to
argue. She walked around into the cul-de-sac of the bar. She
slipped her pack off and dropped to the floor.
Magnus followed her lead and took up a
spot next to her at the opening of the bar. Even though Telisa knew
that they were both outmatched by whatever it was out there, she
felt safer with him nearby. She thought that it would be hard to
find sleep after such a traumatic day, but somehow she dropped into
unconsciousness as soon as she closed her eyes.
Chapter Eight
Joe stared at the anomalous section of
the glossy white wall. A meter-wide sphere had been carved out of
it, and native plants and rocks filled it like a terrarium. He
approached the niche carefully. Something moved in the
foliage.
He leveled his pistol and watched. A
small orange creature crawled slowly along the edge of the area. It
hesitated to leave the small space, circling around and then
finally coming to a halt.
“ What in the hell is going
on here?”
Joe squatted and contemplated the
chitinous creature. It had a round shell, with short spines that
stuck out at intervals to move it along. Three thick pincer arms
came out of the front. In all likelihood it was the same creature
that had tagged along on his robot’s leg. Joe could smell the musty
plant odors, reminding him of what it smelled like on the
surface.
“ I recognize you,” Joe said
to the small creature. “Finally found a spot that reminds you of
home, huh?”
The edge of the floor ended abruptly at
the perimeter of the sphere. It reminded Joe of the edge where the
corridor became a cave. The floor smoothly ended, unscarred, as if
it had been constructed to hold the soil and plants. The wall had a
depression in it, continuing the shape of a sphere from the
depression in the floor, and Joe could see the layers of building
material. Each layer had been smoothly cut at an angle, giving way
to the next deeper layer. The groove had not been built into the
wall, it had been cut or melted in.
Joe rose and walked around the unusual
sphere of vegetation. He realized as the odors became imperceptible
again that the air in the complex smelled clean like it did in
space ships, rather than like the pollens and molds that laced the
air of the surface. He surmised that the complex had an efficient
air filtering system. He continued down the corridor. He moved into
another hallway, holding his pistol ready. He had decided to sling
his rifle over his shoulder since it would be harder to wield in a
surprise situation than the sidearm.
He came across the fire control station
that the directory had hinted at, a large room with manual and
automated firefighting equipment. Two large red robots sat in
maintenance bays in the center of the room. They looked vaguely
humanoid in the torso, but the bottom halves of their bodies were
treaded like tanks. Wires and hoses were attached to the machines
as if they were people on heavy life support. Like every place he
had encountered in the installation thus far, the walls were
immaculate—free of both dirt and scuff marks. Joe suppressed an
urge to mar them in some way. Moving onwards, he glanced briefly at
storage rooms and a media lounge before moving on. When he didn’t
find any exit in that section of the complex, he turned around and
started backtracking.
Joe realized something was wrong. He
entered a room that he thought was the fire control station, but
somehow he had gotten turned around and found himself in a complex
room filled with twisting pipes and air ducts. He turned back to
figure out where he had made a wrong turn. He searched for several
more minutes until he was sure he had rechecked every door in the
area, but he still could not relocate the fire control
station.
Joe stopped in a corridor and kicked
the wall in frustration. “This is bullshit! Where the hell am
I?”
Somehow the walls around him kept
shifting, changing. Whenever he left an area, things moved,
including walls and doorways. Most importantly, the exit had
argue. She walked around into the cul-de-sac of the bar. She
slipped her pack off and dropped to the floor.
Magnus followed her lead and took up a
spot next to her at the opening of the bar. Even though Telisa knew
that they were both outmatched by whatever it was out there, she
felt safer with him nearby. She thought that it would be hard to
find sleep after such a traumatic day, but somehow she dropped into
unconsciousness as soon as she closed her eyes.
Chapter Eight
Joe stared at the anomalous section of
the glossy white wall. A meter-wide sphere had been carved out of
it, and native plants and rocks filled it like a terrarium. He
approached the niche carefully. Something moved in the
foliage.
He leveled his pistol and watched. A
small orange creature crawled slowly along the edge of the area. It
hesitated to leave the small space, circling around and then
finally coming to a halt.
“ What in the hell is going
on here?”
Joe squatted and contemplated the
chitinous creature. It had a round shell, with short spines that
stuck out at intervals to move it along. Three thick pincer arms
came out of the front. In all likelihood it was the same creature
that had tagged along on his robot’s leg. Joe could smell the musty
plant odors, reminding him of what it smelled like on the
surface.
“ I recognize you,” Joe said
to the small creature. “Finally found a spot that reminds you of
home, huh?”
The edge of the floor ended abruptly at
the perimeter of the sphere. It reminded Joe of the edge where the
corridor became a cave. The floor smoothly ended, unscarred, as if
it had been constructed to hold the soil and plants. The wall had a
depression in it, continuing the shape of a sphere from the
depression in the floor, and Joe could see the layers of building
material. Each layer had been smoothly cut at an angle, giving way
to the next deeper layer. The groove had not been built into the
wall, it had been cut or melted in.
Joe rose and walked around the unusual
sphere of vegetation. He realized as the odors became imperceptible
again that the air in the complex smelled clean like it did in
space ships, rather than like the pollens and molds that laced the
air of the surface. He surmised that the complex had an efficient
air filtering system. He continued down the corridor. He moved into
another hallway, holding his pistol ready. He had decided to sling
his rifle over his shoulder since it would be harder to wield in a
surprise situation than the sidearm.
He came across the fire control station
that the directory had hinted at, a large room with manual and
automated firefighting equipment. Two large red robots sat in
maintenance bays in the center of the room. They looked vaguely
humanoid in the torso, but the bottom halves of their bodies were
treaded like tanks. Wires and hoses were attached to the machines
as if they were people on heavy life support. Like every place he
had encountered in the installation thus far, the walls were
immaculate—free of both dirt and scuff marks. Joe suppressed an
urge to mar them in some way. Moving onwards, he glanced briefly at
storage rooms and a media lounge before moving on. When he didn’t
find any exit in that section of the complex, he turned around and
started backtracking.
Joe realized something was wrong. He
entered a room that he thought was the fire control station, but
somehow he had gotten turned around and found himself in a complex
room filled with twisting pipes and air ducts. He turned back to
figure out where he had made a wrong turn. He searched for several
more minutes until he was sure he had rechecked every door in the
area, but he still could not relocate the fire control
station.
Joe stopped in a corridor and kicked
the wall in frustration. “This is bullshit! Where the hell am
I?”
Somehow the walls around him kept
shifting, changing. Whenever he left an area, things moved,
including walls and doorways. Most importantly, the exit had
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