The Deep Dark Well Read online

  “There are at least seven that I am confident are of nonhuman origin,” replied the officer. “Maybe another half dozen that might be, but require further analysis for confirmation.”

  “All of those nonhumans,” said the admiral. “Their plan may have been a direct approach to the Donut. But with the knowledge of all the evil in this system, they might just be lured from their primary task.”

  “I want their exact location, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, walking toward the door to his day cabin. “I’m not too worried that they will get on the Donut before we do. In fact, I’m not sure about our chances of getting on it. But I will not stand by and let them massacre innocent souls who are yet to be saved.”

  The admiral walked through the door that swished open at his approach. The door closed smoothly behind him as he moved to his comfortable bed. The crew had their tasks, and wouldn’t need him to ride herd on them. As he lay down he contacted the ship’s main computer through his complink implant.

  I want everything you can tell me about the Supersystem, he thought over the link. Historical references, legends, obscure quotes, anything that might help me to understand what we might encounter.

  Krishnamurta closed his eyes as he let the computer system become his inner eyes. After a while his concentration lapsed, and sleep came, though the computer kept feeding the information into his brain, forming the links that would allow him to call up the information from the primary data banks as needed.

  * * *

  She almost wished the monster would come back and torment her some more. Anything to relieve the painful drudgery of hanging here. The only relief came from the fear of wondering what Vengeance had in store for her. Watcher had told her that very few of the visitors to the Donut survived for any great period after arrival. Watcher disposed of those he saw as soldiers of fortune. Those he saw as harmless had a way of disappearing while he was not around. He had cautioned Pandi on wandering the station while he was not around. He had not cautioned her that the dangers of the station might come right through the door of a room she had assumed was secure.

  How to get out? Her head could not move in the field, but her eyes could still roam, and roam they did, as much of the room as she could cover. The walls of the twenty meter cubed room were bare, except for the panel to the left that controlled the field. It was closed, and probably locked. Nothing she could do about that now, and it really didn’t seem to matter much when she couldn’t find a way to leave the field. Now if she could get out of the field for a moment? But if she could get out of the field, she wouldn’t need access to the controls.

  She glanced to the right, catching a glimpse of the other field pads lined up in a row down this wall. One every two meters, for a total of ten pads. All of them were on, the shimmering energy enclosing the tubular area of each cell. Maybe the controls worked all of the cells at once. That didn’t make much sense, but the robot had turned on all the cells when she was placed on the pad. Maybe unless instructed otherwise they would turn all the cells on and off in unison.

  Would these things hold a robot? Or only an organic being? If they could hold a robot, it might offer a solution, assuming they ever came to take her out of here. And assuming there weren’t too many of them, meaning more than one, knowing their capabilities. A plan began to form. She didn’t think it was a very good plan as far as it went. But any plan was better than none.

  Chapter 9

  The Galaxy turned out to be a cold, harsh place, as far as the first explorers were concerned. Habitable planets were few and far between. People were not looking for inhospitable planets, only capable of supporting life under a dome or in caverns carved into the rock of the world. There were enough of those habitats in the Solar System. What they wanted were planets, with distant vistas of cloud filled skies, where they could walk and breath, and live and love, interacting with the nature they so cherished. Terraforming solved the problem, for a while. Planets in the proper positions around their stars could be converted into new Earths, as was done to Mars and Venus in the home system. But the invention of the graviton beam, millennia later, assured that humanity would never run out of the space it craved. Planets could be moved into position, even between star systems if time was not a factor. In fact, there were now so many possibilities that mankind even gifted the other intelligent races they had discovered with unlimited room for expansion.

  A History of Human Civilization

  Pandi thought she was about to go mad, waiting for what seemed an eternity for someone, something, to come for her. Her arms no longer hurt. The numbness that had spread through her body had taken care of that. Soon she felt the numbness would spread through her brain, and she would be as numb to the world emotionally as she was physically. Maybe that was what Vengeance had planned for her. To break her emotionally. Maybe then she would give him the information he wanted. The information he hoped to use in his war against his brother.

  The only problem was she had already given him all the information she possessed. She had always considered herself tough, but even the toughest woman couldn’t hold up to torture and agony that spread down to the cellular level of the nervous system. Of course he hadn’t believed that, which was probably why she was still alive. And he would be back for her, eventually. She knew it in her deepest being. Her intuition had always served her well.

  The door opened suddenly, catching her off guard. A single robot walked in. Pandi tried to catch a glimpse of what waited in the hall, but could see nothing before the door closed behind the robot. That could mean there were no more robots in the hall. Or it could mean that there were no robots that had happened to be standing in sight while the one walked in. There could be an army of the creatures out there for all she knew, just waiting for her to try and escape. Paranoid thinking, she knew. But a paraphrase of the old saying came back. Just because she was paranoid didn’t mean she was wrong.

  The robot stood at the entrance for a moment, the sightless gaze of its silvered visor roving over her. Look helpless. How else could she look, strung up in this infernal field. What the hell is it here for? To gawk? But the robot continued to stand there, unmoving, the silver visor that was its visual sensor system staring at her unceasingly.

  “The master wishes your presence,” said the robot, startling her with the breaking of its silence. It turned and walked over to the panel. A needle like protuberance extended from its right index finger. The robot pushed the needle into a small hole on the panel door. As the robot pulled its hand back the door pulled open, exposing a push pad with dozens of buttons.

  Pandi paid close attention to the actions of the robot, as it pushed two of the largest buttons in unison. Both of the buttons were green, set above two buttons of equal size, in red. Would pushing the two red buttons reactivate the field? It seemed too easy. She had expected some kind of code sequence. But why bother, when the prisoners were so helpless within the field, and the jailors so formidable.

  The field died around her. Her weight fell onto her feet as her heels hit the pad, almost throwing her off balance. She kept her feet, somehow, as she felt the circulation returning to her arms. She felt sluggish, but intended to act even more so. She needed some time.

  “Step off of the pad,” ordered the robot in a flat voice.

  “I can’t move my legs,” she responded. “I feel faint.”

  With the last pronouncement she slid to the pad, her legs rubber beneath her. The robot started toward her, walking to stand over and look down at her.

  “Get up,” it ordered, looking down coldly on her.

  “I can’t,” said Pandi. She acted as if she were trying to get up, her legs quivering, her face screwed up in pain.

  “I will carry you,” said the robot, bending down as its hands reached to grab her. When it was at its most unbalanced she made her move.

  Pandi moved as her instructors had taught her. Smoothly and quickly. At first it must have seemed to the robot that she was reaching up to it while tryin
g to lift herself off the pad. Her hands clamped around its wrists as she let her weight fall back. The robot was pulled down by her unexpected motion, but not enough to fall. A swing of both of her legs knocked its own out from under it, though her right calf would bear a nasty bruise for some time. She roared her triumph in a rebel yell as she rolled out of the way of the falling robot.

  In an instant she was on her feet. As she had hoped, the robot was not the most agile of creatures. It floundered on the pad as she ran to the panel, the flat of her hand striking the two red buttons in unison. She turned quickly; ready to fight hopelessly if her tactic didn’t work.

  The glowing field surrounded the torso of the supine robot. The portion contained by the field was completely immobile. The legs and feet kicked at the ground in a furious rhythm. But the field held the inorganic as well as the organic, and the robot was trapped like an ant in amber. She didn’t know if it could still communicate with others of its kind, though she suspected that it could.

  She moved over to the legs of the robot, looking for anything it was carrying that might be of use. It was carrying nothing, nothing at all. That for not, she moved back to the panel, striking buttons as she tried to find the door control, only avoiding the quad arrangement of larger buttons. Some of these had to control the pain generator in the field, she knew. She hoped the robot could not feel pain. A glance showed its legs still moving in a running rhythm, its torso totally immobile.

  A sound like metal grinding made her turn, in time to see the torso of the robot vaporize in the white glare of the converted field. The metal vapor hung in the field for a moment before powerful fans pulled it into ducts on the wall behind the field.

  Pandi shuddered. That could have been me. Any time that fiend had wanted to get rid of me. The legs of the robot lay still, cut off from their command and control center. She moved closer, and the fingers of a hand that had protruded from the field caught her eye. One of the fingers had a long needle like object sticking from it. The key the robot had used to open the panel.

  Pandi picked up the finger, cursing slightly as the residual heat of vaporization burned into her skin. No time for pain, she thought. She carried it to the panel, looking for the kind of holes it would fit. There were several in the panel. The second she tried caused the door to open with a swish. Key in hand, nothing else to help her in her escape, she ran through the door.

  She was in a hall, with no other robots in sight. Which way to go? One way was as good as another, so she went left, running down the hall, her bare feet slapping the floor. Then she started taking halls and doorways at random, hoping to leave no pattern for the pursuers she knew must soon come.

  * * *

  “Do you require my aid?” said the voice in her head, startling her enough to bring a cry to her lips.

  Dammit, don’t do that again.

  “I am sorry,” said the computer, “but I don’t know how else to contact you except by contacting you.”

  Why didn’t you contact me while I was a prisoner? Pandi looked up and down the hall, wondering if the pursuit might be near.

  “They are not near,” said the computer. “They have no idea which way you went, and have no way of tracking you at this time.”

  “So,” she said aloud, “tell me why you didn’t contact me while I was trapped in that infernal field?”

  “You were a prisoner then,” said the computer. “I am forbidden to come to the aid of prisoners of the lawful authority of the station.”

  “Then why are you willing to help me now?”

  “You are no longer a prisoner, are you?”

  “No thanks to you. I thought you had to obey the dictates of Vengeance. How can I be sure you’re not leading me into a trap?”

  “I could just as easily have told them where you are, if that had been my intent. I do have to obey the dictates of Vengeance, within limits. I have decided the limits do not extend to helping him capture and possibly destroy the first new sentient I have had the pleasure of interacting with in thousands of years.”

  “It seems you are allowed quite a bit of leeway in your interpretation of limits,” said Pandi, looking around the hall. Shivers ran up her spine at the thought that she might have to trust what seemed like no more than a disembodied spirit. But she needed help, and the station computer seemed the only available help with Watcher absent.

  “What do you require?”

  Pandi looked down at her naked body, thinking there wasn’t much that she didn’t require at this time. But first things first.

  “How about some clothing?”

  “Take the first hall to the left,” said the computer. “Then the third door on the right.”

  Pandi followed the directions, expecting to find a room full of clothes hanging on racks. Or at least a closet or some dresser drawers filled with something she might be able to make due with. As she entered the room she was surprised to see nothing but a small panel opening on the far wall. She turned to make sure the door remained open behind her, thoughts of a trap entering her mind.

  “This is a clothing distribution chamber, intended for the re-equipment of maintenance personnel. What kind of clothing do you require?”

  “Something that fits, of course. Something that allows me to blend in on this station, but offers as much protection as possible.”

  “With boots? Gloves?”

  “Boots are fine, but I’ll pass on the gloves.”

  “Gloves may be more useful than you think,” said the computer. “And you can always carry them tucked into a belt until needed.”

  “OK. Give me the works. And some pouches for the belts. Might as well be able to carry some things that I need while leaving my hands free.”

  “Clothing is ready,” said the computer, as the small paneled door opened. Inside was a set of folded clothes, with belt, gloves, and a pair of boots sitting atop. Pandi pulled the boots out and set them on the floor without much notice. She tossed the belt and the gloves on top of the boots, after a cursory examination of the numerous belt pouches on the waist strap.

  Her hands pulled the one-piece jumpsuit from the cabinet, reveling in the feel of the silken fabric. She wished she had asked for some under clothing as well, but decided she would be satisfied with what had already been provided. Quickly she dressed in the garment, and was glad she hadn’t bothered to ask for under garments. The jumpsuit fit her body like a second skin, soft and warm and as comfortable as any clothing she had ever worn. It stretched with her movements, not hindering her mobility in any manner.

  Then she noticed that the jumpsuit was the same color as the cream colored walls of this room. But the hallways were orange, and other rooms were different colors.

  “You asked to blend in,” said the computer. “This garment will adapt to mimic whatever surroundings you happen to find yourself in.”

  “What else does it do?” she asked, remembering she had requested that it protect her as much as possible.

  “The garment is absorbent of radar, sonar, and laser sensory beams. It will also give the wearer a second or more protection from laser attack, as well as several seconds protection from other forms of radiation.”

  “Can’t you be more exact than a couple of seconds?”

  “Variance in the parameters of weapons does not allow complete accuracy. Only an estimation is possible.”

  “Is it bulletproof?”

  “The garment will stiffen into impact armor upon being struck by any type of projectile,” said the computer. “Ability of garment to defeat penetration is dependent upon the mass and velocity of the projectile.”

  “OK,” Pandi said with a sigh. “This suit will make me as undetectable as possible, and will offer some protection against weapons attack. Anything else?”

  “The fabric is self-repairing, and will constrict around wounds in order to prevent the leakage of vital bodily fluids.”

  “That’s wonderful,” she said, delight for the makers of this future technology bringing a
smile to her face. This suit alone would give her quite an advantage. Maybe not enough, though. She reached for the boots and pulled one onto her left foot. She pressed the seals closed. The boot was a little loose at first, but almost immediately snugged to a perfect fit. It felt as light and comfortable as a slipper, while still providing the ankle support of a heavy boot.

  “The boots of course are equipped with the same attributes as the garment,” said the computer. “They are also able to be set for adhesion to any surface in the station.”

  The belt went around her waist next. It too felt weightless and comfortable, though it fit snugly around her middle as she snapped the buckle closed. She checked the pouches, and was delighted to find a couple of them filled, one with ration tubes much like those she had carried on her own space suit, another with a boxy device with a white cross on the front, as well as several other unrecognizable symbols. A canteen that swished with liquid hung from the back of the belt.

  “The rations you will want to keep for emergency situations,” said the computer. “I will lead you to a fresh food source when you leave here. The mechanism is an autodoc, used to heal wounds beyond the capability of your garment to handle.”

  Lastly she checked the gloves, of the same material as the suit, before slipping them under the belt.

  “What about some weapons?” she asked, hoping the machine that produced these handy devices might give her some firepower as well. She would like to be able to shoot back at her pursuers, if they happened upon her.

  “My programming does not allow me to give weapons to any unauthorized personnel,” said the computer.

  “There are weapons available on the station, then?”

  “Yes, there are. They are stored in numerous security centers spaced around the station. I could lead you to the nearest security center, but I am unable to grant access.”

  “Is there any way to gain access without your granting it?”