PERIL (5 page)

“How long will we live in filth while the heretics o
n Earth prosper?” one man yells inciting the angry mob.

“They plan missions to MV5 and for what?
As if Mars and countless other planets being terraformed aren’t enough for them! Meanwhile, I have two starving children here and no food to feed them!” a woman cries out.

“Bring her out so that we may have at her!” an old woman yells.

The nun seated at the table nods to a couple of guards instructing them to bring in their prisoner.

They drag out Vanessa Bains who has a sack over her head and her arms are tied behind her back. They shove her to the ground and remove the sack. She tries to sit upright and get her bearings.

“Why have I been brought here?” Vanessa yells.

Her attention is drawn to the Nun who slams the metal object down again.

“I will have order here,” the Nun yells.

The group is silenced. Vanessa notices several etchings and religious symbols painted carved into the stone
wall behind the group of clergy. Most pronounced is a large replica of Michael Angelo’s
“
Hands of God and Adam.
”
Vanessa’s eyes land on the nun who is seated directly below the image.

“I asked you a question
,” Vanessa says sharply to the nun who is clearly in charge.

The n
un looks at the other clergy then back at Vanessa.

“You are quite the spitfire aren’t you
, Captain Bains?”

“Who were you expecting
, Mary Poppins? Kidnapping is a serious offense.”

“So is GENOCIDE,
” a priest on the panel retorts.

The angry crowd ignites in agreement.

“I’ve committed no such crime!” Vanessa shouts over the crowds’ outbursts.

“Nevertheless, you are in league with the Ares
Corporation and that abomination, The Seeyer,” The nun responds angrily.

“They brought us here; t
hey left us to die,” shouts the enraged spectators.

The n
un raises her hand silencing the mob. Vanessa struggles to free her hands.

“Perhaps compassion would be in order,” the Nun says.

“What is it you want from me?” Vanessa inquires.

“Release her bonds,” orders the Nun.

The crowd objects to freeing Vanessa.

“She cannot escape. The council will have words with her without the distraction of an audience.”

The nun orders the cave cleared. One of the guards cuts Vanessa bonds releasing her. She slowly stands brushing the dirt from her clothes. She notices that one of her heels is broken. She looks up at the Nun who approaches her.

“And these were my favorite pumps
,” Vanessa says plainly.

She removes the other shoe and breaks
off the heel on the edge of the table. Vanessa quickly puts the heel-less shoe back on her foot. The Nun smiles at Vanessa’s wit and resourcefulness.

“We want the details of the MV5 Mission, all of which can be found here,” the Nun sa
ys holding up the clear octagon-shaped disc marked MV5 Mission Initiatives.

“We just need your encryption codes
, Captain,” The Nun continues. 

The Voodoo High Priestess seated at the far end of the table begins to chuckle––“I know da way to get dem codes too.”

“I will be missed and with me captured the information on that disc will be rendered useless,” Bains declares.

“Perhaps not. You will be returned and your memory purged of this expe
rience,” the Nun replies.

Realizing that the colonist ca
n’t extract the codes without causing significant brain damage, Vanessa thinks about her options. She’s come too far and sacrificed too much to risk not going on the mission. A memory extraction is out of the question.

“Fuck it
!” she blasts.

She gi
ves the nun the codes.

“You are ambitious aren’t you
, Bains?”

“
Captai
n
Bains. I’ve come too far to turn back now,” Vanessa replies.

“Ah, yes the termination of your unborn child
.”

The N
un’s remark rang of judgment and discontentment. Suddenly, the sound of screams and a flurry of bullets are heard from the corridor outside of the cave.

BOOM! An explosion blows a hole through the door of the cave sending rock and debris flying. Bains and the Nun are knocked off their feet. The other clergy scramble for
cover. They are met with waves of fire from plasma weapons. Lieutenant Reed and a squad of military personnel enter the cave with little resistance. As the dust settles Reed finds Bains lying unconscious near the back of the cave. The blast has thrown her several feet. Reed notices a gash above her right eye.

“Medic
!” he yells.

Bains is unconscious as the medics place her on a stretcher. Many of the clerics m
anage to escape, but the Nun is captured. Reed walks over to her and notices the octagon-shape disc clenched in her fist. Reed pries it free.

“God will punish you! God will punish all the heretics of Earth”, she yells at Reed.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he orders his unit.

“What about the rest of them
, Sir?” asks a soldier over the radio.

“What about them?
” Reed says coldly.

Reed looks at Bains being
place into a transport shuttle then he looks at the disc he’s holding.

“We got what we came for. Move out!”

He looks back at the Nun––“And bring her!” 

Between Earth and the Moon an asteroid cluster known as the “Android Inhabitant
Zone” is in a stable orbit. It’s where androids have been residing since they left Earth. They have led an existence of solitude, until now. Humans, under the guidance of The Seeyer, created the androids to work as laborers, maintenance workers, and servants. There was even a short-lived sex trade industry that created high revenues for The Apollo Corporation and the Ares Corporation.Aaron Enterprises, a highly religious organization released the Spiritual Droid Series “Pious 7” to serve th
e
Church of Fathomis
m
. The robot community is highly intelligent and has evolved at an alarming rate. They eventually became too smart. By 2160 their positron brains had the ability to process information at the speed of light. It wasn’t long before they began to turn on humans. This led to “The War of Insurrection,” which resulted in many human casualties. Cities burned in many countries and the total annihilation of mankind seemed imminent. The only defense against the threat was The Seeyer. The robots on Earth were controlled by a central mainframe that was shut down by The Seeyer. Orbiting satellites controlled the off-world androids.

The off-
world androids seized control of these satellites and disconnected them from The Seeyer. The robots settled in the Android Inhabitant Zone and had no interest in returning to Earth, which led to the end of a seven-year battle.

Androids have no emotional attachments to Earth nor do they posses a need for vengeance
. The sudden end to the war left many humans baffled. The eerie silence between robots and humans is unnerving for many, especially since both live in such close proximity of each other. However, The Seeyer maintains that the truce is intact and peace has been restored. The androids monitor satellite communications and off-world traffic, but that is all. It is widely believed that they wait for mankind to destroy itself so that they can return to Earth. They still view The Seeyer as their father, even though they are separated from its influence. In a strange similarity the relationship between man, The Seeyer and the androids resemble that of God, man and angels.

The androi
ds maintain and expand their existence from ships, space debris, and satellites they captured during the war. The solar energy from the sun provides most of their power. They’ve even found a way to convert radiation from space into an energy source. So they drift in an endless orbit between Earth and the moon serving as a constant reminder of what mankind’s future could one day look like.

On the asteroid station
, the robots hatch a plan to infiltrate the Ares Corporation facility. The station’s main computer room is massive, sterile and cold. Several androids are hooked up to a hive-like harness. Others robots monitor the activity in the room. These robots have human form but no faces; only smooth metallic face shields that reflect their environment. An android named, Nyna, is lying on a table with cables and wires attaching her the main computer. She is a sex robot retrieved from a former pleasure hotel that orbited Earth during the war. Nyna is beautiful with long black straight synthetic hair. She wears a black and silver metallic cat suit and leather high-heeled boots. The other robots activate Nyna. She awakens from her cyber sleep. Her eyes slowly open and she sits upright on the table.

“Please state the service you seek and method of payment
.”

“You are no longer providing erotic services for the Starlite Fantasy Hotel
, Nyna,” one of the faceless drones informs her.

Nyna
looks around the room with her usual blank stare.

“Then what is my function
, Series 097?”

“We have a mission for you. You will be sent to Earth to retrieve this object.”

A holographic image appears before Nyna resembling the fragment Todd showed Vanessa in the lab. The robots download information about the war, the Ares Mission, and Ares Corporation defense tactical data into her nuero-net.

“We have arranged to intercept a Human cargo ship returning from a Mars outpost. You will board this ship and be transported to Earth to complete this mission.”

“Understood, Series 097.”

“
This is of the highest priority; avoid capture. If you are unable to complete the mission you are ordered to self terminate.”

“Understood,”
Nyna replies without hesitation.

The cable
s and wires disconnect from Nyna and retreat into their ports. Nyna is escorted from the room by two faceless drones.

Back at the Ares Corporation facility
, Vanessa Bains is lying in a hospital bed in the medical wing of the building. Her room is brightly lit with monitors displaying her condition. She has a bandage over her eyes and she is unconscious. Commander Reed and her husband, Tyler, are in the room. They stare silently at each other. The two men don’t really know each other well, only that they share a bond with Vanessa. They had met a few times in the past. Each encounter reinforced Tyler’s dislike for Reed. Tyler has always been a little uncomfortable around military types. He never trusted them and Vanessa’s friends are no exception. He always viewed her military career as a point of contention between them, particularly her ambitious goals. Reed undoubtedly knows this as she shares everything with him. He is the father she never had.

A nurse enters the room breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Hello, gentleman. How’s our patient doing?” she asks as she checks Vanessa’s IV.

Tyler and Reed
stand up immediately. Tyler approaches the bed.

“How long will she be like this?” Tyler asks the nurse.

“Can’t say for sure. The doctor did everything he could.” 

She picks up an electronic pad and keys in some information.

“The burns have been healed, but there is some retinal damage. We’re not sure if the drug they gave her is impeding her ability to regain her sight, but she should regain consciousness momentarily. I’ve given her something for the pain when she does and…”

Vanessa moans and regains consciousness. She can hear Tyler and the nurse’s voices, but she sees nothing. She reaches for the bandages that are covering her eyes and the nurse rushes over to her.

“Captain Bains
, you’ll need to leave the bandages on for now,” the nurse says as she pulls Vanessa’s hands away from the bandages.

Vanessa begins to panic.

“Where am I?”

“Ares Corp. Medical Bay,” Tyler says.

Vanessa is comforted by his voice. She grabs his arms as he tries to calm her.

“You gave us a pretty good scare
, soldier,” Reed says.

“Reed is that you?”

“Yeah, try to take it easy.”

“How long was I
out? Who else is here? My eyes, why are my eyes bandaged? Oh God am I blind!”

“Easy
, Vanessa, it’s temporary” Tyler urges her as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“
I’ll get the Doctor,” the nurse says as she rushes out of the room.

“This must have been one hell of a reunion,” Vanessa jokes as she tries to compose herself.

Tyler looks over at Reed. Vanessa holds tightly to his arm and slowly slides her hands down to meet his. She immediately notices that Tyler isn’t wearing his wedding ring. She releases her grip on him and slouches back onto the bed.