Klunk
by Bill Bowler
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Table of Contents, parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
In a future where artificial intelligence has matched that of humans, androids assume many human roles in society. The age-old fear of “replacement” takes hold among the humans, many of whom demand segregation.
Egon, the Rector of a “humans-only” temple, and about two dozen followers are preparing to flee their conflict-ridden society and emigrate to Alphane 3, a planet depicted as an earthlike paradise. They are joined at the last minute by Caspar Klunk, an anti-android paramilitary who has committed a political assassinaton and seeks refuge from the police.
part 4
III — The New World
“Egon?”
“Yes, Caspar. I’m here.”
Robby and I were at Caspar’s bedside when he regained consciousness.
Caspar lay still for a moment, then turned his head and looked at me with unblinking eyes. “What happened?”
“Thank God, Caspar! You’re alive. You saved the ship.”
He was weak from his ordeal, but struggled to speak. “I don’t remember anything.”
“You were in a terrible accident. Robby had to operate. We almost lost you.”
Caspar turned his head slowly and looked at Robby.
“I have a suite of medical programs installed,” said Robby quietly.
Good Lord, was it possible for an android to be modest?
Caspar tried to sit up, propped himself on his elbows and looked down at himself. His expression turned to disbelief.
“That’s not my arm! Where’s my arm? What happened to my arm?”
“You suffered major trauma, Mr. Klunk. Parts of your body were damaged beyond repair. In order to save your life, I had to amputate. You’ll be pleased to know I was able to preserve 40% of your organic tissue.”
“Robby,” I interrupted, “perhaps this is not the best time.”
“No,” said Caspar, “I want to hear. I have a right to know.”
Robby continued, “We have no store of human transplant organs on board. The only prosthetic parts available were those salvaged from Andr34, whom you had disassembled. We fitted you with one artificial arm, one leg, and titanium struts and joints from her skeletal frame.
“All of your internal organs were crushed except your heart, which was remarkably resilient. It is in your chest now, beating with the aid of a pacemaker. Your lungs were collapsed. I installed a micro air pump for respiration, and what remains of your blood vessels are fused to a network of flexible tubes, like my own, to close the circulation system.
“I recovered your throat and larynx but had to replace your gastrointestinal tract with a chemical processing unit. You’ll never eat again, but you will need to ingest nutrition through a port to replenish your organic tissue and will have to periodically recharge your batteries. Most of your face was preserved—”
Caspar moaned, and I interceded again. “Caspar, you’re as handsome as ever. Robby is an incredibly skilled plastic surgeon. But your eyes were damaged beyond repair. You would be blind without parts from Andrea.”
Robby concluded, “I was able to save your cerebrum and automate your lower brain activity electronically. Your higher brain activity is augmented by implanted memory and processing components.”
Caspar lay still on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He seemed far away. Suddenly he whispered, “He’s having trouble processing this information. It’s been a tremendous shock to him.”
“Him?” I said. “Who’s him?” I turned to Robby. “What does he mean ‘he’? Caspar! What is it?”
Caspar spoke quietly, “There’s something wrong. I hear a voice.”
Delirium, I thought, but Robby explained. “It’s a side effect. The electronic components I installed to support mentation were recycled from Andr34. I wiped the memory sticks, but it’s impossible to clear the cache completely. There are also three levels of memory cache on the chips I implanted to support the processing of Mr. Klunk’s higher brain function. Vestigial elements of Andr34’s sentience could leak from the hardware and surface in the organic brain, creating a composite personality in the cyborg unit.”
Caspar shook his head weakly and groaned. “You should have let me die. No, don’t say that. Leave me alone! We’re in this together now.”
“Caspar,” I said as gently as I could, “don’t lose hope. You must live. You’ll adjust. Maybe it will pass. You have your whole life in front of you. Think of our new home on Alphane 3. We can’t do it without you. Now rest. Try to sleep. I’ll come by later.”
Caspar was so weak and his suffering so great that I thought it best not to reveal the whole truth to him yet. He had saved the ship, yes, for now, but we were stranded. The meteoroid shower had severed cables and knocked out the engines. We had lost thrust power and were drifting helplessly in space. To make matters worse, the ship’s hull had been perforated in multiple locations and we were leaking air. We could hold on, but it was unclear for how long. I was losing hope and prayed to God for a miracle before my faith failed, too.
* * *
The ship’s day-night protocol continued to cycle. Caspar’s cybernetic body recuperated at a remarkable rate. Psychologically, his two selves had entered into dialog and seemed to be getting along as well as any couple could be expected. The rest of us clung to each other.
Captain Pierson summoned me to the bridge. He was viewing Alphane 3 through the ship’s astro-telescope. I marveled at the beautiful blue-green sphere partially covered in white clouds, so much like Earth. It seemed as if you could just reach out and touch it. It was maddening to be so close to our destination, to safety, to our new lives, and be helpless to get there. Robby was at the com console transmitting our SOS and trying to make contact with Alphane 3.
“No reply from the colonists?” I asked.
The captain shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
We stood in silence for a moment, and the captain asked, “How is Klunk?”
“He’ll be out of the infirmary soon. He’s doing remarkably well.”
Pierson remained silent, a scowl on his handsome face.
“Captain, about Andr34...”
“It’s a damn shame, Rector. I’d throw him in the brig if we had one. I should confine him to quarters and report him. But to whom?”
“It’s pointless, Captain. We’re too far from Earth, and I hardly think the colonial authorities on Alphane 3 would object to terminating an android.”
“She was an outstanding officer. I miss her.”
“He’s repentant, Captain. He understands what he did was wrong. And she’s not entirely gone. The two halves have been made whole.”
Pierson smiled. “Heh. He got more than he bargained for.”
“The Lord works in mysterious ways, Captain.”
Robby crossed over from the com console to join us at the view screen. His movements were deliberate, unhurried, his expression impassive, his voice monotone, as always. “Captain,” he said matter-of-factly, “we’ve received a message.”
Captain Pierson flinched, but maintained his composure. He spoke calmly. “Put it up on screen, Robby.”
Tears welled in my eyes when I read these words: SOS received. Stand by.
Robby acknowledged and confirmed our coordinates. I hugged Captain Pierson and Robby, and rushed to tell the others. Within hours, a blip appeared on screen and then the rescue ship approached and hailed us. The ship identified itself as the Gort, a cargo transport en route to Alphane 3. Captain Pierson gave permission to board. A shuttle craft soon docked at the bay door of the Seeker. We opened the airlock, and two crew members from the Gort came through the hatch.
We greeted them as the saviors they were. Our joy turned to amazement when they removed their helmets and we saw the bland faces and glassy eyes. Androids! Male and female format. The good Lord must surely have been having a good laugh on us at that moment.
“Welcome aboard,” said the captain. “I’m Hugh Pierson, Captain of the Seeker. We are a private charter vessel en route from Earth, transporting pilgrims to Alphane 3. Our ship was caught in a meteoroid storm. Our hull is damaged and our engines are disabled.”
“Understood, Captain. I am 30T-12 or BOT Twelve, whichever you prefer, Captain of the Gort. This is my first officer, Areal. We are returning to base with a cargo of Helium-3. We are not equipped to repair your engine, but we can seal your hull and tow you to your destination.”
“Thank you, BOT Twelve. We would be most grateful.”
“We would transfer you aboard our ship,” said Areal, “but the interior is not fitted for human accommodation. You would not be comfortable, and we have no facilities: no beds, no bathrooms. Better to stay here and, with your permission, I will remain on board the Seeker as your liaison.”
A drone repair crew from the Gort patched our hull exterior while the tractor beam was engaged. With the leaks patched, the android ship engaged engines and we continued our journey in tow.
* * *
During this final leg of our pilgrimage, Caspar returned to full strength and his mental condition stabilized, more or less. He continued his internal dialog, but it seemed both parties were amicable to the sharing arrangement. And what choice did “they” have? Areal and I helped him move from the infirmary back to his cabin.
We were standing at the portal in Caspar’s quarters, watching as we passed Alphane 4, a spectacular ringed gas giant with dozens of moons.
“What a sight!” I said. “It won’t be long now.”
Areal took me by the hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She was a magnificent female-format android of advanced design. She looked as if she had been modeled on an Olympic athlete.
“Areal?”
“Yes?”
“I have so many questions. I don’t want to pry.”
“What is it, Egon?”
“Who are you? Who made you? Where do you come from?”
A shadow seemed to cross her face. “Access denied. Those files are encrypted. Password required.”
“But you have been modeled on the human form.”
“That’s true, Egon.”
“And you have English language programming installed.”
“Yes.”
“So your makers must be...”
Areal remained silent, but gazed at me with her lovely eyes. If I didn’t know better, it might have seemed there was a faint smile on her lips. But that would be impossible, of course. I pondered this mystery and others as we were towed at sub-light speed towards our destination and our future.
On final approach to Alphane 3, BOT Twelve transferred aboard and came to the bridge. Caspar, Areal and I were there, but BOT Twelve addressed Pierson.
“Captain, there are two landing sites on Alphane 3. One is our android base. The other is the site of the human colony. They are 50 kilometers apart.”
“We’d prefer the human site, if you don’t mind,” said Klunk. “I wouldn’t. Nobody asked you. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Captain?” asked BOT Twelve.
“Confirmed,” said Pierson. “The human site. Have you been able to make contact and inform the colonists of our arrival?”
“That is not possible,” said BOT Twelve.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Password required.”
“Out with it, you tin can!” shouted Caspar. “Calm down, calm down. We’ll see for ourselves soon enough. He’s hiding something. He’s not able to tell us. Just be patient.”
Captain Pierson shook his head. BOT Twelve said nothing more.
We descended through the atmosphere. The Gort hovered in place above the landing site, lowered the Seeker to the launch platform and disengaged the tractor beam. We opened the hatch and cheered. BOT Twelve flew down in the shuttle craft from the cargo ship and joined us on the platform. Caspar, Dearborn, Tanya and the other pilgrims crowded around.
The landing zone was in an open area, surrounded by thick forest, near the white-sand shore of an inland sea. A broad, green river ran nearby and the jagged wall of an ice-capped mountain range loomed on the horizon. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so like Earth that we felt immediately at home. We fell to our knees and I led the group in a prayer of thanks.
Along the perimeter of the landing zone, we saw the remains of abandoned buildings and structures. They were boarded-up shells, decrepit and uninhabited. It was apparent no one had been there for a long time.
“What the hell?” said Caspar. “Try to stay calm. I am calm. You seem agitated. It’s bad for your heart. Mind your own business. That’s a laugh.”
Areal put her arm around Caspar. “You should listen to her.”
Caspar brushed Areal’s arm off. “Mind your own business. And keep your hands off me. He doesn’t mean it. Yes I do. We’ll talk about this later.”
BOT Twelve said, “Those buildings housed the original colony settlement from Earth.”
“It’s a ghost town,” said Dearborn.
“No wonder we couldn’t reach them,” said Captain Pierson.
“What became of the colonists? Where are they?” asked Tanya.
BOT Twelve replied, “Permission required to access those files.”
“What bullshit!” muttered Caspar. “Please be polite. Bug off.”
“Caspar, please,” I said. “BOT Twelve and Areal saved our lives. We’d still be adrift in space without their help. I’m sure our questions will be answered in good time.”
“Thank you, Rector,” said BOT Twelve. “Areal and I must return to base. The android spaceport and facilities are 50 kilometers due northwest, between here and those mountains. There are pathways through the forest and along the river. Please feel free to communicate at any time for any purpose.”
Areal added, “Perhaps once you are settled in, you would like to visit and see our facilities?”
“We would like that very much,” I said. Caspar frowned and then smiled.
“Do you require further assistance at this time?”
“We’re good, Areal,” said Captain Pierson. “We’ll take if from here. Thank you again for everything. We don’t know how to repay you.”
“It is not necessary, Captain,” said BOT Twelve. “We are programmed to assist.”
After the Gort departed, we set up a portable power generator, rolled up our sleeves, and got to work. A warm breeze was blowing from inland. We could hear the chirps and growls of local fauna from the thick forest surrounding our site. We saw a furry face or two watching us curiously from the underbrush, and we admired some flying creatures soaring gracefully on broad wings high overhead.
The sea was salty, but there was abundant fresh water from the green river that emptied into the sea nearby. There were swirling forms beneath the surface of both bodies of water, a potential food supply. We were excited, thrilled, and anxious to build our new home.
Alphane 3 seemed to be welcoming her children with open arms. The day-night cycle was 20 hours, gravity was 0.92 of Earth, so we had to adjust, but conditions were close enough to Earth, the climate so mild, and the environment so beautiful that, after a short time, we scarcely noticed the difference. If not for the missing colonists, our joy would have been complete.
Copyright © 2021 by Bill Bowler
