Meta whirled around, staring at the tiny tube with her shiny face.
The “finger” of metal hissed a little more and then sputtered out.
“Whatever that is stinks,” Meta said.
“What was that?” Dana asked Galyan.
“An anti-Swarm spray ejector,” the holoimage replied. “I believe the tanks that fed the tube are empty. Perhaps the spray slew the Swarm warriors that made it down this far. It is good for you two that the tanks are drained. Otherwise, I would have had the unhappy task of informing the captain the two of you were dead.”
A ball of fear knotted in Dana’s stomach. Had they come that close to death?
Meta shouted and heaved with renewed zeal. The tortured metal sounds increased as she tore open the hatch.
Before Dana could tell Meta to let her go in first, the former assassin dropped down into the chamber. Dana scrambled to see what had happened. The doctor peered down into a perfectly preserved chamber. There wasn’t any crusted slime or Swarm warrior skeletons in there. The anti-bug spray must have worked six thousand years ago. The Swarm hadn’t made it into the chamber.
“It’s cold down here,” Meta said. “And the air…”
“Galyan,” Dana said, “begin pumping new air down there.”
Immediately, air whooshed past Dana. That caused some of the foul air in the chamber to boil out and blow against the doctor’s face. It made her dizzy. Dana felt her eyelids flutter. Then, purer air woke her back up.
“Meta!” the doctor shouted.
There wasn’t any answer.
Dana grabbed a rebreather she’d put in the carton Meta had been dragging. Putting it over her face, inhaling deeply, Dana jumped down into the ancient chamber. Meta lay unconscious on the floor. As fast as possible, the doctor slipped the mask over Meta’s face.
Finally, unable to hold her breath any longer, the doctor breathed down here. Nausea hit her. She felt faint again. With great deliberation, Dana moved before the stream of fresh air coming down through the hatch, breathing it.
For over two minutes, Dana didn’t move from the spot. Finally, the bad air thinned enough that it was no longer dangerous.
Meta climbed to her feet, taking off the rebreather.
“Are you okay?” Dana asked.
“I’ve got a pounding headache,” Meta said thickly. “What is this place?”
Greater illumination showed them walls of computer banks and linkages. Nothing was on, though. It was all dark.
Dana took out the blue box. With the intricate device, she began studying the chamber. The minutes passed.
Finally, Meta asked, “Do you understand what this room represents?”
“I do,” Dana said. “It’s an unused computer chamber. What I find incredible is that I’m not seeing any live connections with the main AI.”
“What’s that mean in English?”
“This is more computer power of an unknown nature,” Dana said. “This isn’t just a system Ludendorff turned off and forgot to turn back on. This is a completely new area that I’m beginning to believe the Adoks never engaged.”
“Why wouldn’t they have done that?” Meta asked.
“That, my dear, is the billion credit question.”
***
Many hours later, Dana spoke with the captain in the cafeteria while eating a large Brahma meal with a heaping bowl of ice cream for dessert. Her exploration had left her famished.
“What is your conclusion to all this?” Maddox asked.
“It’s the same as I first told Meta,” the doctor replied. “We found a completely new computing chamber. I have no idea why the Adoks didn’t turn it on. I don’t know what it will do to Galyan if we energize it. On the assumption you wanted that—to turn it on—I checked the connections and found that it’s possible.”
“Do you think we should turn it on?”
“Most certainly not.”
“But you found out we could just in case that’s what I wanted to do?” Maddox asked.
“I did.”
“You surprise me, Doctor.”
“I have that habit.”
Maddox appeared thoughtful. “Why do you think we should keep the chamber offline?”
“For the same reasons as I gave when we voted about the other systems,” Dana said. “It’s too great of a risk. My suggestion is to do one but not the other.”
Maddox looked away, nodding after a time. “I understand your logic. Mine is different.”
“I know,” she said in a resigned voice.
“Because of the doomsday machine, we no longer have the luxury of time. This is a gamble, only now there may be more to win.”
“Or lose,” Dana said. “I think we should reassemble everyone and revote.”
“No. This changes nothing.”
“I wish I could convince you to rethink your position,” Dana said. “But I can see I can’t, so I’m not going to waste my breath. I sincerely hope you’re right, because if you’re wrong, Star Watch will likely lose its only chance of defeating the doomsday machine.”
“This is an exciting moment, don’t you agree?” Maddox said.
Dana reached for her ice cream, dipping her spoon in thoughtfully. Looking up, she said, “Yes, I suppose it is, at that. Let’s just hope we don’t all have to die because of it.”
-25-
Standing in the conference chamber with Captain Maddox, the holoimage Driving Force Galyan felt a faint stir of unease but also excitement. It recognized that it was unique in the universe. The Adoks who had created it were long dead. The AI only had the faintest recollection of that era. In the last hours of battle against the Swarm, the last Adoks had done something profound. They had brought the dying driving force to the core chamber, sealing him into a special unit. The computer system had “read” the driving force’s engrams and imprinted them onto the AI core system. From that moment forward, the personality of the driving force had begun to change the artificial intelligence centers.
That had happened six thousand years ago, by human time units. Much had deteriorated on the starship since then. Some ship systems had survived the ages. Still others had completely failed. Now, the captain spoke about a resurgence of computing power, maybe an addition of personality and a ship understanding of what the vessel and its components had lost.
“I comprehend the situation quite well, Captain. Why, then, are we meeting like this?”
“The crew is worried,” the captain said.
“About me, I take it?”
“Yes. Why did Professor Ludendorff keep some systems turned off? Was it for our protection? Why did the Adoks keep an entire computing chamber offline?”
“I will not harm any of you,” Galyan said. “I have made my choice on the matter and made it known to you. Do you not remember when I spoke thus?”
“I remember. The point is that the ‘you’ in your present state has chosen this. Will you feel the same way once the ‘lost’ systems are engaged?”
“Why should my decision change because of that?”
“I don’t know why,” Maddox admitted. “Maybe the engagement will elevate your IQ to untold heights, and you will view us with disgust and wish to eliminate us.”
“I have said I will not. I am Driving Force Galyan, an Adok of the highest honor.”
“That’s good to know,” Maddox said. “Yet, we still hesitate to do this.”
“Are you asking for greater assurances?”
“No. You can’t give us any because you don’t know what you’re going to be like later.”
“Then why are we having this conversation?” Galyan asked.
“To calm my fears, perhaps.”
“I do not believe that is the reason, Captain. Throughout my time with you, you have proven yourself well able to submerge your fears.”
Maddox nodded. “I want you to remember this conversation if you find yourself desiring our deaths or imprisonment.”
“I do not think you understand the Adoks,” Galyan said.