The Deep Dark Well (24 page)

Dammit to hell.
  She stormed from the
room, her mind a mass of roiling emotions.  Anger warred with fear, and
betrayal.  The connections were not complete.  That could mean all kinds of
things, but what came to mind was horrible to contemplate.

Into the scanner room,
where she had conducted the screens on Watcher.  The room with an independent
computer system not connected to the station central system.  Screened as
well.  It would not be able to contact her through her mind while she was in
here, unless she wished it. 

“Make sure nothing
interferes with my studies,” she told the scan room computer.  “Only allow
access by outside systems if danger threatens.  I want a full scan of my
brain.  The works.”

She sat in the chair as
the scanner plates automatically moved into position.  The humming sound of the
machinery at work soothed her slightly.  The plates maneuvered around her head,
building up a three dimensional image of her brain at the molecular level.

“Show holo, full
brain,” she ordered as she got up from the chair.  Her eyes fell on her helmet
for a moment.  Then all her attention was focused on the holo, holding the
representation of what had seemed before to be a totally normal brain.

Was it her imagination,
or were the short tendrils that had connected the implant to her brain centers
grown?  And were those enlarged nodes at the ends of the tendrils?

“Superimpose over
previous scan of my brain.”

The image of her brain
as it was when she was last in this room appeared on the holo, with the ghost
image of the current scan placed over it.  No.  She hadn’t imagined it.  The
tendrils had grown, and the nodes were something new.  But she had told the
computer not to increase her connection.  Why had it disobeyed her?  Had
Watcher wanted her to have a complete connection to the machine like his?  Or
did the computer have its own agenda.

“Can the connections be
taken out?”

“Affirmative,” answered
the scanner computer.  “Nanobots can be ordered to disassemble the level two
implant connections, leaving only the basic level one connections in place. 
This can be done while the subject is mobile.”

“How about the level
one connections?  Can they be taken out as well?”

“Period of complete
immobilization required for dismantlement of level one connections.  Time
required, two hours.”

She didn’t like that
idea at all.  Totally immobilized for two hours on a station that Vengeance
ruled.

“Is there any way to
keep the station computer from accessing my mind?” she asked.  There had to be
a way to keep that thing out of her brain, in case she had to act against it. 
And she was beginning to suspect that she would have to act against it, if only
to unravel its enigmatic purpose.

“The Class One combat
helmet can be augmented to block out electromagnetic transmissions to brain
implants.”

“Like the helmet I have
here?” she asked, picking it up from the table.  “What do I do to augment it?”

“Nanobots within the
helmet can be programmed to increase the translucence level of the helmet. 
Would you like me to order such.”

“Yes,” she said. 
“Immediately.  And do you mean the damn nanomachines are in everything in the
station?”

“Affirmative,” said the
computer.  “They perform a necessary maintenance function throughout the
station.  Modern civilization could not function without their ministrations.”

“I want all the
nanobots within the Class One Combat Helmet to deactivate themselves after they
perform their task,” she yelled.  “The same goes for those that are in my head,
after they complete the job of taking out the level two connections.  I want
them completely out of my body.”

“You will not have
access to the most sophisticated healing procedures if the nanobots are purged
from your physiology,” protested the computer.

“I got along without
them just fine before,” she replied through clenched teeth.  “I’m sure I can
get along without them just fine for now.”

Pandi sat in the chair
for what seemed like an eternity, though she was sure it was only fifteen
minutes.  Her skin crawled at the thought of the billions of tiny insect like
robots running through her body, taking apart the foreign objects in her head,
then taking apart themselves.

“It is done,” said the
computer.  “Your body is totally purged of nanobots.  They may be injected back
into your body at any time if you so desire.”

“I don’t desire,” she
said.  “Now I want you to access the main computer, with all filters in place. 
I want access to all information on the Watcher.”

“Emergency transmission
coming through from the central computer system,” said the scan room computer. 
“Do you wish to allow access?”

“Wait a second,” she
said as she pulled the helmet over her head and buckled the chin strap. 
“You’re sure that this thing will block unwanted access to my brain?”

“With the augmented
helmet in place you must consciously allow contact with the computer to your
mind.”

“OK, let it through.”

“Pandi Latham,” said
the voice of the central computer, much more human and alive sounding than the
slave unit of the scanner.  “I have an emergency message for you, priority
one.”

“A message?  From a
living creature?”

 “Yes.  One that is
known to you.”

“Put it on the holo,”
she said, suspicious of allowing the computer too much access to her mind.

“Why do you distrust me
so,” said the computer.  “I only have the best interest of all sentients on the
station at heart.”

“And I have my own best
interests,” she growled.  “Which don’t include letting a machine have
unrestricted access to the center of my being.  Not put on the damned holo.”

The holo sprung to life
in the center of the room.  A familiar face looked out at her, the face of
someone she thought she loved. 
No, not really his face
, she thought as
she looked into the cold eyes of the psychopath.

“Vengeance.”

“Yes, my dear Pandora,”
said the voice of the creature.  “I may call you Pandora, yes?”

“What the hell do you
want?  Computer, can he see me through this thing?”

“Yes, Pandora, I can,”
said Vengeance.  “What an interesting name you have.  Named after the woman who
released all the troubles upon an innocent mankind.  One who was cursed
forever.”

“Just tell me what the
hell you want, you asshole,” she growled.  “And leave off the history lesson.”

“What I want is you,”
said the creature.  “I want you to writhe in my sweet embrace.  I want your
dead and mutilated body to show to my enemy.  My brother.”

“I’m not so helpless now,”
she said uncertainly, her hands patting the pistols attached to her webbing,
then picking up her rifle.

“You think those will
protect you from the legions I command?” he said with a sneer.  “You may
destroy some of them, but I will get you.  Alive.”

“Computer.  Does he
know where I am?”

“Vengeance does know
your current location,” said the computer.

“How near is he?”

 “Vengeance is not
currently in this vicinity.”

Pandi blew out a soft
breath of relief.  So it would take the bastard time to get to her, and she
didn’t plan to be here when he arrived.

“However,” continued
the computer, “many of his robots are quite near.”

“Holo off,” she
ordered, and the image of Vengeance faded.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me
his robots were near?”

The computer remained
silent, as Pandi looked around the room to see if she had forgotten anything. 
She thought about going back to Wacther’s quarters, to see if she had left
anything there, but decided against it.  She had her pack, her weapons, and her
sanity.  That would be all she needed to survive, or she just wouldn’t.

Out of my mind.
  With the thought the
presence of the central computer left her mind.  She could feel it on the
fringe, waiting to be invited in.  But the invitation would not come soon.

“Scan room computer,”
she ordered.  “Is there any way to find my location and map my path without
resorting to the brain link implant?”

“The class one combat
helmet can be used to link with the computer system of the station and download
current location maps and routing instructions.  These will be displayed on the
visor of the helmet.”

“Download now,” she
ordered.  In an instant a small map of Watcher’s domain appeared on the left
upper corner of the visor.  She could still see through the visor as if nothing
obstructed her vision, though the map was also perfectly clear, and could at a
thought turn into a three dimensional representation.

“OK, I’m outa here,”
she said as she went through the door into the hall, weapons at the ready.  The
rifle was slung around her neck, the large EMP pistol in her right hand.  The
hall was clear, and she started breathing again, trying to slow her heart with
relaxing thoughts.

“Where are they?” she
asked the central computer, allowing access for a moment.

“Locations will appear
on your visor map,” said the computer voice, as red dots sprung into
existence.  A lot of red dots.  All the exits from the area were covered. 
Quickly counting she decided which exit had the least of the dots, and moved
deliberately in that direction.

“Open the door as soon
as I’m within five feet of it,” she ordered the computer, breaking into a run.

The door slid open
quickly as she launched herself into the air, a forward dive, the pistol moving
to the right side of the room beyond, where the map indicated two of the three
guardians awaited.  
They're actually there
, she thought with relief as
the slow motion effect of adrenaline rush overtook her.  Standard robots such
as Watcher used, with the different color scheme that showed they belonged to
Vengeance.

The barrel tracked onto
the first robot as she was falling to the floor.  A squeeze of the trigger and
the robot stiffened, freezing in place.  The barrel moved over as her body hit
the ground.  She thanked the God she wasn’t sure existed that she had played volleyball
as a girl, as her body slid along the floor.  A second squeeze and the second
robot froze in place, one foot in position to walk forward.  Unbalanced, it
fell over, and she sprung over it and rolled behind, her head and pistol
swinging around to cover the other side of the room.

The third and last
robot was running toward her, faster than a human could possibly move. 
Not
faster than the speed of light
, she thought as she lined it up and pulled
the trigger.  The robot froze in position, all of its electrical systems
fused.  Its momentum carried it on, and Pandi had to roll out of the way as it
crashed down on top of the robot she had been using for cover.

Funny
, she thought,
how
the old movies, even the newer trivee’s really, always portrayed machinery that
was destroyed by electromagnetic pulse as sparking and burning from the surge
of power
.  She had worked with machines all of her life, and had only seen
a true electrical fire twice in her career.  She had still expected the robots
to spark, or do something dramatic when they were hit by this supposedly
advanced version of an EMP pistol.

Where to next?
  She quickly scanned
the map on her visor, tracing out the three different routes from the room. 
One had red dots in it, moving in her direction.  That one was out.  The other
two were clear, but the exit on the left wall led to a corridor that did not
allow egress for quite a length.  Not her choice of a bolt hole, with only two
directions to go.  That left the center entrance.

With that thought her
feet were hitting the floor as she headed toward the doorway at a sprint.  She
could slow down later, to conserve energy in a jog.  Right now she had to get
out of here, and fast.

The door slid open
silently and closed just a quietly behind her.  She plopped a grenade down in
front of the door, setting it to arm in eight seconds with motion fuse.  Then
she turned and ran down the hall, her eyes keeping a close watch on the many
doors, while glancing at the visor map to make sure she wasn’t running into any
red dots.

There were suddenly a
half dozen of the hazard indicators in the room she had just left, half moving
to each of the other exits from the room.  She pumped her arms and legs faster,
turning into a doorway as the dots reached the booby-trapped entrance behind
her.  A glance over her shoulder showed the door sliding open, the arm and leg
of a robot visible.  Then she was in the small room and ducking for cover.  She
didn’t know how powerful the grenade was, but she suspected the worst.

The worst was what she
got, as the small grenade went off in the doorway down the hall with a roar. 
The walls and floor, built of hardened alloys, shuddered under the impact.  The
door to the room she was in jammed halfway open. 
What the hell
, she
thought.  Did it have a miniature nuclear warhead in it, or antimatter?  The
blast wave passed down the hall, some of it eddying hot and hard into the room
in which she lay.  She pulled her arms up over her head as she pressed the
visor into the floor.