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Chapter Eleven

 

Return Of The Spinners

 

 

 

In one dreadful moment, the mood aboard the Phoenix had changed: from light-hearted expectation to gloomy apprehension.  Two conflicting fears took hold of the crew now: the fear of Kepler 186f’s spinners and the fear of more hibernation if the humans couldn’t inhabit the new world.  There was no question which fear they had to embrace and conquer.  The dark sleep was unthinkable.  Soon after the rover’s return to the ship, the crew (both human and androids) were huddled together, debating what to do: somehow clean the new world of monsters such as the spinners or move on to another sector of the planet which might very well have these creatures too.

“We don’t have the means to wipe out the spinners,” Skip concluded grimly.  “Even if we somehow did, which would involve a poisonous gas or some sort of death ray, we would end up wiping out other alien life forms too.  You must engage the monsters when and where you find them, eradicate them, and go about you business, until you encounter them again.” “…Or somehow,” he added, looking around at the crew, “discourage them from attacking.”

Abe gave him an doubtful look. “You mean a spinner repellant?  How can we do that?”

“I’m thinking.” Skip closed his eyes and searched his database.

“Now that’s something a robot would do,” Mbuto whispered to Said.

Said, who had grown to respect the androids, looked expectantly up at the Skip.

“There’s only one method I can think of to repel spinners,” Skip announced finally, “electricity!”

“Electricity?” Abe wrinkled his nose. “You mean like a gun?”

“Yeah!” Mbuto snapped his fingers. “Like a ray gun!”

“Or a stunner,” Ingrid suggested, “like those once used to subdue criminals or wild beasts!”

“No!” Skip shook his head politely at her. “A stunner is much too small.” “A ray gun uses laser or particle beams, not electricity.” He gave Mbuto a wry look. “Before you men bag yourself any monsters, we must repel their numbers first.  Eradication might be difficult on this world.”

“I thought we were going to eradicate them!” Said frowned.

“Yeah.” Carla’s nostrils flared. “Kill those sons-of-bitches!”

Abe and Max burst into chuckles.

“Look, people.” Skip nodded thoughtfully. “I sense a mood of conquest here, much of that mood I share the blame for in my effort to bolster your courage, but eradication is simply not possible.  We must build our habitat first and manage our current sector.  During the exploration of the rest of the planet, you may as conquerors subdue wildlife to make the planet yours, but you must be builders, not destroyers, on this world.  What I am proposing is that we first map out an area and station a wireless electrical fence around its perimeter—”

“What?” blurted Mbuto. “Make a fence?  Are you insane?  In order to do that we’d have to be on foot.  If we’re on foot, so will those spinners.”

“They nearly killed us all before.” Said’s eyes widened with alarm. “They would ambush us.  Make us a fine meal, indeed.”

“Gobble, gobble, gobble!” Max teased, pointing to his mouth. 

“I think we should wipe them out first!” Carla insisted. “Kill them all!”

“Were you listening?” Abe frowned at Carla. “I agree with Skip.  There’s too many of them.  It’s impossible.”

“At least for the time being,” Skip seemed to equivocate, “until we have a land base.  The main purpose right now is a habitat and base of operations, to be filled with colonists and explorers.”

“So,” Abe pursed his lips, “….how do we manage this undertaking without subduing the surrounding wildlife?”

“Simply put:” Skip raised a finger, “the electrical fence will be built ahead of time.  Upon arriving at the designated area, the prefabricated barrier, will be set in place, as the rover hovers over the ground.”

“Wouldn’t it be better just to scare them off first?” suggested Sheila. “Phoenix Two scared them off before, didn’t it?” “

“Yeah.” Nicole nodded pertly. “They might think twice next time if we gave them a fright!”

“They’re too stupid for that.” Carla waved impatiently “I say wipe them out.  Surely there must be a way!” 

“Maybe we can tame them!” chirped Nicole, her eyes rolling crazily in her head.

“Tame them?” Max looked at her in amazement. “A moment ago you were suggesting we scare them off.  Are you being serious, Nicole?”

“Sure.” She bobbed her head. “We tame dogs, cats, birds, even bugs, don’t we.  Why not spinners?”

“Because,” Carla tapped her forehead, “like you they don’t have any brains.  You can’t tame those monsters!”

“Maybe not tame them,” Rusty stepped forth, as if he had just found an important bit of data, “but we can, in fact, scare them away.  We have equipment in the station that might work!”

“Hmm.” Skip repeated his very human gesture. “…. I’ve got it all planned,” he said after a pause. “In a prefabricated state, the old electric fence method of holding in cattle and keeping out thieves will work just fine.”

Abe gripped his chin methodically. “I remember reading about one of those.  During the great riots, they were used to keep out rabble.  Once it’s assembled here, will it really be so easy to rig it up without worrying about spinners?”

Rusty’s Howdy-Doody face brightened. “It shouldn’t be a problem.  We could do that easily enough.  Installing it around the perimeter of the habitat would be difficult if it can done expeditiously and in a hurry.”

“Then, safely inside the fence,” announced Sandra, “we’ll start build the habitat, the home base of the new world.”

“At last we’re talking seriously about the colony!” Max smiled with approval.

 

******

Without further delay, the crewmembers, principally Abe, Sheila, Max, Carla, Ingrid, and the four androids with Skip moderating the meeting, now discussed how the electrical fence could be done. 

It was decided by unanimous agreement to wait until the morning before physical commitment to the project.  During the meantime, at dinner and later, more seriously, with the aid of the ship’s graphics, which enabled them to sketch out their ideas, they mentally worked out a plan that would have three stages: design, fabrication, and testing of the fence.  Using the graphics wand, Skip, with an android’s expertise, drew a diagram no human could match: a perfectly drawn kilometer square, which he explained would be much easier to handle than a circular shape.  Rectangles symbolizing the habitat or base were drawn in the center of the square.  Off to the side of this first diagram, he drew a sketch of what the electrical poles would look like.  They looked very much like twentieth century barber poles, Skip explained, after drawing an example from his database.  There were over a hundred of them on the station, he reported, each one to be interconnected by a wireless electrical beam controlled from a central power center, the androids would rig up.   For a being as intelligent as Skip this seemed like an oversimplification at first.

“You’re kidding,” Cara screwed up her face. “That will require a lot of energy. What kind of power center, that runs around the clock, will supply that kind of power?”
       “It’s pure science fiction,” Mbuto grumbled. “It can’t possibly work!”

“I disagree!” Skip glared at his critics. “You have no idea what kind of power sources we had available for the Triton Project.  Now we can use the resources of the station to build and protect the colony.” “It will work!” He looked squarely at the African. “I will make it work!”

Abe wanted to believe Skip, but was, as a military man, worried, himself, about the logistics of the plan, which seemed over-ambitious. 

“Can the aft compartment of the rover hold a hundred poles?” He asked reflectively.

“I’m not sure they can.  That’s a lot of poles.  Even if they’re prefabricated and can be set down while the rover hovers over the ground, how do they stay standing?  Are they on platforms or are they like big darts stuck in the ground?”

The last question was tinged with sarcasm.  Ticking off the three questions on his hand, Skip replied dryly, “the placement can be done in one trip, they are on weighted platforms, and no they aren’t like big darts!” “I would prefer doing the chore in one mission,” he belabored the point, “the sooner we place them, the sooner we can become builders.  There’s much work to be done.”

Abe studied the diagrams on the board a moment, deeply concerned. “Why don’t we use Phoenix Two?” He sighed. “We’d have more room then.”

“Because,” Woody gave him an incredulous look, “Phoenix Two must be on standby in case something goes awry.”

“Awry?” Nicole’s eyes popped wide. “I don’t like that word!”

“There-there,” murmured Ingrid.

“Nothing should go wrong.” Skip raised an eyebrow.

Should, there’s another word I don’t like,” Nicole muttered aloud. “Will is much better.”

“There’s always going to a element of threat,” Skip looked around the group. “This isn’t an outing or field trip.  This is serious business.  The prefabricated fence will greatly lessen danger, though.” “It’s the best we can do!” He spread his palms with finality.

As if he had read Skip’s mind or more likely, as Said might suggest, received a wireless transmission, Rusty stepped forth, taking his turn with the graphics wand.  “It’s like this,” he explained, drawing stick figures beside several poles. “While the ship hovers above the ground, two operators will set down a pole, then another and so forth, as the poles are unreeled.  To facilitate this process, making them as perfect a square as possible, a procedure will be used based upon an age old method used for delineating baseball diamonds that used chalk.  In our case it is the rover, with directional coordinates, that will set the grid lines, using laser equipment onboard the station to cut the lines in the field.  After this, following the grid pattern, the operators will simply drop the poles, which are spaced equally apart by wires, into place.”

       “What if we can’t find a safe location?” Said frowned. “What’s stopping the spinners from following the rover around?”

       “Nothing.” Sheila voiced concern. “Those little bastards are everywhere!”

       “We’ll do this as quickly as possible.” Skip waved a hand. “The whole process will be done aloft, hovering slowly, without touching the ground.  If the spinners become a problem, the rover can make a few passes over them, scatter them, then return.  If they seriously intimidate the operators, the wires can be cut.  When the coast is clear, Phoenix One can return to same spot to finish the grid.  At that point, they might have to eyeball it, based upon a previously linked pole.  When the grid is completed, a unit will dropped in the center of the square to activate the grid.  As soon as the inside of the fence is clear of spinners and other creatures, it will be turned on remotely from the ship.”

       “Is that really possible?” Sheila asked dubiously.

       “Yes.” He nodded with conviction. “I made an inventory of the station’s equipment and supplies.  Thanks to the scientists and engineers for the Triton Project, everything is there.  All we have to do is implement and use it!”

       “That’s quite a plan,” the captain said flatly, “but is it easy to cut those wires?”

       “Easy, snip-snip,” Sandra made scissor motion with her hands. “Don’t forget there will be two operators.”

       “Will the operators carry weapons?” Ingrid frowned.

       “Of course.” nodded Woody. “The whole crew will be armed.”

“What if one of the spinners jumps up in the rover?” Nicole pointed to the stick man in the diagram. “Let’s kill them all first.  Then it will be easy—a walk in the park!”

Rusty seemed to give her a withering stare. “We explained that, Nicole.  It’s impossible!  Why is it so hard for you to understand?”

“People!” Skip’s eyes flashed. “It has to be done!  There’s no other way!  You’ll go down there, set the perimeter fence, return to the ship, and each day thereafter move equipment and building materials to your new base… How much more simple is that?”

“Well,” Abe shrugged his shoulders. “It could work.”

“Yeah.” Max nodded hesitantly. “…. It might.”

“Just so we only have to do this once.” Mbuto heaved a sigh.

“Yes.” Nicole shuddered. “Once is quite enough!”

The edge of impatience in Skip’s voice intensified.  “Of course.” His eyes narrowed to slit. “…. I made that clear.  There should be no problems.” “This will work people!” He looked around the table. “We have incredible resources in the space station and ship’s hold—everything we need!”

Abe realized, with the androids intelligence and ingenuity, it might just work, except for one very important point. “There is a serious problem with Rusty and your plan.  Though theoretically, in a mechanical sense, it might work, realistically, in humans sense, it might very well fail.”

“Oh,” Skip took a condescending tone, “…and why is that?”

“That snip-snip Sandra mentioned in order to cut a wire is an oversimplification.” He copied her gesture. “We’re not programmed like you people, Skip.  Look at our record so far.  We don’t mean to, but we make mistakes.  If the wire-to-pole method results in a massive entanglement, as the rover hovers in one spot, it could be a disaster.  Not only would it be a waste of time and material, those little monsters might just hop aboard and kill our crew.”

“All right,” he seemed to sigh, “….we’ll factor that possibility in.”

“Excuse me.” Max raised a hand. “What factor is this?”

“Simple!” Woody uttered harshly. “We’ll revise that portion of the plan!” 

Silence fell upon the group.  Lost in significance to them these moments were examples of more human-like qualities in the androids: arrogance and irritation.  Here they were at last—Earth’s precious remnant, ready to take the first important steps in creating a habitat on the planet.  Skip and Rusty seemed to believe that they had little to worry about from spinners—the most hideous monsters on the planet.  They made it sound so easy to them, but they had underestimated previous explorations which had gone awry.  Despite the horrors of the past, though, they had made a fairly good case about how safe it would be.  By their chatter, the crewmembers seemed eager to show their mettle.  In the end, to everyone’s surprise, even Nicole volunteered to come along. 

 

******

That night as most of the crew retired to their quarters on the station, Abe, Sheila, and Max remained on the bridge awhile concerned about how the electric fence would be set up. 

“How long it will take to put this stuff into the rover?” Abe studied the diagram.

“We’ll have it all ready when you wake up,” answered Skip.

“That’s right,” Max smiled wearily, “you folks don’t sleep.”

“How awful,” murmured Sheila.

With resignation, still filled with doubts, Abe listened to Skip explain how the grid laser would work when it was set up.  Located on the belly of the rover, he was told, the device would be pre-programmed.  All Sheila had to do, he clarified, was set the rover on auto-pilot to make straight lines, as Abe monitored the grid.  Meanwhile, the operators would drop the poles one-by-one, until, ultimately a full square was created.  “Voila!” Skip made a flurry of his hands. “A protective zone has been made!”

“Wow!” Abe muttered, glancing at Max. “You make it sound so easy!”

       “If your careful, it is!” Skip pursed his lips. 

“One thing is clear, however.” Sandra frowned. “You won’t have much room on Phoenix One.  We think it best that you limit the number of participants.  You will need your pilot and the stronger willed members of the crew, but until the planet is safe for exploration, Nicole should remain onboard.  Since they aren’t needed and we need the space, I would suggest leaving Mbuto and Said on the ship too.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Abe thought a moment. “…. Nicole has proven to be a delicate creature, but the men you included might resent being left out.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Skip spread his palms. “But the rover is crowded enough even without being used for such a mission.  You’re the captain—this is your ship, but I strongly agree with Sandra: Nicole, Mbuto, and Said shouldn’t go; they’re not essential to the mission, and you need space on the craft.  It’s all right for Carla and Ingrid to come along to help with the poles, but the others might just get in the way.”

“Very well,” Abe bristled, “it seems as though your calling the shots.”

“Not at all.” Skip reached out and gripped his shoulder. “You’re captain of this ship!”

“We are your servants now!” Woody bowed faintly

Sandra and Rusty also bowed.  Sheila giggled foolishly at this display of homage.  Max and Abe exchanged looks of surprise.  When the three humans bid them good night and entered the space station in order to retire to their quarters, they were perplexed.

“They’re getting more human by the day,” observed Max.

“Yes,” Abe agreed. “The question is, ‘were they being deferential or condescending just now?…. I don’t believe for a moment Woody thinks he’s my servant, certainly not Skip.  None of the androids do.  Let’s face it Max, Skip’s running the show.  They all are.  While we sleep, they’re going to set all this up.  Always, faithfully, without complaint, Sandra and Woody feed us and tend to our needs.  When we’re exploring the new world, Skip will be watching over us alongside of his pilot.  The four of them control every hour of our lives.”

“You sound bitter?” noted Max. “I think he saw that too.”

“It’s more a feeling of helplessness,” Abe explained. “From the very beginning, considering our dependency on our caretakers, they have been in control.  Without them, we would be doomed.  How can we resent them now then, especially Skip, who has our best interest at heart?”

“He doesn’t have a heart.” Sheila laughed sourly. “He’s still an animation.  They all are!

“That might be true,” Abe shrugged his shoulders, “but they have humanity in them.  I’ve seen I in their eyes and heard it their words.  We need Skip and the other androids.  Throughout the voyage of the Phoenix, they kept us alive during the search.  Without the ship above us, watching our every move, we wouldn’t have survived.  At times, though Ingrid would strongly disagree, they seem to have god-like powers, especially Skip.  He is the captain of our destiny as we sleep and ever vigilant above during exploration when we’re awake, watching our every move, ready at a moment’s notice to come to our aid, as he had on previous worlds.”

Max seemed unafraid, but Abe could still see fear in Sheila’s gaze.  Clasping the lieutenant’s hand he looked deeply into her eyes. “You must be brave,” he counseled gently. “No more timid displays.  Skip called this world paradise, which was a strange thing for an android to say.  This time, Sheila, with Skip’s help and guidance, we must conquer paradise and make it our home…. The long sleep is over.  This is our world now!”

 

******

       Sheila Livingston lie awake in her compartment considering the captain’s words.  She, like the other crewmembers, had never been prepared for such a journey.  The Triton Project was supposed to be a safe and predictable voyage.  It’s purpose ostensibly was to explore Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, for mineral deposits and alternate fuel.  The secondary plan conceived by the good scientists—that in the event of cataclysmic war the vessel, carrying the remnant of Earth and cell specimens from the sleeping humans, would continue on in search of a habitable world was not known until the eleventh hour.  No one expected this to be a one-way trip when the war began on Earth.  Though the Phoenix appeared to have unlimited potential when this information was disclosed, the original project wasn’t intended for extended space travel and extended cryogenic sleep.  They weren’t trained for the horrors of alien worlds.  They hadn’t bargained for this.  Now it seemed so long ago, she thought to herself: over one hundred thousand years.  Hibernation had, at times, caused her to become a mental wreck.  The dangers of alien worlds, which claimed the deaths of four crewmembers following hibernation had made her see her mortality, yet was much better than sleep.  She and her crewmates had suffered hibernation five times now.  Long ago, before that period of time which now staggered her imagination, she was selected from thousands of candidates to serve on the exploration ship Phoenix.  Proud and naïve she had no thought for the dangers ahead.  Now that the Phoenix had become a starship and its crew a remnant of mankind, she was no longer the girl most likely to succeed in high school, the Air Force Academy’s top cadet, or the candidate selected for the Triton Mission.  She was, like most of the crew, a survivor grasping for survival, without family, without home to return to—a nomad in space, a citizen of the galaxy, arriving as a visitor on each new world.  Seen one way, she was, as Ingrid saw it, a mote in God’s eye.  Seen another way, however, she now had a special place in the new order on Kepler 186f, as the second highest officer among the representatives of Earth, equivalent to a four star general back home.  As such, she was second-in-command of the starship Phoenix.  It was time she began acting like it, embrace her responsibilities, and perform her designated role!

       With these thoughts in mind, Lieutenant Sheila Livingston, fell into a troubled sleep, wondering what horrors tomorrow would bring.

 

 

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