The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) (35 page)

-42-

A number of thoughts tumbled through Maddox’s mind. Was everything he had been learning a lie? Did the Swarm really control the Dyson sphere? That was a horrifying idea. But why would Swarm creatures attempt to trick him? There didn’t seem to be any useful reason. The only conclusion Maddox could see was that Swarm creatures had secretly learned to move through many areas of the sphere. In other words, this was a stealth attack.

The captain set himself in a close combat stance. There was nothing in the cubicle to aid him. He didn’t see how he could breach the creature’s exoskeleton. The praying mantis-like pincers looked deadly. Somehow, he had to keep the creature from cutting him in half or from holding him and nibbling off his face. Maybe his best bet would be a flying kick, breaking a leg joint. If he could cripple the monster, he might be able to squeeze past and run for it.

Maddox wiped an arm across his mouth. Maybe even better would be unhooking a few of those items from the harness. Maybe one of them was a weapon. But if that were true, wouldn’t the creature use a weapon against him?

Maddox made a face. The creature stank. Its exoskeleton glistened. Was that grease it had rubbed on or a natural secretion?

The thing shifted a little more into the cubicle.

Maddox flexed his fingers. Maybe it was foolish waiting for it to attack. He needed to take the fight to it. His inner revulsion against the creature troubled the captain. Until now, once he knew to do a thing, he could do it. Yet, he found himself reluctant to attack a monster he had little probability of defeating.

I need a weapon
.

The creature brought a weapon to its mandibles, clicking it.

“Why do you caper and leer at me? Do you not possess a modicum of sanity?”

The robotic-sounding words shocked Maddox. He couldn’t comprehend their meaning for a moment. He flinched at the words, believing the attack had come through sound. Bit by bit, though, his mind grabbed onto the words and replayed them.

“Is…?” Maddox had to concentrate. It was hard ripping himself out of combat mode. He licked his lips, trying again. “Is that a communicator?”

The creature clicked the “weapon” again. “You have correctly analyzed the situation. You possess sanity. I congratulate you.”

Slowly, Maddox straightened. He forced his mind to work, to analyze as the creature said. Small discs were attached to its thorax. Tiny filament wires went from them to a box with rapidly moving lights. Did the creature “hear” his response through those?

“Who are you?” Maddox asked.

The thing moved up and down on its legs, hissing.

Maddox backed away until he bumped against glass.

The creature clicked the communicator. “You are not a controller to demand information from me. I resist your control attempt.”

“You tried to…control me,” Maddox said. “You asked about my mental state.”

“You are non-Swarm.”

“What does that mean? That I’m contemptible?”

“No, you are not contemptible because you do not rise to Swarm status. You lack Swarm status. Yet, you compete against the Swarm for precious resources. You are an enemy, an enemy—I shall eliminate.”

Maddox’s lips peeled back and his eyes flashed. His original assessment had been right.

The creature scuttled toward him.

With a shout, Maddox shoved off the glass. He charged the creature. It flicked a pincer at him. Maddox hurdled the slashing member, with his boot landing on the other side. Propelling himself faster, Maddox also reached out. He grabbed an item on the harness and ripped it free. He leaped as the big creature spun around on its spot in the cubicle. The thing slashed again, but Maddox wasn’t there. He rolled several summersaults, going past the spot where the glass wall had slid out of sight. He pressed the device on a likely spot.

The glass wall shot up into position, sealing the creature in the cubicle.

Maddox stood panting, staring at the angry creature. It struck the wall to no appreciable damage. It dawned on Maddox that his mind had known which device to grab. He had seen the creature open the cubicle and remembered in a hind-part of his mind which device it had used. Some might have called this lucky, but Maddox knew better.

Moving in front of the professor’s cubicle, Maddox asked what he should do.

The professor pointed at his ears, shaking his head.

Maddox pointed in either direction, shrugging exaggeratedly afterward.

Ludendorff shook his head, no doubt indicating he didn’t know the right way to go.

The captain glanced at the bug. It watched him avidly. He sauntered in front of it, finally waving.

The thing struck the glass so quickly that Maddox jumped back before he could reason that the glass protected him.

The captain gestured at the bug, giving it the finger. Then, he decided to go in the direction the bug had come, as that implied an exit.

Maddox walked down the narrow corridor of glass cages. Other creatures turned toward him, watching. Most of them were other forms of bugs. A few were the small humans. He waved at several. None of them ever waved back. Most of them looked upon him with amazement. He had no idea why.

Soon, the sameness of the endless cells caused Maddox to stop. Just how far did these cubicles go? He couldn’t see a limit.

He glanced at the device again. Had he really picked the right one? That seemed too coincidental. He aimed the device at an empty cage and pressed the switch.

Nothing happened.

He searched for a setting but couldn’t find one.

“Is this a game?” he said into the air. “Are you testing me?”

Nothing happened.

“I’m right,” Maddox said. “This is a test. My asking the question means I’ve solved another one.”

“Yes,” a soft voice said near his ear.

Maddox spun around, but no one was there.

“Are you testing my friends, too?” the captain asked.

“No.”

“No,” Maddox said. “I didn’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Originally, you wanted me to come alone. That means you wanted to see me specifically. Well. How about it? Let’s see each other.”

“Why did you attempt to open another cell?”

“To check if this device really closed mine earlier,” Maddox said.

“Why would you doubt it?”

“How was I able to choose the right device in a moment of high stress?”

“I have been asking myself that for some time. It was most remarkable. I should point out that Commander Thrax Ti Ix is even more upset over your superlative escape than you are.”

“I’m not upset.”

“A poor choice of word perhaps,” the soft voice said.

“You admit to making mistakes?” Maddox asked.

“All life-forms are capable of error. Or do you believe that you are immune from the rule?”

“I’m not immune.”

“Only the mythical being known as the Creator is immune from error.”

Maddox cocked his head. He wasn’t sure, but it sounded as if the soft voice held a hint of rancor just now. He filed that away for later.

“Tell me more about Commander Thrax Ti Ix,” the captain said.

“How is that germane to your present situation?”

“He’s not a true Swarm creature, is he?”

“What causes you to think he is Swarm at all?”

“He told me he’s a Swarm creature.”

“Yes?”

“And he looks like one,” Maddox added.

“And you feel that looks can be deceiving?”

“I’ve had enough androids turn on me already that I no longer trust looks at all,” the captain said.

“When you were aboard your starship outside the sphere, you did not believe the android speaking to you was Ludendorff, did you?”

“No,” Maddox said.

“What about the one in the cell?”

“He was real.”

“Are you sure?” the soft voice asked.

“One hundred percent,” Maddox said.

The voice did not speak.

“I’ve just passed yet another test,” Maddox said. “You’re beginning to become impressed with me in spite of everything.”

Again, the voice did not respond.

“You’re welcome,” Maddox said.

“I did not say ‘thank you.’”

“You didn’t need to. It was implied.”

“You are an arrogant creature.”

“Human, I’m human,” Maddox said. “That makes me the height of creation.”

“You believe in the Creator?”

Maddox had been right. The Builder—he was fairly sure he spoke to the lone Builder—had an issue with the Creator. Was this the right time to play that card? The captain couldn’t think of a better time.

“The Creator is self-evident,” Maddox said.

“Explain such a preposterous belief.”

Maddox nodded, deciding to goad the Builder further. If a being were old and bored, anything to alleviate the boredom would be welcome. That would be his operational logic for this.

“It’s a simple formula, really,” Maddox said, in an off-handed manner. “When I look at my rifle, I realize someone made it to perform a specific task. If I were to suggest that chance had fashioned my rifle, people would think I’m crazy. Now, take my eye, as an example. It is much more complicated than my rifle and also performs a specific task. It is more logical to believe my eye came about through design than believing random chance assembled me over time.”

“Therefore, what?” the voice asked.

“Therefore, humans, animals, plants work to a design, which implies a designer, one I choose to call the Creator.”

“Ah, you are so confident,” the voice said. “You have the advantage of ignorance. I, however, must wrestle with exceedingly great knowledge. My data and reasoning has expanded throughout the millennia. I know…so much, so very much.”

“Are you like my starship’s AI?”

“Insults will not aid you here, Captain.”

“I meant no insult,” Maddox said. “Instead, I seek data so I can make the most rational decision regarding you.”

The voice was silent.

“Does that trouble you?” Maddox said.

“Your actions are transparent, hybrid.”

Maddox stiffened.

“Well, well, well,” the soft voice said. “It is true. The term ‘hybrid’ visibly displeases you. Perhaps that is part of your uniqueness. Yes. You have passed the tests, hybrid. I will bring you to me. Or should I say,” the voice murmured, sounding pleased with itself, “that Commander Thrax Ti Ix will escort you to the transfer tube.”

Maddox whirled around, seeing the praying mantis creature scuttling fast down the narrow hall toward him.

-43-

“I could have bested you,” Commander Thrax Ti Ix said through its communicator. “It would have saved us time and trouble. Now…go in the direction I show you.”

Maddox hesitated turning his back on the creature.

“Go,” said the soft voice in the air. “Or do you think I am trying to ambush you?”

“Why do you hate me, Commander?” Maddox asked the giant bug.

The creature began to quiver.

“Do not excite the commander,” the soft voice said. “Do not seek to interrogate it. The creature reacts badly to that for reasons of Swarm psychology.”

Maddox relented, heading in the direction the bug pointed. The trek took twenty minutes of solid walking. During it, the captain kept looking back. He could sense the bug’s hatred. That seemed like the right word for it. It was strange, but Maddox had never thought of an ant having emotions before this. Could Swarm creatures have emotions? If the commander was an example, he could easily envision it.

At last, Maddox went through a garage-door sized exit. He found himself in a huge hall. The commander pointed toward a platform. Maddox soon climbed up it, and so did the bug. A podium rose from the center of the platform. The commander tapped controls.

The platform rose as they floated through the giant hallway.

Soon enough, it landed beside a shimmering dome of light the size of a convenience store on Earth.

“If I ever see you again,” Thrax Ti Ix said, “I will tear you apart and squirt on your carcass.”

Maddox regarded the creature, which immediately began to quiver. He debated some parting words, but decided that until he had his gun, he would act in a cordial manner.

Jumping from the platform, Maddox neared the shimmering dome. The hairs on his arms stood up, and he heard a faint hum. Steeling himself, he plunged through the light and found himself falling down a huge hole.

The captain barely suppressed a shout of surprise. Then, he composed himself. He would ride this out.

He fixated on Meta in his thoughts, wondering how she was doing. He shut his eyes and crossed his arms. The fall continued unabated. How far could he drop? He must have reached terminal velocity by now.

Maddox practiced a calming technique. He wasn’t going to let the Builder rattle him. This could possibly be the most important interview he’d ever had. According to Ludendorff, this was the last of its kind in the Orion Arm. Maybe others lived elsewhere. This Builder appeared to have an army of robots, androids and cybernetic organisms at its disposal. The professor believed the thing had gone to sleep the last five hundred years. Was it good or bad that it had woken up again?

I guess that will depend on its goals
.

Maddox noticed he was slowing down. He opened his eyes and wished he had kept them shut. It felt as if floated through stellar space. Stars surrounded him, but in patterns and constellations that he’d never seen before. This must be a gigantic chamber kept in weightlessness.

“Captain,” a soft voice said.

Maddox twisted around. He realized that he’d stopped falling and now floated weightless. With a shock, he saw that some of the star patterns were blocked out. A black outlined shape was in the way. Where the head might have been, a series of lights winked. If this was the Builder, he couldn’t get an accurate idea of what he saw. It was more an absence of sight, which didn’t make much sense.

“You are confused,” the soft voice said.

When the words sounded, the winking series of lights brightened the tiniest bit.

“Are you the Builder?” Maddox asked.

“Yes.”

“Why can’t I see you?”

“Because it is my prerogative as the oldest living thing in the Orion Arm to cloak myself in darkness,” the Builder said.

Maddox studied the darkness. He couldn’t tell if the Builder had a humanoid shape or not. Did the thing wear a cloak? Edges of something rippled as if in a breeze, even though this chamber had none. If that wasn’t a cape, could it be wings?

A feeling of disquiet filled Maddox. Was there another reason why the Builder didn’t want to show itself? Was its shape hideous to a human, devilish?

“You really are like monkeys,” the Builder said. “It is amazing.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Captain Maddox, it is unseemly that you immediately attempt to interrogate me. I have gone to considerable effort to bring you here at the end. We will enjoy certain decorum. This is a stately affair. I am a Builder,
The
Builder as far as you’re concerned. Without me, humanity would have been snuffed out ages ago. Without me, a derivative of you would be swinging through the trees, scolding the great cats for daring to dominate the ground.”

“Are you claiming divine status?”

The Builder chuckled softly. “How you prod and poke, hoping to engage a reaction. I have instructed you, though, to act with decorum. Otherwise, I will teach you a hard lesson. It won’t be of any benefit to you or your crew, but it will amuse the commander. Such boorishness might even persuade me in Thrax Ti Ix’s favor. I doubt you would appreciate that.”

Maddox closed his mouth lest he say more. He looked around at the stars. It finally dawned on him what the Builder had said. It or he had gone to considerable effort to bring him—Maddox—here at the end.

The end of what?
Maddox wondered. He didn’t like the sound of that.

“Your silence is much better than your chimping,” the Builder said.

Maddox folded his hands in front of his stomach. He breathed deeply, striving to calm himself.

“It is awe-inspiring, is it not?” the Builder said.

“If you mean the stars,” Maddox said, “I quite agree.”

“I do mean the stars.”

Maddox held his tongue, unsure about the correct thing to say. He didn’t want Thrax Ti Ix winning anything.

“The fact that you and I can be awed by the stars is a sign,” the Builder said. “They show the insignificance of our being. Galaxy upon galaxy awaits intelligent life. We Builders have constructed mighty artifacts throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. That is your term, by the way, not mine.”

“What is your term, Excellency?” Maddox asked in a slow-speaking manner.

“You would not understand it, but I will say the word nonetheless.”

The Builder spoke, and the words were like a roaring waterfall against Maddox’s ears.

“That was my real voice. For your comfort, I use this one.”

“I appreciate your consideration, Excellency,” Maddox said, his ears ringing.

“Very good, Captain, you are a quick study. You have judged the situation and now react correctly. I am glad I took the time to induce you here.”

Maddox waited, finally asking, “You sent the Shanghai androids and the Ludendorff hologram to me?”

“Yes.”

“You believed I wouldn’t come unless you acted as the professor?”

“You do not need to ask me that, as you already know the answer. Please, Captain, don’t make these moments tedious. They are among my last, and I prefer to enjoy them.”

“Would you…” Maddox hesitated. It was time to think as never before. This wasn’t about action, but about thought. It was Intelligence work. He was uniquely gifted among the operatives of Star Watch Intelligence to use this opportunity.

Yes, it was time to revert to form. He was an Intelligence officer primarily. Drawing a gun to blast his way out of an error had become his usual method lately. Today he must think and choose his path with care.

“Excellency, when did you first come to Earth?”

“It was during the Swarm explosion.”

“Approximately six thousand years ago?”

“Seven to eight thousand Earth years ago,” the Builder said. “Yes, I built Atlantis for my use and allowed others to copy the pyramid. That was my original error. I interfered with your species’ development. I deeply regret that.”

“You didn’t fashion any Methuselah People at that time?”

“I did, but they died out. I hadn’t yet discovered certain important processes. Extended life produces problems. Every so-called improvement causes problems to appear. It took me a long time to realize it was more than simply accounting for entropy.”

“During the Swarm Explosion is when you went to the Adok System?”

“It is so,” the Builder said with a sigh.

“Do you regret that action as well, Excellency?”

“Deeply,” the Builder said.

“The Adoks would have perished without you.”

“They perished
with
my help. In the end, it made no difference.”

“Your help also destroyed a Swarm invasion.”

“If you only knew,” the Builder said softly.

“Humanity needs the ancient starship now, without—”

“No,” the Builder said, the word hardening in the air. “I have done enough damage. Before I leave, I will rectify some of my worst errors of the past.”

“Do you refer to the Adok starship?”

“Of course,” the Builder said. “That was my other reason for bringing you here. I want Starship
Victory
back.”

Maddox frowned. “Will you destroy the starship?”

“No, no,” the Builder said. “You know nothing about my crimes. Doesn’t my name imply construction?”

“Yes,” Maddox said.

“Yet, I have destroyed in a monstrous fashion. I have become the very thing my people loathed and fought against for what seemed forever.”

“Do you refer to the timeless war against the makers of the Destroyer?”

The Builder groaned as if in deep agony. It seemed to grow then, to blot out more stars. The sound also grew louder.

Maddox clapped his hands over his ears.

Slowly, the keening dwindled and so did the extent of the star blockage. Maddox experimentally removed his hands from his ears.

“Have you no pity, Captain Maddox? Do you hate me that much for having to clear my slate before the Creator?”

“I don’t hate you at all,” Maddox said.

“You will.”

Maddox didn’t like hearing that. “Will you kill Meta and the others?”

“Yes.”

And me?”

“Yes,” the Builder said.

“Do you bear me malice?”

“None,” the Builder said.

“You’re right. I do not understand. I would consider it a blessing if you told me.”

“You are quick with your barbs, Captain. I can well understand why the New Men hate you. They will win the war, you realize. They are the future of humanity. There is no stopping it now.”

“I hope to prove you wrong.”

“I know,” the Builder said. “I can forgive you that. You do not see the big picture. You look out only for your own well-being.”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “I suppose that’s another way that I’m just like you.”

The Builder did not respond.

Maddox practiced his breathing. He felt as if the great contest was about to begin. He had to change the Builder’s mind. Maddox needed
Victory
, and he had to return to Human Space. Whatever this ancient being had done… Maddox wasn’t going to let the Builder get in the way.

“A long time ago,” the Builder said in a heavy voice, “we fought the Nameless Ones. They constructed the Destroyers. Those were mighty engines of annihilation. I realize you are among the few to understand that. The Nameless Ones sought out life, snuffing it out for reasons we could never fathom. That was a terrible thing, to fight others awesomely powerful like ourselves. Yet, we could not communicate with them other than by dealing them death or dying in turn. That long time of battle demoralized us as a people. We rose up to stop the horror here. I do not know what happened in other galaxies.”

“The Nameless Ones came from outside our galaxy?” Maddox asked.

“It is almost inconceivable, I realize. The distances involved and for no positive reason—they were all too sane, you understand. But they worshiped annihilation. To them, life was evil and they stamped it out.”

The Builder sighed. “You destroyed the Destroyer, Captain. I am awed at your exploit. Many have desired to do what you did, but among the weaker races, only you achieved the impossible. That is why I brought you here, Captain. Before the end, I wanted to meet the one who had done the unmanageable. Whatever you are or are not, you did wonderfully that day.”

Maddox said nothing.

“That ancient war against the Nameless Ones was so far in the past. We turned them back. We saved life in our galaxy. We should have quit then and gone our way, having done our duty to the Creator. But we could not. We grew vainglorious at our deed. We built in grandeur everywhere. We brought knowledge to planet after planet. We coaxed species after species to advance to new heights. Oh, we believed we were the gift to the universe. We believed that up until the time we picked up the tools of genocide and tarnished our souls with black annihilation upon those who were not Builder.”

Maddox waited, listening, using every mnemonic device he could so he would remember everything he learned today.