"Whii would we need fifty feet of rope on a shuttlecraft that·s only twelve feet wide ? ."
"Do you have any idea weyr we·re going ? ."
"I heard that one of these digs was like Candyland ." Tequila treasured . "Rich fucks usta build these giant treasure hunt space stations up in outer space . One day the galactic economy crashed and they wound up stranded in the void . Whole stations with giant ruins built like the Parthanon et al . Can you imagine tryna lift that much stone into outer space ? ."
"Wouldn·t be a problem for Marduk ," Xod elucidated , "motherfucker·s been blasted to rubble and strung across its solar band ."
"Well , that·s weyr we·re going ." Will informed the class . "Turns out mining and treasure hunting go hand in hand , go figure . There·s a bunch of ·em out there , stranded in the void . Got your codebreakers ka ."
The class held up their digital lockpicks .
Few people - few Solar humans , anyway - truly understood how long four thousand years really is . It is only when one reads the annuls of king after king after king , the wars , the blood spent hundreds of thousands at a time , and to watch those battles take shape under the influences of the stars , two thousand years of butted heads and brutal falls in Aries , two thousand years of theological pontificating and editor wars in Pisces , two thousand years of aha i got yous and emotional frostbite in Aquarius , two thousand years of rampant mutagenicity and wasteland skirmishes in Capricorn .
It was finally the Age of Sagittarius , and the Way Above had opened up . After four thousand years of terrestrial wars , space flight finally became a regular staple of human experience .
"Hwat year is it ka ." Villicus , the Combat Professor asked the class .
"Sixteen Three Seventy Seven ." the class responded in base ten .
"Hwat is the year we tell the interface it is ka ."
"Sixty Four Fifty Common Era ." the class responded in base ten .
"Hwat year are the genetic clocks programmed to think it is ka ."
"Two Thousand Twenty One." the class responded in base ten .
"Good ."
The ship was just passing the orbital band of Mars .
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The space station was massive . Mostly-conclusive maps were easy enough for the artificial-virtuals to put together . The station consisted of multiple instances of the same church and courtyard , enclosed in large metal cubes held together by miscellaneous ships and scrap decks . It was nested at the intersection of four asteroids , and it was clear the tightly-printed vertices were custom-rendered using material from mines throughout the asteroids . Even as the ship approached the station , work was being done taking metal from the rock , smelting it , refining it , die casting it and printing it , and building a circular arm with which to rotate gravity without the need for energy-taxing grav plate .
One of the identical churches was connected to an atmospheric generator . Another was flanked by clone vaults , endlessly reprinting the same characters , each of them a tightly-wound genetic clock repeating the same tasks before being swiftly incinerated and compressed into biopacks . Another was hooked up to a holography matrix , with banks and corners of quasi-human psychic drone machines and wireless floodlamps in the 5G color frequency range .
If there was any life other than the genetic clocks , they would have to have thermoptic camouflage . If there was an artificial intelligence controlling it , it was silently buried in the station matrix·s code .
"Alright guys ." Will yelled . "Suit up ."
Each of the students carried 1 - 3 devices which they specialized in .
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on ship _ shapes _ boarding were
i didn·t mind
kððt
t current ðð local dt Deck<>07_Wing<>08_HabUnit<>08 k status Hash OnFire
i didn·t mind
Deck<>07_Wing<>09_HabUnit<>08 status Hash Active
scanHa
scanSe
Hash dt Equipment t Hash Bioreactor k status Hash Active
scanHa
scanSe
Hash dt Biorenderer t local k status Hash Active
Deck<>07_Wing<>0h_HabUnit<>08
-+-+-+-+-
"Whoa ."
"Any·a you folks ever see something like this ka ." Tequila asked , looking at her phase biometer .
The group of twelve clustered around their friend , looking at a phase composite of all the biomasses that had ever lived in the room . Hundreds , maybe thousands of clones in only four or five different prefab models had lived there in the spacious enough yet plainly enclosed salt-stained wooden apartment , immaculately rendered like the other seven identical tenement buildings connected to a branch arm of a ghost station floating in outer space , many of them driven to madness in the cabin fever , claw marks gouging , impressions of figures rolling along the walls , leaping for the ceiling , having repeated spasms in the same central part of the living room .
"Yikes ."
"Any idea why this one·s so marked up ka ."
"Increased levels of Xenon in the air supply , i·m thinking ." Leuce opined , reading an array of data from a spectrometer .
"Some of these wall segments have been replaced , Sí the seams here and here ka ." TuLi added , as each of the students delivered their findings to each other .
Leuce read the seams with the spectrometer . "This unit in particular seems to go through periods of intense high atmospheric pressure , you see how these increased particulate concentrations seem baked into the walls ka . Yet there·s no evidence of heating ."
Xod ran the data through a persona generator and analyzed the effects on a virtual human . "Pressure like that would have boiled their blood , oxygen and nitrogen are neurotoxic at those air pressures ."
Tequila picked up a tool made of soft gold . "Check it out , it·s one of those GrndBrkr-SHOVel© brand Groundbreaker Tool for PrepTM . You want i should pick it up , ka?"
"A striking tool made of gold?" Greck jested . "Yeah right . I·d sooner take a can opener made of solid tungsten ."
The students left the apartment , certain there were more unsolved mysteries to uncover yet eager to continue to shine their flashlights down eerily dark and empty halls .
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"Something·s up ahead . The air density in the next room is way heavier than this one ."
"Is there another airlock ka ." SiDh asked dryly .
"Looks like it . I think i can cycle it from here ." TuLi slotted her lockpick card into the e-reader attached to the wall .
The light above the door turned from red to yellow , held for ten seconds , then turned green .
"target Hco Xod You wanna go first ka ." Stace jested .
Xod made the hand gesture for Lo . "Aprez-vous ."
Stace got into the glass cylinder connecting the two rooms . Leu and Чar went in after her .
*[Ч -- Cyrillic -- "Ch"]
"Visors up ." Will warned .
They put their visors up .
The door slammed shut , turned yellow , then red .
"How·s it looking over there ka ." Will asked , trying to make out the digital video noise through the thick blast metal door .
"It·s all argon ha ." Stace·s voice came in over the radio . "And there·s ," she paused , "stuff all over the walls ."
Will laughed . "You wanna be more specific ka ."
"I·m pretty sure we got infrared lasered on the way in here ." Чar·s voice came through . "Any bacteria that were living on our suits are vaporized ."
"There·s biomatr growing on the walls ." Leuce specified . "From the looks of it it·s dead , though it could be in cryptobiosis ." There was a pause . "There are some pockets of membrane-enclosed fluid that looks like it·s fermenting , despite argon·s low reactivity ."
"Is there anything else ka ." Will naturally lead .
"Pretty much just the giant nightmare squid covering the back wall , cap·n ."
Will laughed . "Well then , take your samples and get outta there ."
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Xod·s suit blipped .
"Visors up ." He warned , reading a panel on his suit·s arm .
The class complied , metallic shick sounds reverberating off the tight station walls one by one .
"What is it ka ."
"Atmospheric pressure is nearing deep water pascals ."
"All of a sudden or gradual ka ."
"Gradual , from the looks of it ."
"We can·t discount the premise that the station·s AI is active yet dormant ." Tuli said from her holo-emitter .
"You think something is trying to make us go crazy ka ." Tequila asked , half-accusingly .
The hologram of Tuli , a bright anime girl with long violet hair , wrapped her hair around her collar like a scarf and put a virtual visor up . "I think we should all keep our visors up and double-check our cybernetics every two cycles ."
Чar looked around her . Most of the hallways were twelve or fifteen feet tall , manufactured in tight compacts like any station , the grips designed for large hands . The thick heavy clunk vrrrrrr of her exo·s hydraulics reverberated damply through the station·s corridors . While the rest of the team cla-clunked across the intermediary halls in grav-lock boots , Чar soared slowly through the air , a metal hauler with the grace of a loon .
"Did you see that ka ." Leuce shouted , staring down an empty side corridor .
"What was it ka ." Will asked , bringing up her optic footage on his heads-up display .
"A flash of green ," she said , as half the team saw it too .
"Nothing on the spectrometer ." Leuce announced . "If there was something"
"There Ha ." Stace shouted , glancing a flash of purple , which the others saw in Sí .
The class prickled their backs up , flashlights darting swiftly from side to side .
They painted an interesting phase envelope on the station walls .
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% #Shape<>0001 possess
Se
these things reach places machines do not
these shapes which i study cycle after cycle
as they tumble boggle-headed around each prefab to figure out what i had been doing long ago
i direct it to the wall
for cycles i have it awake kept
it lids its eyes and enters the gloaming
our combined consciousness expands beyond the station·s outer hull
into an adjacent prefab
the other #Shape are in the room
looking at things with beam sabers
i take its hand and pull just gently
it darts its light flood to a security camera
the red light is off
the human sighs with relief
i the boggle-head release
my consciousness returns
to the hard drive controlling the 5G floodlamp
#Human
the advancedShapes referred to their kind as Human
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i away from the console look
from the bank of computer screens
there
feeds come in from the space station
from the geothermal vaults
from the myriad cities
that light up the asteroid field
like glowing mold
-+-+-+-+-
"Whoa . What do you think this place is ka?" Stace asked , shining her flashlight down a long concrete staircase .
"I·m sure it came with the place ," Will opined . "I don·t think you build one on purpose ."
"target Hco Rico You wanna do it ka?" Tequila asked with a playful sneer .
"Do I wanna do it? I could do it. Do you wanna do it?" Rico responded tartly .
"You·ll have to go down and check ," Чar regarded . "I probably could fit Crate sed it·d be a tight squeeze ."
"I·ll do it ," Greck offerered .
Thus the adventurers proceeded downward .
At the bottom of the long cold staircase was a massive steel door .
"Oh shiv , this is it ." Leuce whispered .
"target Hco Katie , you got the artifact ka?"
"Oh shiv , is it my time to shine?" Kait asked , grinning as she pulled an ancient set of keys from a pocket deep within her suit .
Kait inserts the AncientKey into the lock . As she turns it , the heavy metal DeadBolt grinds dryly through its inset , causing a click on the other side .
Stace takes hold of the large industrial lever and pulls it . On the other side , there·s a heavier sound of dry metal grinding across a thin patina of evaporated grease followed by a loud kuh-thunk .
"Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod ," TuLi whispers excitedly . "I am so excited ."
Following the open door , first one flashlight , then two , and then three flow out into the darkness .
"Uhhh HH ," Villicus vocalizes excitedly .
"No harmful gasses or particulates detected ," Xod observes .
"Oh yeah , good thing we did that first ," Will lauds , P90 at the ready .
The three of them enter the room , while Will signals Villicus to run to the top of the staircase to let Чar know .
As the team makes their way through the door , ancient dust , as old as the prewar days , kicks up around their feet , their hair swimming in the zero-G where not tightly tied back , their grav-lock boots making quiet *shhunk shhunk* noises as they walk .
Чar drifts in behind them , gliding silently , followed by SiDh , Tequila , and TuLi .
The setting before them could have been taken out of any prewar bunker , with a large dining hall to the left and some kind of boardroom straight ahead .
"Let me see that map ," Xod requests .
Kait hands him the map , little more than the size of a playing card .
"Looks like it·s just up ahead ."
"Alright , let·s not take too long , ladies ," Will leads , looking at the party·s air supplies on his arm-screen . "We·ve only got a few more hours of Oxygen left in our suits ."
"Hh , speak for yourself ," Чar said , grinning and tapping her air tank . "Nitrogen . Fits 13p more biofuel ."
"Great ," Will retorts , "then you can carry us all back to the ship when we pass out ."
"Pssh , i·ll make sure Crate here gives y· a real comfortable ride ."
Flashlights bustling to and fro like some ancient dancehall routine , the students fill out the floor , communicating to each other the sights and sounds they were taking in .
"Looks like people used to live here ."
"Watch for traps ."
"Whoa , a forge . This place is freezing , why would there be an anvil here ka?"
"Do you got the keys to these ones?"
"Hold up a sec."
"Another residential room . Looks like some kind of executive suite ."
"There·s a painting frame here , looks like it used to have a plaque bolted to the bottom ."
"How ·bout this one?"
"Room·s a mess . There·s clothes floatin· everywhere ."
"Hnh . The bookshelf is covered in books from U Katolika ."
"Hey , there·s a window here ."
"Looks trashed inside ."
"That·s weird this one looks like it was recently used ."
"Do we have a key for that one ka?"
"No luck ."
"How ·bout this one? ."
"Nice ."
"Start looking for clues see if there·s any indication what either of these two passcodes could be ."
"Whoa , a kitchen . This must have been some kind of recruiment center ."
"There·s another door back here ."
The next transmission was loud enough to cause mic distortion .
"HOLY FUCK , THERE SHE IS ."
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"Snowdrake ," the blanket-wrapped woman breathes out from between chattering teeth . "Sedna Snowdrake ."
"Holy fuck , it is you ."
"I think i·m a clone of you or something ," Kaitlyn tells her .
Sedna laughs , a low , raspy chuckle that comes from deep inside her .
Around the ship , the younger officers play Tag in the zero-G while the elder officers interview her frigid-dare-i-ness .
"Honestly , i figured the rumors were untrue ," Greck admitts . "But here you are ."
"Buuut nuthin· ." Sedna exclaims , as forcefully as her post-cryogenic body would allow . Patches of her arms and legs were black with frostbite , and a set of tubes in her side was keeping her internal organs alive . She munches hungrily on a piece of dehydrated toast , dipped in hydroponic vegetable paste . "What year is it ka ."
"Sixteen three seventy seven ." Greck responds .
"After Thran ka ."
"Ha ," Greck responds in her native LoHa .
The door slides open .
"Where is she?" Rico demands , pouring into the room . "Is she awake?"
Sedna·s eyes move slowly in the direction of the noise . When she sees who it is , her eyes lit up . "SNOWY"
Rico runs over to her , dropping to xer knees and sliding across the polished floor . Xe embraces her , holding on to her as tightly as xe could without snapping her in half .
"I mean, uh, hy Mom." Xe says coolly , shifting xer weight to sit next to her .
"Feel PLEASURE ." SiDh says to TuLi in another corner of the room . TuLi·s hologram renders the imagery of human pleasure .
"Feel PLEASURE ."
"Feel PLEASURE ."
Sedna blushes , overhearing the words , recognizing the tonality . "They still use the Architectures ," she remarks with freeze-dried wonder .
"Okay now your turn ," TuLi says to SiDh . "Feel pleasure ."
SiDh stiffens , her legs becoming taut , the expression on her face belying nothing .
"Feel Pleasure ."
"Feel PLEASURE ."
A blush . Such self-control .
"So whaddya wanna do now that yer back?" Tequila asks . "You wanna come hunt aliens or zombies or sumthin·?"
Sedna smiles . "I could hunt an alien zombie , sure ," she accepts with a wet hack .
"Just don·t ask me to take on no zombie aliens again Nh!" She and Rico exclaim simultaneously .
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