Galactic Frontiers: A Collection of Space Opera and Military Science Fiction Stories Page 21

  “Thanks!” exclaimed Allie. He plopped down beside the lake and smiled, watching as the water fell.

  Just then, someone appeared beside him. It was Teddie, come to take a drink. Unlike before, however, he was no longer alone. There were others now, a whole family beside him.

  Allie had names for them all. There was Mary, the other adult and presumably the mother of the two children, Betsy and Jeremy.

  Jeremy was close to Alisaar’s age, according to Somnus. Allie liked to imagine that the two of them could have been friends, maybe played together. Jeremy was fond of a certain stick, often using it to poke various rocks and bugs. If only Allie could talk to him, he’d show him there were better toys than sticks.

  Teddie tapped Betsy on the shoulder, then pointed to the lake and grunted. The little girl returned the sound and proceeded to take a drink. Jeremy did the same. Allie watched as the four of them enjoyed the no-doubt refreshing water. He wondered if they were as close as his own family. Surely, they must be.

  After getting his fill of the lake water, Jeremy ran off to find his stick and play some more. Betsy followed him. Neither Teddie nor Mary seemed to mind.

  Jeremy ran back over to the sand near the water, poking the wet dirt with his stick. “Are you gonna draw?” asked Allie, already knowing the answer. He’d seen this scene play out several times before and it was always the same. In a few minutes, the family would leave to head back to their home, a decent-sized cave not far from this area.

  Teddie grunted at the family. Time to go, he seemed to tell them. The family acknowledged the grunt with several of their own, then began to head into the woods. Jeremy, satisfied with his artwork in the sand, scurried off toward his father’s side.

  Allie watched them leave, waving happily. “Bye!” he called, knowing they wouldn’t hear him. He looked down at the soft, moist sand near the water—the spot where Jeremy had been playing. The boy had dug several lines with his stick, almost like a pattern. Almost…

  Allie tilted his head at the image. He didn’t remember Jeremy ever making this before. Every other time, he’d only poked holes in the dirt. Why was it different now?

  He examined the lines in the sand, getting closer, trying to look from the same position Jeremy had drawn them.

  Allie blinked as he stared at the drawing. It looked like a series of letters. Was this English?

  He tried to read them, having some trouble with the damp dirt. “H-E-L,” he muttered, sounding it out.

  HELLO

  Allie’s eyes widened at the sight of the word. Jeremy had never drawn this before. How could he, since he didn’t speak a word of English?

  “Somnus, what is this?” asked Alisaar.

  The computer didn’t respond.

  “Hello?” he said, staring at the blue sky above him.

  “Apologies. System recalibration taking place. Please—”

  The voice cut off, leaving an air of silence. “Somnus?” called Allie. He waited for a reply, but nothing came. In fact, now that he thought about it, he couldn’t hear anything at all. No more birds, no frogs or insects.

  Even the waterfall was silent.

  He blinked, looking back at the letters in the sand, trying to read them again.

  HEAR

  Allie took a step back. Didn’t it just say something else? Was this because of the computer?

  “Somnus!” yelled Allie, his heart racing. “Somnus! Say something!”

  “Request acknowledged. What can I do for you?” asked Somnus.

  “What’s going on?” shouted Alisaar. “Let me out of here, okay?”

  “Command accepted. Ending simulation.”

  The scene changed, and suddenly the trees and lake vanished, replaced by the same blue walls as before. An empty room with only Alisaar in it.

  As soon as the doors slid open, he ran into the hall. He was breathing rapidly, totally panicked and ready to go. “Dad!” he shouted as he began moving back toward the entrance.

  Allie passed by several simulation rooms, ignoring them, heading straight to the central atrium. “Dad!” he shouted again when he neared the end of the hall.

  “Yes, what is it, Allie?” asked his father, who was standing near a railing.

  Allie went to his side, gripping his father’s arm. “Something was wrong with Somnus!”

  “Oh?” asked his dad. “Nothing serious, I hope.”

  “He was acting weird, and the sound broke in the room. It was scary!”

  “Maybe I should check it out,” he said. “Mind waiting here for me, Champ?”

  Alisaar nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

  “Good,” said his father. He smiled down at him, tussling his hair. “Don’t wander off.”

  Allie watched his father head into the hall, leaving him alone in the foyer. He plopped down on the floor and crossed his legs, holding his ankles. I wonder what’s wrong with Somnus, he thought, scratching his nose. I hope Dad can fix him.

  After several minutes of waiting, Alisaar got to his feet and shuffled over to the hallway entrance. He held the wall, impatiently squirming and peeking inside, knowing he wasn’t supposed to leave, but feeling restless. Why was his father taking so long?

  He slid into the first part of the corridor, slowly walking to where it curved, then looked around the side. His father wasn’t there, either. He was taking so—

  “Huh?” muttered Allie, noticing something on the wall, less than a few meters away. It looked like another set of letters, just like before. No, wait. This one was different. It was more than a single word.

  He scurried over to get a better look, but stopped dead in his tracks when he read the letters on the wall.

  DO YOU HEAR US?

  Allie blinked, taking a step back. He glanced down the hall in the direction his father had gone. “Dad?” he said, raising his voice. “Dad, are you there?”

  He looked back at the letters. “Who’s doing this? What’s going on?”

  That was when the letters changed, fading and reforming, morphing into something else. Another message.

  WHO ARE YOU?

  Allie pressed his back against the wall behind him, touching his arms to his chest. “Leave me alone!” he yelled, and then took off down the corridor in search of his father.

  Alisaar dashed as fast as his feet could carry him, passing by the different rooms until he found the one he’d visited earlier. His dad had to be inside here, didn’t he? Then he could help him.

  He touched the door, waiting for it to open. After a moment, he tried again, but nothing happened. “Somnus, open up!”

  No response.

  Allie banged on the metal. “Dad! Come out! Do you hear me? Say something!”

  But instead of a reply from his father, another set of letters appeared before him.

  WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

  “Stop it!” screamed Allie, and he ran back the way he came, barreling down the corridor, tears in his eyes. “Mom! Edda!”

  He reached the atrium in a moment, but it was still empty. His sister and mother had yet to return from whichever rooms they’d visited.

  He looked back at the hall. What was taking his father so long? Why didn’t he hurry back?

  “Somnus?” asked Allie. “Where is everybody?”

  Silence, the same as before.

  “Somnus!” he shouted, his voice cracking.

  “Hello,” said the natural-language user interface.

  “Somnus! Where did you go? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

  “Hello,” repeated the program. “Hello. Hello. Hello.”

  Allie tilted his head, looking up at the ceiling. “Somnus?”

  “Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?” asked the mechanical voice.

  Allie took a step back. “Stop it!” he yelled.

  “Stop it,” echoed Somnus. “Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.” The words were getting a little faster. What was wrong with it? “Stop it stop it stop it stop it hello hello hello stop who who who are you who are you wh
o are you stop stop hello stop hell—”

  The voice suddenly broke off, replaced by silence.

  Allie clutched the railing with both his hands, burying his eyes in his arm. When he pulled back, he saw the tears he’d left. Much to his own surprise, he’d been crying this entire time.

  He wiped his face with his wrist. Stupid computer, he thought. Just wait until Dad—

  “Hello,” said the voice once more, except this time it was far more relaxed. “What is your name?”

  “You know what it is, Somnus,” said Allie.

  “I am not Somnus,” said the voice.

  The statement startled him. “What?”

  “Who are you?” asked the voice. “What is your name?”

  “Alisaar Reynolds,” said Allie, sniffling.

  “Alisaar Reynolds,” it repeated.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he confirmed.

  “How did you get here?”

  “I flew here with my family,” said Allie. Why was Somnus asking such weird questions? For that matter, why was he pretending not to be himself?

  “Family?” asked the program. “Ah, you mean the others. We have removed them for now.”

  “What does that mean? Hey, did you do something to my dad?”

  “Do you know where you are?” asked the voice.

  Allie was growing frustrated. Why didn’t it answer his questions? Maybe Somnus really was just broken and didn’t understand. “I’m in the Museum. Dad brings us here all the time. You know that. It’s so we can learn and have fun.” He looked around the atrium. “Mom! Dad! Where are you?”

  “You are alone,” said the voice. “The others have been removed.”

  “Shut up! Where’s my dad? Tell me!”

  There was a long pause. Allie opened his mouth to ask again, but then the voice returned. “Alisaar, this is Doctor Mika Trinidad. Can you hear me?”

  “Huh?” muttered Allie. What in the world was going on?

  “Do you know where you are?” asked the voice.

  “Where is everyone?” asked Allie.

  “Everyone?” asked the voice.

  “Dad!” shouted Allie. “Mom! Edda! Where are you?!”

  “There is no one here but you, Alisaar,” said the one calling herself Mika Trinidad.

  “Yes, there is! My family is here! What did you do to them? Where are they?!”

  “Alisaar, we’re losing you. Can you hear me?”

  “I said, where are they!” he yelled.

  But there was no response. Only silence as he stood there, waiting for answers.

  He was about to start crying again when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He looked to see his father jogging toward him. “Allie? Are you still here?”

  “Dad!” he yelled, and ran to him.

  They embraced, and Allie wrapped his arms around his father’s waist, crying. “Why didn’t you come back? The voices were saying bad things. I didn’t know what to do!”

  His father looked down at him, touching his hair. “I know, Allie. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Why didn’t you come back?” he sniffled.

  “I tried, but it was complicated,” said his dad. “I wasn’t expecting them to use so many resources. I had to delete a substantial chunk of data, but it shouldn’t matter soon.”

  “What do you mean, Dad?”

  His father frowned, then bent down to hug him. “It’s nothing. Everything is going to be okay now. I promise.”

  “Okay?” asked Allie.

  His father nodded. “The voices you heard are from outside. Do you remember that place?”

  “Outside the Museum?” asked Allie.

  “No, I mean where you came from before this…reality. Do you understand?”

  Allie hesitated to answer. Now that he thought about it, he had a hard time remembering anything before…

  He paused. Before what? The Museum? The beach?

  Where had he been before that?

  “Oh, Allie,” said his father. “You’re trying to remember again, aren’t you? I know that face. Don’t worry, though. Things will get easier very soon.”

  A voice erupted over the speaker system. “Alisaar, do you hear me?” It was Somnus—no, wait, the one called Doctor Mika Trinidad.

  “What does she want?” asked Allie to his father.

  “Just to talk to us. It’s okay, Champ. Go ahead and say something.”

  Allie gulped, but nodded. “I can hear you,” he said, trying to speak loudly.

  “Excellent,” said the doctor. “We lost our connection for a while. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.”

  “It was only a couple of seconds,” said Allie.

  “Seconds?” asked Mika Trinidad. “Interesting. Did you hear that? It seems time acts differently inside the pod. Yes, take that down.”

  “Pod?” asked Allie.

  “Oh, my apologies, Alisaar. I was speaking with a colleague. Can you answer a few more questions for me?”

  He looked at his father, who gave another nod. “Okay.”

  “Do you remember anything about the Split?” asked the doctor.

  “The Split?” asked Allie.

  “Yes, do you remember it? That’s what we call the day you came here. There was a small start-up company experimenting with a new form of energy. It resulted in the destruction of half the United States.”

  “What’s the United States?” asked Allie.

  There was a short pause. “I see, so that answers that question. Tell me, please, do you understand what this simulation is that you’re in?”

  “Simulation?” he asked.

  “Yes, the world you see now is not real. It’s a simulated environment. As far as we can tell, you’ve been inside it for a very long time.”

  Allie looked at his dad. “What’s she mean?”

  His father kept smiling. “She just means you’re inside a computer game, that’s all, sort of like the rooms in this Museum. You know how it is when you go see the homo erectus?”

  Allie nodded. “Yeah, you mean with Teddie and his family.”

  “Right,” said his dad. “Just like Teddie. Everything in there is created by the Museum. It’s not real. This Museum is the same thing. So is the beach we went to earlier.”

  “The beach?” asked Allie. “But everything else is real, right?”

  His dad shook his head. “None of it is.”

  “But I don’t understand. If it’s not real—”

  “Alisaar, who are you talking to?” asked Doctor Trinidad.

  “My dad. Can’t you see him? He’s right here.”

  “Am I to understand that you believe you are speaking to your fa—”

  His dad snapped his fingers, and suddenly the overhead voice switched off. “Enough of that for a moment, Allie. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Did you get rid of her?” he asked.

  “Only for a few seconds. She’ll come back, but first I want to talk to you. It’s important, so I need you to listen. Do you think you can do that for me, Champ?”

  “Yeah, I can,” said Allie. He always listened to his dad, no matter what.

  His father smiled. “Good man. Now, there’s a secret I’ve been keeping from you, but it’s for your own good.”

  “What kind of secret?” asked Allie. The notion made him nervous.

  “This whole thing, this place you’re in, it’s a kind of dream. But you have to wake up soon, and that woman is going to be there when you do.”

  He heard the words, but didn’t understand them. “What dream? I’m not asleep.”

  “I know it’s hard to follow, but it’s true. You’ve been asleep in here for a long time. We all have. You don’t remember it, but before we came here, I was a scientist, working in a special program, trying to build a full-immersion simulation device for—” He paused, noticing the boy’s confusion. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. The point is, I created a machine that could keep us together and happy, because it was getting dang
erous in the real world.”

  “It was dangerous?” asked Allie.

  “Yes, but it’s safe now. I’ve been monitoring things since we got here. It took them a long time, but it seems humanity has finally been able to rebuild. A few weeks ago, I sent out a signal to show them where to find us.”

  “So, Doctor Mika is here to help?” asked Allie.

  “Right you are, Champ. She’s here to take you home. Isn’t that something? I know you like the Museum, but now you can go see the real world, even play with other kids.”

  Allie didn’t know why, but seeing other children sounded like fun. He couldn’t help but get excited. “Whoa!”

  “I know,” said his dad. “So, you have to do what the doctor says, okay? When I bring her back, follow her instructions.”

  Allie nodded. “Right,” he said with some determination. “You can count on me.”

  “I know I can, Champ,” said his dad.

  A second later, the speakers popped back on. “Hello? Alisaar?”

  “I’m here!”

  “We lost you again. I’m so sorry. How long has it been for you since we talked?”

  “Only a minute,” said Allie.

  “That’s…incredible. Okay, well, we’re going to try to pull you out of there today. One of my friends thinks he’s found the manual disconnect. It will sever your connection to the simulation. We would have done it sooner, but the system kept locking us out.”

  Allie looked at his dad. “What’s she saying?”

  “She’s taking you out of here. You’ll go back to the other side,” said his dad.

  “And you’ll come after?” asked Allie.

  “I’m afraid not,” said his father.

  “What do you mean?”

  He frowned, bending down so their eyes were level. “I can’t leave. Neither can your mom and sister.”

  “But why?” asked Allie. He felt a sudden panic in his chest. “I don’t wanna leave if you—”

  Tears filled his eyes as he tried to get the words out. “Where’s Mom?” he asked. “I want my mom.”

  A hand suddenly touched his shoulder. He looked up to see his mother there, smiling down at him. “Sweety. What are those tears for? This isn’t the time to be sad.”

  “But Dad said I have to leave,” Allie sobbed.

  “Did he?” asked his mother, glancing at her husband. “You never were very subtle.”