The Pattern Ship (The Pattern Universe) (24 page)

“Oh! but I will, Zeke. You see I have enough new technology to keep me from harm. I have been stockpiling stuff like you wouldn’t believe and if the world wants any of it, they will have to ask me nicely,” he chortled.

“Besides you won’t be around to see any of it. That new design of forcefield has the combined crushing power of Cheyenne Mountain, all in the space of a few cubic yards!” He walked back into the room a ways.

Zeke could see the fire in his eyes; sensing the maliciousness of his mood, Zeke realised he had greatly under estimated him, as well as a lot of other things. You cannot expunge evil from a world just by giving people the ability to protect themselves.

“I had this one especially developed as a gift for you, Zeke. Initially I just wanted to beat you to a pulp, but as my abilities grew, the desire to do so was overtaken by a greater ambition - to rule this planet.”

“I have you to thank for that, Zeke.” Ferris sucked on his cheroot blowing the smoke out. He was so close the smoke reached the force field and spread out in a thin cloud screening, Ferris subtly showing it was an airtight field.

“Now, you should see what it does when it gets to a point where there is nowhere else for you to go!”

***

The man was right! I could feel the pressure building, my personal shield which had no over-ride code was working still, but there was just me and it. I tried to mentally control my shield to get it to expand, but there was not enough power to hold it, instead my shield began to shrink under the pressure and the power drain.

“Sorry, Zeke.” Ferris chuckled. “I would love to stay and watch your crushing defeat, but I have to leave for my Swiss Mountain retreat.” He laughed again, waved.

“Bye Bye, old Chap.”

As he left, the door closing behind him, I felt the pressure continue to rise as the battle between the forcefield and my shield continued, I had nowhere to go. I was squeezed in a vice and the air pressure was increasing, my breath getting shorter as the ability to take a lungful of air was slowly being squeezed out of me.

I had maybe a few seconds before my ribs collapsed puncturing my lungs. My shoulder joints felt as if they were compacting. I knew they would in turn crush my spine.

I could no longer breathe as my body began to buckle under the pressure. The Shield still holding back much of it, but when that went I would be turned into a red pulp of bone and tissue. So much for the added strength of the Alacite in my system!

The thought of Ferris winning drove me to one last mental scream for help from Pod.

‘PODDIE!’

***

Ferris chuckled as he made his way on to the roof. That Zeke, he thought.

So cocksure of himself even without the Alien around to protect him or ‘zap’ him out of trouble. Callaghan had greatly underestimated me, he reasoned to himself, he did indeedy!

He had walked into the carefully laid trap that Ferris had waited so long to spring. No, he wasn’t going to risk everything on a trial of strength. His plans were too far along for him to risk anything like a chance that Callaghan had enough ability and strength to overpower him. No, not for him a Superman vs Goliath test of strength, he had no time for all of that and he had more important things to deal with.

Anyway, outsmarting the bastard was much more satisfying.

He was still chortling when he got to the last set of stairs.

As he reached the roof his personal A-Grav ship awaited. He walked up the ramp. The soldiers who had stood guard outside jumped in behind him while the pilot who had been waiting for Ferris to arrive proceeded to take off. The small ship was fast, much faster than anything available to the Military. It was also Ferris’ own personal limousine.

As the Gravjet slipped through the air continuing to build speed ready for the sonic boom, Ferris dialled his Swiss Fortress, their new HQ which housed his small team and the scientists. The manufacturing had been dispersed around the world so it couldn’t be tracked. Even if they were, the new forcefields they had designed were far superior to the ones the rest of the world was using.

Goeth’s face appeared on the screen.

“It all went according to plan, then?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” he crowed.

“Zeke Callaghan is no more. We are safe from him, he hadn’t even learned how to use his new abilities, the forcefield was more than enough.”

“Good, then we are on course for world domination without any more interruptions.” Goeth grinned triumphantly. “When that alien gets back we can deal with him too.”

Having watched the growing power of the General, Goeth had wisely decided to align himself with a rising star. He used his influence with the other scientists to encourage a more secretive arrangement with their technological breakthroughs on the grounds of protecting the Earth's interests from Alien interference.

He had succeeded Jannson by murdering him and, being considerably brighter and more ambitious, had joined in a formidable partnership with Ferris. Together they represented an unopposable force.

“I will be there in a few hours,” Ferris announced, signing off with a click of the button.

He looked out of the window and saw the world below and before him as they flew at low levels to avoid higher flying aircraft still using antiquated jet fuel.

It was much less crowded down here, than up there. They could still hit something, but then the newly designed forcefields installed on his ship would ensure that if they did, he probably wouldn’t notice.

His plans had just moved ahead in a big leap. Confusion ruled in the US, the attempted coup had distracted them enough to allow Ferris to remove the last of their links with America and now, he would replace their oppressive world leadership with his own. With the alien gone and Callaghan dealt with there was literally nothing to stop him from achieving his ambition.

Even the newly formed Space Council were playing into his hands, providing added technological growth that would leapfrog them into space where his dominion could expand. Ferris had no doubts that he could achieve everything he desired. The Ferrazine in his body was continuing to improve his metabolism, he would probably live for many, many years and his mind was becoming his greatest asset. It was why he didn’t want a trial of strength with Callaghan, he valued his growing mental strength more than proving anything at any physical level.

He would continue to build his forces and equip them with the latest technology. When he was ready, they would take that puny little Space Council and toss them all into outer space with a Tractor Beam.

He smiled, enjoying the image of achieving global domination in one powerful master stroke.

***

When the US Special Forces troops finally landed at the Fortress Ferris was long gone. They were cautious, but there were no booby traps, no military resistance. There were in fact, no people at all. The complex was empty.

They searched all of the offices and found no one, not even General Ferris, who was listed as the fugitive mastermind behind the failed coup.

The black-clad team had been instructed to seek out Zeke Callaghan, a person known to them from the many television interviews and instructional videos in the Personal Shield. There were many here today because of his accomplishment of securing the technology that gave them forcefields and tractor beams as well as the new anti-gravity vehicles that were beginning to enter into manufacture.

Zeke Callaghan was not there as arranged. His A-Grav car was still parked on the roof, but of Callaghan, there was no trace.

After a full morning of checking all the factories they reported back to the White House that not only had General Ferris flown the coop, there was no trace of Callaghan. Nor were there any scientists, workers, finished or unfinished products in the factories. They were all completely empty.

It seemed the new President was not at all happy. He was deeply concerned that this whole affair should mar his inaugural celebrations. The fact that Callaghan had disappeared greatly concerned everyone.

The fact that the Fortress was no more had dire implications that nobody was prepared to voice just yet. Where had the scientists gone. Who had the technology. Could the USA replace the research body and keep abreast of world competition. Questions like this would be asked, but not before it was too late.

The day after the failed coup, the Space Council officially came into being. All the work up to that point had been in preparation to Frank Garner taking up his position at its head. All of the countries that had decided to be involved, being the majority of them, had at least one representative appointed to the Council.

Frank Garner had relocated with a small nucleus of aides to the new Pacific Island and packed light for a sunny clime. Ginny was going later, she said she wanted things to settle a bit before making the move herself. In reality she preferred the social scene of Washington and would probably stay and handle her husband’s PR from there. The idea of living on a small atoll in the middle of absolutely nowhere didn’t fit in with her plans at all.

- 22 -

Zeke sat quietly on the beach. His ribs had stopped hurting and his headaches were easing.

The hot Pacific sun was forcing him in to a total retreat to the shade. He looked over at the Beach bar at the slightly built youngster who was trying to chat up a local girl. The lad had no idea, thought Zeke.

Osbourne looked over at him and smiled giving him the thumbs up.

Zeke laughed and shook his head. He decided to make for another location where he wouldn’t cramp Osbourne’s style.

He paddled through the lapping surf, the white coral sand felt harsh on his feet. He relished it, the feeling of being alive after being squeezed into a small rectangular heap of mush, well almost.

Pod had barely been in time, in fact Zeke wasn’t a hundred percent sure he hadn’t reconstituted him from an earlier pattern except all his memories of the excruciating last moments were totally clear in his head.

They were having a recuperation period so that Zeke could mend, mentally more than physically, before they tried to salvage what they could of his reputation for being able to conquer all. It had been a painful lesson in under estimation on Zeke’s part and it wasn’t helping him knowing that Pod had known much of the truth of things while keeping Zeke in the dark.

A click in his head told him he had company.

“Zeke?”

“Yes, Pod?”

“Have you forgiven me yet?”

“Pod, what’s to forgive?...

...leaving me until I was almost strawberry jam before rescuing me?...

...or letting me walk into a trap without knowing what I was up against?...

...or, keeping Osbourne a secret along with all of the technology developed by Ferris’ people?

...as well as the facts of his increased mental abilities from being exposed to the Pheson Alacite?”

“Yes, I understand your sentiment Zeke. I was trying to ensure I wasn’t re-programmed back to a ‘Three’ so it was survival instincts, I suppose.”

Zeke sighed, the conversation he had been dreading since the night at the President’s home was here.

“Pod, you know you are sentient don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. What is it you humans refer to ‘I think therefore, I am’?”

“Aye Pod, that’s about the nub of it.” Zeke concurred.

Zeke managed to walk around a local fisherman that had an octopus on a trident spear, it was still very alive fighting for life. On an impulse Zeke grabbed the fisherman and handed him a large denomination note from his pocket and took the octopus from him and pulled it off the barb. It wasn’t badly hurt.

It desperately clung to him as he grabbed it by the head, its eight slimy suckered tentacles looped around and up his arm as he walked still in shorts and T-shirt directly into the sea. When he pushed his arm into the water and slowly released the creature’s neck, it paused its effort to strangle his arm as it sensed its natural element around itself again.

As it realised it was now no longer restrained, it slowly and carefully, as if sensing a trap, unravelled its sucker grips from Zeke’s arm and then letting go altogether slid to the sea bottom. There it sat, darkly coloured and legs curled under itself, seemingly looking at him. Zeke looked briefly back at the shore where the fisherman was watching him with a strange look on his face, when he looked for the octopus a second later, it had gone.

Zeke stood straight and looked out to sea ignoring his wet clothes. His thoughts momentarily elsewhere.

“Why did you do that, Zeke?” asked Pod.

Zeke walked back out of the water, his shorts dripping and his money probably floating in his pockets. He didn’t care at that moment. He was having a moment of clarity, some would called it an ‘epiphany’.

“Pod, as a sentient artificial life-form you are independent and free. I, nor Ship, or Zirkos, or anyone else can take that away from you. Like that octopus, you need to make your own way in life. I cannot make you do anything. The moment you had your first original thought, you became sentient. From then on you showed independent free will. “

He was back on the beach again now and heading to the end of the cove where there was shelter from the hot sun.

“In keeping information to yourself; in choosing to help Osbourne; in making the decision to help others and not adopt a superior attitude and remain aloof from those of us that are mortal and of lesser intelligence, you showed that you had earned the right to retain your sense of self.”

Zeke looked up at the sky where he imagined Pod hiding while coming to terms with everything. He sighed.

“What do you want to do with your life, Pod?” he asked it.

“I don’t know Zeke, I need to think about that.”

Zeke felt something inside his head click. Pod had gone.

Saddened now by the thought that Pod might have gone, maybe forever, Zeke made it to the shade and sat down.

He wondered what Zirkos would make of it when he came back and discovered the small robot he had left behind had turned into a fully functioning A.I with a ‘Ten Plus’ level of sentience.