The Belt - Complete Series, page 67
Datagrams flicked across the screen as the avatron searched the New World One data-stack. After a few seconds, it found what it was looking for: the location of Luca Lee-McNabb, the much sought-after granddaughter of Fredrick VanHeilding.
2
DARKNESS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN
It was late, and Miranda was feeling drained—more so than usual. Yet it was not so much a physical tiredness that affected her; this was a deeper malaise. A fatigue that had taken root in her very being, one wrought by a lifetime of fighting with a family that seemed hellbent on her demise and of those whom she loved.
Luca had still not regained consciousness since her confrontation with the node-runners during the battle for New World One—that was over seven months ago. Now she lay in a hospital bed in intensive care, wired up to a collection of monitors and feeding tubes.
On the upside, she was not brain dead, and according to Dr. Rayman, she was not critical nor in any immediate danger. In reality, she seemed physically fine. Yet that situation would deteriorate over time. The longer she remained catatonic, the more the physical inactivity and the intravenous feeding regime would gnaw away at her physical well-being.
Miranda had been by her side for the last few hours; it was something she did most days. And each time, she would hope that maybe today would be the day that Luca would show some sign of activity, some flicker of an eyelid or twitch of a finger—anything that would indicate a path back to consciousness.
In the beginning, she was so consumed by Luca’s welfare that she had taken to sleeping in the hospital. But as time passed and no change seemed imminent, she took up residence elsewhere, and her visits became shorter—once or twice she would even skip a day. Yet this ritual still took up most of her time—what else did she have to do?
Scott would also visit nearly every day, and with no response from Luca, the only thing left for them to do was to talk. This was just small talk at first, but soon they would plumb the depths of their mutual past, both trying to understand what had happened to them, and how it had come to this.
Finished with her visit for today, Miranda walked along the wide corridor to the entrance lobby of the hospital and spied Dr. Stephanie Rayman, who had recently started working here.
The doctor acknowledged her with a wave. “You heading off now?” said Steph, coming over.
“Not quite. I was thinking of heading up to the roof terrace, just to gaze at the night for a while.” She gestured upward with a pointed finger.
Steph glanced at her slate. “I’ll be finished soon. I could follow you up…if that’s okay?”
“Of course, always glad of the company.”
Steph nodded in reply, and Miranda continued her journey across the lobby to a stairway that led all the way up to the flat roof of the two-story hospital building.
It was a quiet place, usually devoid of people. A place where Miranda liked to go to clear her head. She walked across the open expanse of the roof to a clutch of recliners that someone had the good sense to drag up here. She sat down with a sigh and gazed out across the vast, nighttime vista of the New World One habitat.
Overhead, the sky was ablaze with what looked like a thousand twinkling stars, but these were just the lights from the far side of the giant cylinder—eight kilometers away. Yet in the darkness, it seemed as if the entire habitat was open to the heavens.
Ahead of her, Miranda could see the long lines of the agricultural facilities stretching out along the interior rim. The headlights from the various carts and industrial robots threaded their way along fixed transport routes, like rows of illuminated ants.
To her left, the lights from population clusters increased the closer they got to the end cap, this being the most built-up sector of the habitat. To her right, the scattering of lights began to lessen as the population density thinned out. Farther along, the lights disappeared almost completely into absolute darkness, leaving just a vague impression of the far-off end cap—ten kilometers distant.
“Hey, got something for us.”
Miranda glanced around to see Steph standing beside her holding two mugs and what looked like an actual bottle of wine.
“Is that…” She leaned in closer, trying to read the label in the dim light.
Steph handed it to her. “It’s supposed to be a genuine bottle of Spanish Rioja…all the way from Earth.”
Miranda examined it with a fascinated awe. “Where did you get this? It must be worth a fortune.”
“A patient gave it to me. He’s one of the Cerellians. You know, the wealthy shipbuilding family. Anyway, he says it’s real. Fancy a…mug?” Steph held up one of the utilitarian mycelium mugs that she had brought with her. “These will have to do. I couldn’t find anything better in the hospital canteen.”
“Are you sure? Don’t you want to keep it for a special occasion or something, considering what this must be worth?”
Steph took the bottle from Miranda and proceeded to open it. “It’s just a bottle of wine, and besides…”—she gestured at the sprawling nighttime vista—“this is as good a time and place as any.”
Miranda took one of the mugs and held it out. “Well then, don’t let me stop you—hit me.”
Steph filled both mugs, handed one to Miranda, and settled herself down onto a recliner. She raised her mug to Miranda, who reciprocated. “Cheers.”
Miranda took a sip. “Oh-my-god. That’s amazing.”
Steph let out a long, satisfied sigh and gazed out across the habitat landscape. “You know, if it didn’t know better, I could be convinced I was back on Earth, sitting out on a warm summer’s evening.”
Miranda rested her head back on the recliner, a light wind feathering her cheek. “Yeah, I think it’s the way the air moves inside the habitat that adds to the illusion.” She took another sip of her wine. “How do they do that? Get the air to move like it’s a gentle breeze.”
“I don’t know. I presume they need to keep it circulating… Big fans, I suppose. Feels nice, though. Almost real.”
They sat for a while, just soaking up the vista and decompressing from the trials of the day.
Miranda finally broke the silence. “It’s staggering to think that humanity can build such a place.”
“Yes, it’s amazing what we can do when we’re not trying to tear ourselves apart.” Steph gestured toward the end cap hidden beyond the distant darkness. “Cyrus says that the next five kilometers are almost completed, and they’ll be removing the end cap in the next few weeks.” She glanced back at Miranda. “This place is going to get a whole lot bigger.”
“We’re probably going to need it, with the thousands of new people that keep arriving from Ceres.”
“It’s not just Ceres,” said Steph. “I’m seeing a big influx of refugees coming in from the mining regions, out past Vesta. It seems that a small war has broken out now that the QI on Ceres has been destroyed.”
Miranda sat up a little and looked over at Steph. “What have you been hearing? How bad is it?”
She took a drink from her mug. “I only know what I’ve overheard from some people coming through the hospital, but it’s bad. Several of the mining corporations see the loss of the QI on Ceres as an opportunity for a land grab. Mainly Xiang Zu Corporation, as far as I can tell.”
Miranda sighed. “What the hell is wrong with these people?”
“Human nature, Miranda. Enough is never going to satisfy them. They always want more.”
“Yeah, human nature.” Miranda gave a shrug and sat back again. “I suppose that’s why we need a quantum intelligence network to keep us all in check.”
Again, they were silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, taking in the dance of the nighttime lights.
“I’ve decided that it’s time for me to leave, head back home to Earth.” Steph kept her gaze straight ahead while she dropped this on Miranda.
“Leave?” Miranda sat up again with a jerk, almost spilling her drink.
Steph turned to her with a resigned expression. “Things are getting more unstable here. The violent flare-ups out in the asteroid belt are becoming more frequent. I get the feeling that something big is brewing.” She sat up and gave Miranda a hard look. “You need to get out too, as soon as possible, before it all blows up.”
Miranda remained quiet for a moment, before raising her mug to Steph. “So this is a kind of going-away party?”
She nodded. “Kind of.”
“When are you thinking of departing?”
“In a week or so, as soon as I can organize a flight to Mars, then on to Earth.”
“Gonna miss you, Steph. It was great having you around again. I really don’t know what we would have done without you.”
Steph nodded and raised her mug. “Gonna miss you, too.”
They banged their mugs together and took a drink.
“You think Luca will ever come around?” said Miranda after a while.
“I honestly don’t know. She’s physically fine, normal brain activity, she just…doesn’t want to wake up.” Steph seemed a little frustrated and started rolling the mug between her hands. “You shouldn’t wait, though. You have a ship. Go now, get to Mars where it will be safer. God knows what’s going to happen here.”
“I know, but I just don’t want to risk space travel, all that heavy acceleration. I can’t imagine it would be good for Luca. Scott also thinks it would be too risky.”
They went quiet again. Some activity had kicked off down at one of the agricultural facilities. Several ground transports had pulled up, ready to load up goods. New people appeared and began milling around, waiting to start the loading.
“How’s that going, you and Scott? If you don’t mind me asking.” Steph said this as she refilled their mugs.
Miranda screwed her mouth up. “Difficult.”
“I imagine it can’t be easy.”
“It isn’t, not when my family is trying to kill us all.” She looked over at Steph with a smile. “That tends to get a little problematic for a relationship.”
“True.”
“And it’s hard to know what’s what after all that’s happened these last two decades.”
Steph gave her a sympathetic nod.
“Sometimes I get flashes of the old Scott…but mostly I just see the new one.” Miranda shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Maybe the wine’s gone to my head.”
“The new one?”
“Distant, more cynical, more world-weary, I suppose.”
“I think we’re all suffering from a little of that.”
“Sure, but it’s more than that. I think the age thing gets to him.”
“You’re both the same age, more or less.”
“Steph, look at me. If you didn’t know me, what age would you peg me at?”
“Yeah, I get it. You don’t age like the rest of us.”
“No, I don’t. I look like I’m in my late twenties—a legacy of my family’s meddling in genetics.”
“And I’m supposed to feel sorry for you somehow?”
Miranda gave a long, slow sigh. “I know, why should anyone feel sorry for me? But you need to put yourself in my shoes. I watch on while all those I love grow old around me, and then I’m pushed away as some sort of freak because my presence reminds people of what they’ve lost. And it’s the same fate that awaits Luca—if she ever wakes up.”
Steph raised her eyebrows and looked over at her friend. “You shouldn’t think that way…because it’s simply not true. Yes, I admit I’m a bit envious of your genetics, but you’re still Miranda. That hasn’t changed. And longevity is not exclusive to you—it’s available to anyone…with a few billion in spare cash.”
Miranda sighed again. “I suppose you’re right. I don’t want to sound like a princess, you know… ‘Poor me, my arms are so tired from carrying around all this gold.’ So don’t mind me, I’m just feeling sorry for myself. A lot of stress and uncertainty at the moment.”
“That’s why you need to get out of here. Go to Mars, where it’s safe.” Steph poured out the last of the wine. “And don’t push Scott away. You’re going to need him…in more ways than you think.”
Miranda raised her mug. “Thanks Steph, for everything…and especially the wine. I’m going to miss you… Miss your straight-talking.”
“Cheers to straight-talking, then.” They banged their mugs together.
While Miranda savored her drink—it would be a long time before she tasted anything this fine again—her comms unit pinged a message alert. She tapped the side of her temple to bring it up on her ocular implant. “Speak of the devil. It’s Scott.” She glanced over at Steph.
“At this hour?” Her words were followed by an alert from her own comms unit. Being old school, she didn’t go in for implants, so fished a unit out from a side pocket.
“Crap.” Miranda sat bolt upright in the recliner. “He wants to meet right now, says it’s urgent.”
Steph leaned over and showed Miranda the message on her comms screen.
Miranda glanced at it, then back to Steph. “It’s the same message…exactly the same.”
“Something’s up. We better go.”
Miranda stood up, downed her mug, and took a last look at the nighttime landscape. “I hope he’s okay.”
“Never a dull moment, eh?” Steph gave a wry smile.
3
JUST ANOTHER ROBOT
Having located its target, the avatron disconnected from the access terminal and moved over to the rear wall of the room where a service hatch was located. It placed a hand over the control panel and the hatch swung open to reveal a short metal ladder descending into the service tunnels. These existed between the outer hull of the giant cylinder and the inner floor of the habitat. They spidered their way throughout the entire structure, bringing power and services to all sectors. The avatron stepped in through the open hatch and began climbing down. From here it could get all the way to the hospital complex without fear of detection.
The passageway was low, narrow, and pitch black save for the pinpricks of illumination emanating from the indicator lights of various systems dotted along the side walls. But this offered no difficulty for the avatron since it moved by utilizing its ultrasonic proximity sensors. It had also downloaded a complete schematic of the service tunnels and knew exactly where it was going and how to get there.
But its progress was slow, and it would need to hurry—it didn’t have much time. The low, narrow passage hampered its ability to move at speed, so it was almost an hour later when it finally came to another metal ladder leading up to what should be an exit hatch in the power room of the hospital complex.
It started up the ladder and found the hatch slightly open. Someone may have been using it; the avatron needed to be careful. It raised its head slowly above the lower rim of the hatch, placed a hand on the door, and slowly pushed it open—just enough so that it could scan the power room’s interior.
Two technicians were moving about, both over to its left, approximately fifteen meters away. Fortunately, their line of sight was mostly obscured by large vertical ducts, so they did not see the avatron as it stepped out of the service hatch. It moved quietly across the power room and over to a remote-access terminal that was hidden from view. It jacked-in and went hunting.
Datagrams and schematics flashed across the terminal screen as the avatron went searching for its target. Luca was here somewhere, that much it knew, but now it needed to know her exact location. It hacked into the primary database and found her room—a long-term, ICU. It accessed the camera feed.
A single bed occupied the room, supporting a frail figure covered with a thin sheet. It was Luca Lee-McNabb. The avatron had finally found her. Now it just needed to get to her without being spotted.
It disengaged from the camera in Luca’s room and began scanning through other ICU feeds to ascertain what staff were monitoring the patients in the ICU at this time of night.
There was just one: a lone technician sitting in the anti-room of the ICU, monitoring Luca and a number of other patients. But it was already very late and the technician had slumped over the desk, head resting in folded arms, grabbing a quick nap. This was fortuitous, and the avatron wasted no time in hijacking the camera feed for Luca’s room and freezing it. The monitor in the observation room went dark for a nanosecond as the live feed was swapped out for a static image.
But before it could continue on its mission, it had one more task to perform. It connected to the New World One comms network and sent three identical messages to three separate recipients. It jacked-out of the terminal and began to seek out a path toward the ICU ward.
Like all hospitals everywhere, the nighttime was the quiet time. Even so, a reasonable number of people still worked the nightshift: doctors, nurses, clinicians, porters, technicians, maintenance crews, cleaners, droids, and a host of others whose labors kept the facility running smoothly. And although the avatron had charted a course that avoided the more populated thoroughfares and security cameras, it still needed to be careful not to be spotted at this critical point in its mission. To this end, it had raided a storage room and found a set of overalls used by cleaning staff, along with a peaked cap emblazoned with the New World One hospital insignia. While this disguise did not cover its face, hands, or feet, it might allow it to pass a cursory glance—just another robotic worker going about its business.
The intensive care wing, however, was devoid of people, other than patients—and the lone technician in the observation room. But he was probably still asleep, not that it mattered, since the camera feed from Luca’s room had been frozen.
