Chapter Ten “Voices from the Dark Abyss” He was very frustrated. It was now the tenth minucycle since he was appointed the Repair Team Leader; and appointed by the Lectin none-the-less. The burden of responsibility was weighing heavily upon him, and to this point their efforts had been in futility. Every data scan showed as nominal. Every data crystal was found to be in perfect functionality, although after being tested, one of the crystals had been dropped, causing it to fracture. Perhaps there truly was a ghost in the machine, for they could find no physical damage or programming errors in the system. If only he knew what files Lectin Kosk had been theorizing over when the catastrophe occurred. It had been suggested to him that they do a total purge of the system and replace the entire unit. He decided not to follow that advice considering the system in question was that of the Lectin. Nobody on board the ship knew what had been in the Lectin Kosk’s files; it was possible they may not be retrievable in the mainframe system of the ship. Drodek was certain it was necessary to keep the system intact, and it was his responsibility to find the solution. He sat back away from the console and considered in his mind what had happened to cause the problem in the first place. A piece of space rock crashes through the view port, kills Lectin Kosk and smashes through the rear wall, destroying the system console in the Star Chamber. What could have caused such a complex problem to occur in the unit system? The problem should have been localized to the Star Chamber console. Unless….unless….unless what? What am I missing?...He rubbed his eyes, it had been several minucycles since he had been able to sleep. He had dismissed the team at the normal time but he had been staying later than the others to theorize the problem himself. He was tired and hungry. He decided to ask another repair team leader to meet him for a nourishment segment. He had forgotten about the damaged data crystal he had placed on the console earlier and as he reached to touch the communication crystal his hand caught the fractured end of the broken crystal. His hand recoiled quickly from the pain of the injury and he suddenly felt the warm trickle of blood run down across the palm of his hand and over his wrist. He squeezed the finger with his other hand and quickly found a cloth to wrap it in. He was dumbfounded by the occurrence and chastised himself for allowing it to happen. It was then that he noticed the blood that dripped from his finger onto the console was now finding its way into the nooks and spaces of the console system. It was at that moment he realized what had caused the problem in the system. He closed his hand forcing the finger against the cloth in his palm while he touched the communication crystal with his other hand. He then requested the system to inform Honorable Lectin that his presence was necessary in his quarters. Peter had heard his Parents stories of how they had survived the flare many times. He often wondered what it must have been like to be in the caverns for such a long time and being in fear the entire time of what was waiting for them on the outside of the caves. His Father had taken him to the caverns and walked with him to the point where the safe section ended. He warned Peter it was too dangerous to continue further and he did not want him to come into the caves without him. It was a dangerous place, it wasn’t a playground; his Father had told him. Kevin smiled a little when Peter asked him what a playground was. His smile faded away as he realized how much his son had missed out on from growing up in a post-flare world. However it only took a moment for the smile to return as he thought about the hundreds of bodies he had helped bury after their exodus from the caves. They truly had very much to be thankful for. Peter respected his Father, but curiosity got the best of him as he once again entered into the dark cavern. He couldn’t really say he hadn’t planned on going in, especially since he was carrying a flashlight with him. It was his third time into the caverns; his mind was set that on this visit he was going all the way to where his family had made their escape to. He came to the entrance to the small side cavern and after a slight moment of hesitation he stepped into narrow passageway. He scanned the light upwards to see the fragile ceiling above him. He thought of how his Father had described this section; the words now filling his mind as he eyed the loose looking rocks that seemed they would come crashing down upon him at any moment. He quickly pulled the light downward to the rock floor and increased the speed of his pace. If the rocks were going to come down, he didn’t want to be here when they did. As he came upon the pool of water he dropped the small bag he was carrying. It contained a complete change of clothes and a towel. He knew his Mother would have questions if he came home wearing either wet or a different set of clothes, so he was careful to bring a t-shirt and jeans that matched what he was now wearing. He took off his shoes and placed them by his clothing. After returning from the other side of the water barrier he would change clothes and put on his dry shoes and nobody would ever know he had been here. He placed his flashlight into a plastic bag and sealed it to keep it dry. He then stepped into the pool of water and approached the wall across from him. He had thought of everything and was very impressed with himself; but, as with most ten year olds, he simply wasn’t old enough to know everything. Zetchka had immediately responded to the message and went to his quarters. He found the young technician standing next to the entrance to the Star Chamber and noticed he had a bandage on his hand. Drodek explained what had happened and assured Zetchka he did not need to see anyone from the medical unit. He then sat at the console as Drodek began to explain his theorization on what was the cause of the system problems. “The operation system works through electronic stimulation and wave pulse integration. Many operations of the ship are controlled by the system itself. This allows for many functions to be automatically performed without the need for us to give direction. Most notably, if I touch a communication data crystal I do not need to identify myself. The system identifies me by recognizing my individual organic identity. It’s able to do this by the fact that each of our organic identities is entered into the system upon entry into our first cycle.” Zetchka nodded in agreement as he listened to the technician tell him nothing that he did not already know. “We often forget that our system has organic components, and just as with our own physical bodies, in some instances it is possible for the organic portion of the system suffer from anomalies. I have checked the records and found two instances in past record where the organic portion of the system was infected. In both of those instances, the affected units were removed and discarded before the contagion was able to spread to other units.” Drodek knew the thoughts the Lectin must be having at this moment. “I understand this is not an option in this circumstance. The information in this unit is irreplaceable and must be freed from the contagion before the unit is destroyed” Zetchka again nodded in agreement and then posed a question. “Have you been able to identify the contagion?” To this question Drodek paused in his response. “Yes Lectin, I have concluded the contagion is from Lectin Kosk. As the space rock tore through the wall unit of the Star Chamber, it contaminated the organic portion of the unit with blood from Lectin Kosk’s body. I can only theorize that as the rock damaged system files, it created a biological connection between the file crystals and each crystal is being tricked into believing Lectin Kosk is simultaneously requesting information from each file.” “Is repair possible?” Zetchka asked. “Yes, it will be necessary to delineate every file code in the system and scan for microbial contamination. Then it will be necessary to isolate and remove the remnants of Lectin Kosk. It will be a slow process. If done improperly, it would mean the loss of the information on the crystals.” “Your theorization appears to be proper. Congratulations Drodek, I realize this was a difficult task and shall remain difficult throughout the cleansing process. I have extreme confidence you shall be successful in your effort.” Zetchkas words were returned by the technician offering the symbol of honored respect. “I shall gather the necessary components and begin immediately.” “No. I theorize you have not had proper rest, nor have you had proper nourishment during this task. After you have received both, you may start the next phase.” As the technician exited the quarters, he could hear the Lectin’s personal communication data crystal inform him he was needed in the operation center; to which Zetchka responded in the affirmative. Drodek could not help but notice the tone of the Deck Officer’s voice. As always it was completely respectful, but in this instance, it seemed the Officer was excited about something. Peter scanned the light around the small cave he was now in. He had expected it to be larger than it was, and found himself to be a little disappointed. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to see. The only evidence of this area being his Family’s sanctuary during the flare was a few areas of disturbed earth. From the stories his parents had told him, he surmised these areas were where they had dug holes and used as ….what was that word his Uncle had said?...Lanterns?...No, not that…latrines, yes that was it, latrines. He giggled at the thought of pooping into a hole in the ground and then covering it with dirt. He could hear the sound of moving water as he crossed to the rear area of the cave. His light then sparkled in reflection of the moving current. This water was much clearer than the pool he had entered through. He knelt down and placed his hand in the water. It was much cooler than the other pool as well. Just as his father had wondered all those years ago, he pondered where the rushing current went to. It was a question to which there was no answer. He decided he needed to return home before his Mother began to wonder where he had gone off to. As he rose up and began to turn he realized the sound of the water at times almost sounded like whispered voices coming from the dark. It must have been very eerie for his Family to have stayed in the cave for such a long time. He hadn’t noticed the dirt beneath his foot had been working loose under his weight; as he turned and began to step forward his entire weight now rested upon this foot. The edge dropped away from beneath him and in an instant he found himself under the water. His flashlight died almost immediately. He found himself blind and helpless as the swift current carried him deeper into the unknown darkness. Zetchka entered the operations center and could immediately tell something important had occurred. The crew members were all smiling and the Deck Officer was also smiling, which was a truly rare occurrence. The operations center crew members were of a higher level than normal crew members. Although they were all on a need to know information basis, because of their assigned tasks they were privy to information the normal crew members were not. The Deck Officer approached Zetchka, nodded the symbol of honored respect and then spoke. “Lectin! The signals from Earth…they have returned!”
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 05:10:30 +0000
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