ajax.
‘…It’s called The Waiting Saloon; just the kind of place we
like…’

‘
Did everyone hear that? Let’s all meet at The Waiting
Saloon.’

CHAPTER
THREE

Ajax lifted a
glass of red glowing liquid to his mouth. The Waiting Saloon was a
dark and rather dank bar that was lit by dull fluorescent light
with a green tinge. The place was a hub for crews and was situated
close to the docking bays. There were about fifteen metal tables
and a central bar where a heavyset barkeeper with a tattooed bald
head was serving drinks. The crew of the Out Drifter were seated
around a table in the corner of the room.

‘
They say Savage Slap will turn your skin red if you drink too
much,’ said Sara to Ajax.

Sara generally
considered drinking an unnecessary distraction, and she frequently
argued that Ajax was being irresponsible, especially if she found
him drinking before a mission. Her strict military background had
kept her from such indulgences, and her home world culture had
generally frowned on the consumption of alcohol.

Ajax gave a
wide grin. ‘I try to balance it out with Purple Incineration. I
have been told that if you drink as much Purple Incineration your
skin doesn’t change colour, and so far I’ve been fine,’ he said as
he checked the back of his hand for any discolouration.

‘
You could always simply stop drinking Savage Slap, or you
could give up drinking altogether,’ she said.

‘
Ha, I don’t think you would like me much if I gave up. I get
stir crazy without a drink,’ he said, grinning.

‘
Do you think you could even make such a choice if you wanted
to?’ she asked.

‘
Sure I could, but why would I bother?’ he answered in a low
voice.

‘
Maybe because you are putting the crew at risk.’

‘
That’s ridiculous!’ he grumbled. ‘What do you think,
Cap?’

Michael sipped
at his synthetic coffee and glanced across the table at Ajax. He
shook his head. ‘I don’t have an opinion.’

‘
You mean that you don’t think there’s a problem?’ asked Ajax.
Michael didn’t answer. ‘I’ll tell you what, Sara, if Cap asks me to
stop drinking I’ll stop drinking.’

In that moment
a young woman approached the table. She looked to be in her early
twenties. She had shoulder length black hair, and her eyes were
large and dark. Her pale skin appeared as if it had never been
exposed to natural light. Pale skin was a common trait of people
who lived for long periods on space stations. She was wearing a
full-length black cloak, and she had an Epherian plasma pistol
latched to her belt.

‘
My name is Cynthia; I want to join your crew,’ she announced
in a confident and commanding voice.

Ajax laughed
as if she had told a joke. ‘We don’t need anyone like you, and
we’re not advertising for any new crew, especially not a station
girl.’

‘
I can match any of you in a fight. Just give me a chance. I’ll
prove myself.’

‘
Forget it, honey,’ said Ajax gruffly.

‘
Don’t call me honey,’ she said coolly, staring down at him
with a stony face and a fierce look in her dark eyes.

‘
Maybe you should call the police,’ replied Ajax,
chuckling.

Cynthia
reached for her pistol. She drew her gun and pointed it directly at
Ajax’s head. His face hardened, and he glared up at her without
moving.

She gave a
victorious grin. ‘You see; you didn’t even have a chance to draw.’
She lifted her chin proudly.

‘
I didn’t bother,’ he said, casually sipping his Savage Slap.
‘You know if you kill me that my crew will finish you off. You
wouldn’t survive a second if you pulled that trigger. I knew that
when I saw you reach for your pistol.’

Dog-Two
snarled up at Cynthia and her hand began trembling.

‘
You better put your gun away,’ said Michael calmly.

Cynthia
returned the pistol to its holster. Her eyes nervously shifted from
left to right; she then turned to leave, hanging her head low as
she walked away.