"The Amnesiac" - Seventh Entry - Part 3

The Amnesiac

Seventh Entry - Part 3

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: 525.3.47

 

I sat there staring at the robot for quite a while. Eventually, I gathered myself up enough to speak.

"Besides Alexa," I began. "I have seen no others. So, there are others?"

"Each housing unit contains a single individual. Each one has been given information and personality programming in order to aid in the survival of the colony. Further, there are several redundant systems. For instance, you are Dr. Hypatia's mathematical backup."

"You just said personality programming. What does that mean?"

"Each individual here is based upon an actual person whose personality was encoded into our computer system. While you do not have their memories, you have an encoded framework for your personality."

"I would ask how that is possible, but I don't think I really want to know. So, there is a Dr. Pergamese on Earth?"

"Not exactly. Your name was assigned to you. Galen of Pergamon is an ancient physician on Earth. All names given had ancient Earth origins. In this way, you were stripped of your ethnicity. The design team did not wish to have any racial or ethnic issues crop up in the colony."

"Okay, let's back up for a moment. Did I have an analog on Earth?"

"Not exactly an analog. You have a personality framework of someone on Earth. Because of your experiences, you will definitely turn out to be completely different. However, your particular framework was that of a medical doctor. It was hoped that you would enjoy your job with this particular set of personality traits."

"That makes sense. Now tell me where the name Alexa Hypatia came from."

"Hypatia of Alexandria was a famous female mathematician from ancient Earth."

"There is a lot to take in here. You may have noticed that I have been in the company of Alexa. Are we assigned -- um -- procreative partners?"

"Each individual will have the opportunity to choose and build their own relationships. The societal structure is completely up to the individuals making up this group. No one has been assigned a mate."

"So, my attraction to Alexa is not a part of this personality programming?"

"Not at all. It is a natural extension of who you are. Her feelings might not reciprocate."

"I think they do, but I will not take that for granted. Thanks!"

"The program designers struggled with the relationship problem for quite a while. They debated upon the number of females and males. They wanted the proper number to ensure survival. It was decided to revive an equal number of each. However, what occurs will be derived from natural processes."

"So, monogamy is not programmed into us?"

"That is correct. It is hoped, but that circumstance would be quite difficult with the number of individuals involved. The chances of getting a proper mate for each person is quite long."

"You have been talking about the design parameters, etc. for a while. How do you know so much about these things?"

"I was designed to interface with all of the computers on this planet. Thus, I am responsible for aiding in the survival of this colony. I can order the robots to perform any function. I am the only one with this functionality, although there is a manual on converting one of the others to my functionality."

"Do you have knowledge of what is happening on Earth?"

"I have at my disposal the accumulation of Earth's knowledge. It is updated daily from Earth."

"We can contact Earth?"

"The Earth sends us a daily signal and we do the same. Their signal updates our knowledge base. We send them mission updates. It should be noted that this knowledge is approximately 50 years out of date because of the great distance."

"So, they do not know Alexa and I are awake."

"That is correct."

"I assume that since the incubation and raising of us has proceeded according to plan. So, what is the status of our mission?"

"The mission is performing within acceptable parameters."

"Even though Alexa and I woke up early."

"It is not a completely unexpected event. The mission was designed more than 1500 years ago. The designers would be quite pleased that we have only experienced minor incidents like this."

"Everything has gone well?"

"It took quite some time for the soil bacteria to adapt to their new soil. This did not fit within design parameters. Once they adapted, they have been doing quite well."

"Hey! That is why the fruit does not rot."

"The bacterial biomass on this planet is quite a bit smaller than on Earth. However, it is within guidelines for more complex organisms."

"What other animals are here? I thought I saw a cow the other day."

"We have a stable population of cattle, sheep, and goats. They have done quite well in this environment. They have successfully reproduced for several generations."

"I have not seen any birds."

"There are a few chickens, but the food supply for a population of birds is not currently adequate."

"Why is that?"

"The program designers did not want the colonists to compete with pests. Thus, there are few insects here. The insects that are on this planet perform helpful functions. For instance, there is a healthy population of bees here."

"So, no birds or insects?"

"Insect pests comprise a majority of the diet for many of Earth's flying creatures. It was deemed contrary to the long term survivability of the colony to introduce pests just to give birds something to eat."

"What about aquatic animals?"

"The water on this planet has not been found suitable for aquatic life."

"So, this did not go according to plan."

"There was a contingency plan for this. The situation is similar to the birds. There simply is not enough food to support this type of life. However, if circumstances change, embryos are available."

"Are there other human embryos?"

"Yes, there is several more humans that can be raised."

"I have so many more questions."

"I hate to cut this short, but I do have things that I should attend. If you have further question, your biobed will answer them."

"Thanks for your time."

That was a worthwhile conversation. I learned a great deal, and I no longer fear the robocalypse. For now, I will discontinue entering items in the journal. Thanks for reading!

 

End of Entry.

End of Log.

"The Amnesiac" - Seventh Entry - Part 2

The Amnesiac

Seventh Entry - Part 2

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: 525.3.47

 

"Dr. Pergamese you should really return to your bed," stated the robot.

Clearly this robot was different. It used different words than the others. Perhaps this on had the answers.

"Why should I return to bed?" I asked.

"The bed will answer all of your questions."

"I am not interested in having the bed supply my unconscious with answers. I want you to answer my questions?"

"It is much more efficient for the bed to answer them."

"I am not interested in what is most efficient. I am looking for answers and I want them now."

"As you wish. May we take Dr. Hypatia to her bed?"

"So you can use your mind control to put me asleep? I do not think so."

"That is not an accurate assessment of my abilities."

"You put her to sleep did you not?"

"I can induce theta wave activity in the human brain. Is this of what you speak?"

"You put Alexa to sleep, but you did not affect me. Is that because you can only hypnotize one of us at a time?"

"It is true I can only affect one brain at a time, but I will not induce sleep in you if you do not wish."

"First of all, I do not wish it. Secondly, can I ask if you are programmed for telling the truth?"

"I may not lie."

"Nevertheless, I do not know if I trust you."

"Like you, Dr. Hypatia will have questions if she is not returned to her bed. It will be very inefficient."

"Very well, I will trust you. Let's go."

We walked the short distance to her house. The robot went in while I waited outside. I peeked inside and noticed that her home had an identical arrangement to mine. The homes must have been built with a process in mind. Even the fruit set out on the table looked identical to mine. Clearly, the robots did things in an orderly fashion. Thus, to me it was obvious that the robots were in charge.

While I was not sure I trusted the robot I had been speaking to, I prepared myself for its return. I did some exercises to raise my heart rate. If he attempted to put me to asleep, I did not want it to be easy. If I had any stimulants, I would have taken them. However, I did not find any among the rations. I also thought about things to keep my mind active. I was ready for its return when it exited Alexa's house.

"Dr. Pergamese, are you sure you do not wish to go to bed?"

"I am certain."

"Very well, where should I start?"

"At the beginning."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Why are there so few people on Earth?"

"Dr. Pergamese, we are not on Earth?"

"What? Where are we? How did we get here?'

"We are approximately 50 light years from Earth. The project coordinator called this planet New Earth III -- as we are the third such colonizing mission."

"How far removed are we from Earth?" I interrupted.

"It took 1000 years just to travel to this planet. We have given them daily reports and received reports from them. However, they are more than 50 years out of date because of the distance."

"How long have we been on this planet?"

"If you look at your device, you will note that the date is 525.3.47. That is the length of time all of us have been on this planet. 525 years, 3 months and 47 days. We robots spent 500 years preparing the world for the frozen embryos that would become the planets residents."

"500 years?"

"These housing units were constructed from the space crafts that were used to bring us here. That was our first project. The ship was designed to be separated into such house facilities. Thus, each of the homes has a wall that has been subjected to interstellar travel. Nothing was left to waste. For other raw materials, the robot force has been mining this planet. Thus, the daily utensils, chairs, and other items were constructed on this world. It was hoped that we have constructed everything required for your survival."

"Why is it that I know I am a doctor?"

"The biobed had provided you with everything that was required."

"The biobed?"

"The biobed has provided you with everything required since you were an embryo."

"Wait! I was just an embryo on the ship?"

"That is correct. Space and weight were a major concern. It would be very inefficient and difficult to transport mature humans. Furthermore, they would most likely not survive the long journey. However, keeping embryos alive is quite easy."

"That is why I do not have any memories!"

"The science team did not think it wise to imprint specific memories into you. They hoped to give you enough information to where you would accept the situation. However, you would have to spend the entire term in the bed."

"So who are my mother and father?"

"Technically, they have long since died on Earth. We did not keep records of specific individual's parentage. However, both of your parents were medical doctors. This is why you were selected to be the colony's medical resource."

"When was I born?"

"All of the current adults were implanted in their respective biobeds 25 years, 3 months and 47 days ago. With all of the information required to be instilled into you by 525.3.50. However, you are up early."

"Hence, some information is missing."

"Correct."

"That is why I have been told repeatedly to return to bed."

"Correct. However, it is apparent that your bed is malfunctioning. During you last venture out, I had attempted repairs. My repairs do not seem to have resolved the situation. You bed is still unable to keep you in sleep mode. I hope that your medical training has not suffered."

"I do not think it has. I have dreamt of medical issues even while not sleeping in the bed."

"Nevertheless, it would be prudent to sleep in the bed. It will reinforce your studies."

"Agreed. So, Alexa is a mathematician?"

"Dr. Hypatia is responsible for the mathematics education and usage on the planet."

"Wait! Mathematical use?"

"Dr. Hypatia will be the chief economist, treasurer, accountant, and have several mathematical duties of this type. She will use her actuarial training to increase the colony's survival. Most of the residents will have multiple duties -- except you. The project leads felt that the medical profession would be kept busy enough."

It was a lot to take in. I had to sit down for a moment to comprehend what was happening.

"The Amnesiac" - Seventh Entry

The Amnesiac

Seventh Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.47

 

I once again awoke in the bed. I remember that I encountered a robot, but I simply fell asleep. I can only assume that this robot had some sort of hypersonic sleep signal. This would explain why I felt relaxed instead of panicked. Further, it would explain why I slept the entire afternoon, and on through to the morning.

I do not know what to think of the robot's capabilities. On one hand, much of my suspicions of the robots are simply gone. A night's sleep in the bed will apparently do that. On the other hand, I worry about their mind control capabilities. After all, if they can put me to sleep at will, what else could they do? I do not know if they realize that the more these events happen; the more suspicious I become. I think it is clear that the robots and this bed have some sort of brainwashing capability.

On the plus side, I know more about my life here. While I have no direct recollection of my medical studies, I know more about physiology and anatomy. I think the visit to the hospital must have jarred something loose. I feel like my medical training has been quite thorough now.

The events of the last few days have given me a new found boldness. It seems that the worst thing that will happen for my actions is a nice long sleep. I will perhaps have to endure a session in the bed, but I feel that I am easily fighting off those brainwashing sessions.

Since the robots I have encountered do not appear to be able to answer my questions, I have decided on a brash action plan. I have decided to go up and down the street knocking on doors. I am going to see who comes to the door. In this way, I hope to find out what I can from my neighbors.

From my own experience, I am going to assume that everyone has a similar experience to my own. That is, I think they will all have limited memories. I think no one will have memories that go farther back than a few days. I want to test this theory.

Before venturing out, I ate a morning meal. I found that my pack from yesterday's adventure appears to have been undisturbed. Thus, some of the provisions I had packed have survived without harm. For some reason, I think it odd that the food did not decompose in any way. Perhaps, there is something special about these crops. They may be resistant to rot. Even the fruit on the tables appears to be fresh.

I grabbed the pack and put some more food into it. I am heading to Alexa's house because I think she will answer the knock. Further, she may want to visit her neighbors as well. I made my way to her house, and she answered her door after a brief wait. She too seems to be very suspicious of our circumstances. I am sure she wants to know what the robots are up to. I explain to her what my plans are and she put her fears aside.

We walk away from the town square. We are both pretty sure there are robots doing work in the other direction. We go from house to house. Naturally, we skip my house. However, no one comes to the door at any of these houses. We make our way to the end of the line. No one at any of the houses answered to our call.

"What do we do now?" Alexa asks

"We could open up the doors," I suggest.

"We should not..."

"Why?"

"It just seems wrong."

"Why?"

"It is an invasion of privacy."

"If I am correct, they are being harmed by robots. We should do something."

"What if you are not correct?"

"I guess I ask for forgiveness."

"I will not help you in this."

"Perhaps you are right. However, let us knock on the doors on our way back."

That is what we did. As before, no one answered their door. We made it all the way to Alexa's before deciding to continue to the last group of houses. As with the rest of the houses, no one answered our knocks.

As we approach the town center, we once again encounter a robot. As was the case with the others we encountered it said, "You are up early Dr. Pergamese and Dr. Hypatia. You should go back to bed."

Alexa attempted to run, but I held her firm.

"I have some questions," I replied. "Please contact an entity that can answer them."

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese and Dr. Hypatia," it said in its mechanical voice. "You should go back to bed."

"Do you understand my request?" I asked continuing to keep Alexa from running.

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese and Dr. Hypatia," it repeated. "You should go back to bed."

"Thank you for your concern," I said. "Please continue with your work."

With that, the robot walked away. Alexa was in quite a shock, so I took her to a park bench. I thought it was a fine time for a little picnic. I opened my pack, and gave her some food. I was surprised at how well she accepted it.

She relaxed and we chatted for a little while. Then I saw the robot from the previous day. I felt my anxiety rising. That was different than the other day. Alexa, on the other hand, fell fast asleep. Something different was definitely happening. Perhaps now I would get some answers!

"The Amnesiac" - Sixth Entry Continued

The Amnesiac

Sixth Entry Continued

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.46

 

When the robot told us that we should return to bed, Alexa ran. I remember the fright I felt when I first encountered a robot, so I assume that she returned to her house. I will check on her later.

"What is going on?" I asked the robot.

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese," it replied. "You should go back to bed."

"Why?"

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese. You should go back to bed."

"Why are you interested in me going back to bed?"

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese. You should go back to bed."

It became clear that it was not equipped to answer my questions. I was hoping to get some answers, but it simply repeated the same phrase. This robot was incapable of giving the answers to my questions. I am a little crestfallen about it.

However, I have no interest in returning to bed. I was not finished exploring for the day. After all, it was still early in the day. Thus, I decided to walk away from the robot.

The robot noticed that I was not heading back towards my home. It attempted to intercept me, but I easily avoided its stance.

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese. You should go back to bed," it repeated as I walked away. I do not know what it did after that, but I hope it just went about its business.

Since I was alone, I could go anywhere I wanted. Thus, I decided to explore the buildings in the public square. My first stop was the hospital. If I was a doctor, this is where I would work. Like everything in this place, it seemed strange to me. First off, it was really small. It appeared to be more of an aid station than a full functioning hospital.

There was an admitting station in front of a short hallway. As I walked down the hall, it appeared that there were just three rooms for in-hospital patients. Naturally, if our little town was small enough, I would be doing house calls. There was no need for anyone to stay in the hospital. I wondered why have a hospital at all?

I walked a little further and noticed the dispensary. It had a large assortment of medical treatments. Hence, it appeared to have whatever I would need for medical emergencies. I was surprised by the number of supplies in that room. This place was clearly prepared for anything. Its emptiness told an oddly different tale.

The last room in the hall was a single operating room. There was an array of medical equipment, and it was too equipped for any type of scenario. If I was the only doctor, I would have anything I needed at my fingertips.

However, what was the need without any people. I have been looking around for a couple of days, and I have only encountered one other person. What is the reason for all of this medical technology?

The hospital had the same sort of cold calculation that the rest of the place had. It had a cold functionality with no signs of personality. It seemed to me that the robots built the place. They had a set of plans that they followed to the letter. Thus, it was a strong, sturdy place, but it did not have any touches of humanity.

My tour of the hospital did not take long. My next stop was the school. Oddly the school seemed normal. There was no one in it, but it seemed ordinary for a school after hours. There were classrooms along a central corridor. At the end of the hall, it appeared to have some sort of administration offices. To me it seemed to be like every school.

I looked in one of the classrooms. It was small as it could only accommodate perhaps 10 people. It had a few rows of desks and a chalkboard at the front. The chalkboard seems strange to me. Usually, there were whiteboards at the head, but they went with chalk.

Other than that one oddity, it appeared to be a normal classroom. The entire building was the first thing that I encountered that did not make me feel odd. It was like an every school. That alone made me feel uncomfortable about the place. For some reason it seemed too perfect.

With that feeling, I went into the library. At least, that is what the sign on the building read. There were lots of shelves and other equipment you would find in a library. However, besides the lack of people using the building, it was also missing books.

This building appeared larger than the hospital and the school. This could be because it was not divided up into rooms. It was a single large room. There were shelves lining every wall. There were lines of shelves interrupting the open space. Perhaps this was an illusion that made the building seem bigger. However, all of the shelves were empty. I looked around and all of the shelves were empty.

Scattered here and there were desks. If there were books, a person could read at these desks. These desks were clearly meant for research as there were terminals of some type on each one. I had hoped to find some things out from them. Sadly, they were not currently functioning. Despite my best attempts to fix that situation I was unable to get the terminals to work.

The robot I encountered earlier was no help, and these terminals were not going to be able to answer my questions either. I was being thwarted at every turn. With this setback, I decided to enjoy my provisions while I was in the library. I found a comfortable chair and ate some of the food I packed.

It was a satisfying meal, and the chair was quite comfortable. I did not even stir when I heard someone or something enter the library. I was just in a relaxed state. When I saw the robot coming towards me, I did not even panic. I simply drifted off to sleep.

 

End of Entry

"The Amnesiac" - Sixth Entry

The Amnesiac

Sixth Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.46

 

Once again, I spent the night on the floor. I still think that the bed means trouble. However, I need to find something more comfortable. The hard metal floor is just not conducive to a good nights sleep. I need a mattress or something.

Today, I am going to look for life. The object in the field has given me hope that there is life here. There must be some sort of animal. If there are animals, then there may be people. There cannot be only robots here. Thus, I am going to try finding people. If I do not run into any people, I may start knocking on doors. I do not care about the consequences.

I had more fruit for my morning meal. Its weirdness has worn off, and I find it delightful. It is far superior to the reconstituted meals I have been eating. I hope I get another basket of fruit soon. In any event, I put some into a bag for my journey. If I am gone all day, I will want something to snack on.

I went outside without concern for robots. I just went. The previous day must have been some sort of work day as the hustle and bustle was gone. The odd thing in the distant field was still there. However, I wanted to explore other areas. Thus, I will find out what it is later.

Today, I am going to walk on the walkway. I am going to see where it leads. I have explored the grove of trees and the farm fields a little bit. I want to see what else is in the area. The activity yesterday indicated to me that there was more to this place than just these visible housing units. Apart from finding life, I hope to find out the lay of the land better.

For instance, I noticed that there is a high concrete wall behind the housing units. I did not notice this before, but it has been there quite a while. This wall makes it appear that we are in some sort of zoo. Perhaps it is to keep hostile forces out. Was there a war? The wall could be for many purposes, but I thought I would note it.

I am continuing past some housing units. I may come back and knock on doors, but for now, I am just walking. I want to know what is past these houses. Where were those trucks going? Where is the storehouse?

"Hey!" I hear a voice say interrupting my thoughts.

I look around and a young woman is approaching me. I do not know if it was instinct or what, but I rushed to her and gave her a big hug.

"I thought I was the only one here," I told her.

"I thought the same thing," she replied.

"My name is Galen. Dr. Galen Pergamese."

"You remember your name?"

"Well -- no. It was on a placard outside my home. I just assumed..."

"Oh..."

"You do not remember anything either?"

"I have no memories before waking up yesterday."

"Well, it says here that your name is Dr. Alexa Hypatia."

"It does not ring any bells, but it appears that we are both doctors."

"From what I have been able to surmise, I am a medical doctor."

"Hmmmm. I do not think that is true for me. I want to say mathematics."

"I wonder if that means we have a university around here somewhere."

"Perhaps. Where are you going?"

"I am just exploring."

"My I join you?"

"Certainly."

Alexa and I begin walking along the walk path to see where it led. I began to hope others would join us, but it was just the two of us as we reached the end of the row of houses. We may still knock on doors, but first we are looking at what lies beyond the houses.

We first came to a series of stone buildings. We assumed that this was the heart of our little area. There was a school, a hospital, a library, and several other buildings. They were all arranged around what could be described as a public square. There was a raised platform in which speeches could be made. It appeared well planned.

Further down, there was what appeared to be the storehouse. It was a large nondescript metal building. A walkway led to a set of doors in the front of the building. We could see in and there were shelves of goods visible from our vantage point.

Some trouble had been made to dress it up. There is what could be described as a park in front of the building. There were benches, plantings, and winding walkways. It looked as though there were expansion plans. Perhaps for children's play equipment.

Behind the storehouse, there was a driving space and parking space. Some trucks, which I likely saw yesterday, were parked alongside this storehouse building. The building was not very wide, but it was quite deep. Perhaps to give them room to do other things such as process raw materials without exposing the process to the customers.

Past the storehouse was a series of smaller buildings. They had front doors, but they appeared empty. These were much smaller than the storehouse. Alexa and I discussed it, but we could not decide what was their purpose. We could not figure out why you would build structures with no purpose. Why did they build empty buildings?

The last structure we encountered was a factory -- a robot factory. It did not appear to be too active. Nevertheless, we could see a small collection of inactive robots standing out in front of the building. They looked like they were ready for activation. However, before we could get a closer look, we encountered a robot.

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese and Dr. Hypatia," it said in its mechanical voice. "You should go back to bed."

"The Amnesiac" - Fifth Entry

The Amnesiac

Fifth Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.45

 

I awoke in a panic this morning. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in the orchard. I had not slept well for the last couple of nights, and I was tired. Sitting in the sun under a tree was really nice. I did become very relaxed. I found the situation quite nice. It could be as simple as that, but I do not know.

On the other hand, I may have simply lost the events of the afternoon. I have a big gap, and it could be a relapse. However, I remember the last few days in pretty good detail. It is just that most of the day yesterday is a blank. I remember things up to a point, then they all went black. Was it the apple? Did a robot shoot me with a tranquilizer dart? Did I just fall asleep and sleep through the night? That was a great deal of sleep if that is the case. I just do not know what happened.

Nevertheless, I have no memory of getting into bed, but I awoke in the bed. Further, it was morning. So, it makes sense to me to assume that a robot found me under that tree and brought me to the bed. Whatever the case, I spent an unknown number of hours in the bed. It was likely at least 10.

This fact makes me wonder about how I feel. Suddenly, I have a positive view of the robots. I think the bed is there to brainwash me. At least, it is attempting to do so. I suddenly have strong feelings that the robots are here to help. I did not have that feeling before last night. This feeling seems new.

As a matter of fact, I have only known about the robots for a few days. While they have apparently done me no harm, I do not know that for certain. Why would I suddenly have positive feelings for them. It has to be that the bed is having an effect on me. I still do not trust the bed or the robots despite their efforts -- perhaps more so now.

On the other hand, I feel quite rested. I guess sleeping most of the day and through the night would make a person feel that way. I would say I slept longer than one day if it were not the date on this device. I also feel strangely content about my situation. This bed is completely not to be trusted. It is more than just a place to sleep.

After I got out of bed, I checked the house. My stores have been refilled. Yesterday's dishes were washed and stored away. Perhaps I did that in the missing afternoon. I may have visited a storehouse and refilled everything during my missing hours. It does seem odd to forget such mundane events. Furthermore, I have no memory of where such a storehouse would be. It may be that someone or something has been here.

I opened the inner door to look outside. Suddenly, the place is awash with activity. There are robots everywhere. Dozens of them. I do not see any people. There are just robots taking care of several tasks.

One robot has a hose and is watering the plants in my yard. I do not think he saw me. He was busy doing his tasks. Farther out, there was a robot placing a gate to the entrance for the road. There was even traffic on that road. Robot controlled trucks were traveling to and from some unknown location. It was a huge change from the previous day.

After quite a while observing the robots, one headed for my door. It had a basket of fruit. I do not know if it saw me, but I was not taking any chances. I ran into the bedroom and closed the door. I heard it open the door outer door. It clanked and squeaked a bit. After a few moments, I heard the inner door close.

I waited a few minutes before I peaked out. The room was as I left it, but there was a fruit basket on the table. It was like it was feeding time at the zoo. I could not resist the tempting fresh fruit.

The taste was the same as it was the day before -- odd but refreshing. I did not feel the drowsiness that I had the previous day. I thought that was a good sign. At least, it indicated to me that it was fine.

I looked around the house. I thought that if it was feeding time at the zoo, someone should be watching. I did not see anyone. Cameras came to my mind, but I was unable to locate any. I have no recollection of what a camera was or looked like, but for some reason I thought the place was free of them.

The skylight was clear of viewers as well. It was a regular scene of clear sky. There was nothing unusual to my mind. I opened the inner door again. There was still a large amount of activity happening. The gate building robot had finished mine, and moved down the road. The same for the watering robot with its hose connected to a large truck that sat on the road.

There was no way to get out of the house without being noticed. My planned exploration of the neighbor's house would have to wait. I thought about interrogating one of the robots. If it had the ability to communicate, I am not sure if it would answer my questions. Besides, they were busy. It was likely best to let them do their work.

Among all of the activity, I think I saw something different. The robots had precise movements. They were very regular -- in a fashion. Past the grove, there was something that moved differently -- oddly -- irregularly. To me, it looked like some sort of living creature. In addition, it was not a biped. It moved on all fours. It was also bigger than any of the robots I have seen. Was it something alive? Or was it just a different kind of robot. That too would have to wait.

 

End of Entry

"The Amnesiac" - Forth Entry

The Amnesiac

Forth Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.44

 

Robots! The only thing that I have seen moving around here was a single robot. No birds. No squirrels. No dogs. Nothing. Did the machines rise up and kill all of the biological organisms? How many are there? Did they let a few biological specimens live for some kind of experiment? What is the nature of that experiment?

Why me? Just how many people are still alive? There are houses similar to mine. Did that mean there were other people living in them? Are there animals living in them rather than people? Are we in some sort of zoo for robots? What is going on?

As you may have guessed, it was a restless night. I tossed and turned. The floor is hard, but I still do not trust the bed. It is even more true now. What are the robots doing with those beds? Are they attempting some sort of mind control with them? Is that the reason for the wires and tubes? In any event, my uncomfortableness during the night was magnified. The hard floor and the robocolypse weighed heavily on my mind as I attempted to sleep.

I hope my leaving the house did not set off any type of alarm. I hope to get out early today. My fears of going out have turned into a steely resolve. I must find out what is going on. To my mind, the only way to do that is to explore out there.

The sky had just turned from its inky blackness to its predawn gray. I ate a light meal as the sunlight slowly turned the sky from gray to its purplish blue. I was surprised that it went through some other colors. It had touches of yellow and red. It was like a normal sunrise. Although, I do not really know what that means.

Like the day before, it is cloudless. There are no birds to greet the morning. Nonetheless, I am going out there to see what is happening. I just hope my leaving the house yesterday does not cause problems for me today. It could be a short foray if they are displeased with me.

I am opening the inner door. I do not see anything moving at this early hour. I looked out for several minutes before I opened the outer door. I peeked out, but I did not see anything, but I closed the door right away. It was just a peek.

I want to go to the neighbors to find out more about them. Are they humans or something else? I think I will wait on that as it is pretty early. If they are human and sleeping in the bed, they won't know about morning for a while longer. Perhaps they are in the same situation as I am. I may meet them out there. I want them to see me.

I have decided to cross the street. I do not see the robot working in the distance. I think I will explore what it is doing. I am just glad that I have this device to talk to. It would be quite lonely here by myself. This device is bringing me some peace. Okay, here I go.

I am back in the house. My heart is racing. I ran into a robot. It was maintaining my yard.

"You are up early Dr. Pergamese," it said in a strange mechanical voice. "You should go back to bed."

"I will," I lied and walked back to the house.

That was close. Luckily he did not make any sudden moves or try to apprehend me. He just told me to go back into the house and get into that bed. I am now more resolved than ever to not enter that thing.

It knew who I was. That could spell trouble. Nevertheless, I am glad it spoke in a language that I could understand. Perhaps that is by design. Perhaps they took my memories and in that way learned how to communicate with me.

Despite the risk, I am going back out there. I will look harder to avoid that robot. I do have a lot of questions for it, but I do not want to stir up trouble by asking a lot of questions. For now, I think I want to find out what was happening in the distance. I will get to my questions later.

I do not know where that robot was as I left my house. I looked around carefully as I entered the road. As I anticipated, there was no traffic. In a hunched run, I crossed the road and I jumped the wall on the other side. I stayed there in my prone position for a few moments before I continued.

I snuck up to the grove of trees. I was as stealthy as I could muster. I do not think anything noticed me. However, they could have sensors all over this place. They may be well aware of my presence. I was just going to continue on with my investigations until I was confronted. My resolve seems pretty strong at this point.

This grove of trees was bigger than I thought. It looked much smaller looking out at it from my front door. At least, I do not think I could how big it was from that vantage point. In any event, it took me longer than I anticipated to get to the other side. I was a bit out of breath walking all that way.

Once on that side, I could tell what that robot was up to. It was tending some farm fields. It was raising food. I wonder if it was for us. It appeared that some of the crop was ready for harvest. It was beginning to feel like we were in a zoo. They were raising food for us to keep us alive.

I turned back to the grove. I noticed that while some of the trees were in blossom others had fruit on them. The fruit appeared ripe to me. I made my way to an apple tree. After a few days of reconstituted food, fresh fruit had a great appeal to me. I could not help myself. I picked an apple -- or two.

It does taste a little odd. I do not recall ever eating an apple before, but this one tasted weird to me. It is like everything else. I just get this strange feeling that this place is odd.

After eating the apple, everything seems so calming to me. Eating fresh fruit has greatly relaxed me. I am just going to sit under this tree for a while. This is nice. It is comfortable. I could sit here forever and sleep.

 

End of Entry

"The Amnesiac" - Third Entry

The Amnesiac

Third Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.43

 

Another night, and I remember everything from the last two days. The days prior to that are still blank. Whatever caused my condition persists. Nothing has been jarred loose. I simply do not remember anything before two days ago.

I avoided the bed last night. With its wires and tubes, I am uneasy about using it. It just seems so strange. Hence, I slept on the floor in the main room. I feel a little stiff, but at least I slept. I think my anxiety would have prevented any sleep on the bed.

During the night, I did not get any revelations. I had no thoughts of the anatomy of the human body. Thus, while I still think I am a doctor, I did not gain any new information on who I am or what I do. It could be the less comfortable surroundings. It could be because I got up rather than lingering in bed. My sleeping situation was strange, and perhaps I did not get as restful a sleep as needed. Hopefully, I will progress some more tonight. We shall see.

Today, I am going to attempt to go outside. I have explored every corner of my house. There is not much left inside to explore. Further, there is nothing in the way of memorabilia around the house. There are no vacation pictures -- no souvenirs -- no nick-nacks of any sort. Thus, I do not have anything to stare at in order to not help jar loose any memories. The house appears to be very generic. It seems like it is a one size fits all type of thing.

I am hoping that exploring outside will change things. However, it is going to take a great deal of courage to step out my door. If the anxiety I felt by opening the door is any indication, I may not be able to venture out for long. I definitely will not wander far from my home. Despite its Spartan appearance, it still seems like home to me. Although, it is all I know at this moment.

I am going to take it slow. Right now the door is open. I feel the nervousness wash over me. I am not even looking out, but the mere knowledge that the door is open is raising my blood pressure. Venturing out is going to be difficult.

Right! I just have to take it slow. That is why I am sitting at my table with the front door open. Each time I get enough courage, I look out for as long as I can. I have looked into the distance, and there is definitely some movement there. I cannot make out what it is, but there is some sort of activity in the distance. I do not know if I can venture close enough to discover what it is, but I think that it can wait until at least tomorrow. I need to take small steps.

I am back at the table after looking out of the door for quite a while. There seems to be such little activity near my home, that I should not be afraid of going outside. The movement in the distance is far enough off, that I do not think that whatever it is will be able to notice me. All of this is bolstering my confidence. I definitely think that after my midday meal, I will be able to open the outer door and step out.

That is right, after I eat I will go out. I keep giving myself markers, but I have not ventured out yet. I am still sitting nervously staring at the world outside. I can do this. I just need to get up and go. I need to just go. Unfortunately, I am not getting up to go. It is silly that I am writing this instead of going out. Okay, I am now putting this thing down and walking out that front door. No, I am going to take this thing with me so I can note everything. One deep breath and out I go.

I am now outside. My heart is racing. The air smells strange. I cannot describe in what way it smells strange. I do not know how it really is supposed to smell. It just seems odd. The air is very dry and it seems almost sterile. I only made it as far as the oak in my yard. I then rushed back into the house, but not before noticing it.

My name is Dr. Galen Pergamese. At least, that is what the placard on my house indicated. I need to calm down a bit before I can determine if that sets free any memories. Currently, it seems very unfamiliar. It has not freed any memories. It has not shaken anything out, but my heart is still going quite fast. I may lie down to regain my composure.

Apart from the placard, I also noted several houses similar to mine. I did not see any movement in them, but they fill me with hope. I am not alone. At least I hope that is the case. The walkway connects a row of perhaps 20 houses all about 30 meters apart. It would take some doing to walk over there. I am resting here, and I am going to make another trip outside in a little while.

After perhaps an hour of resting, I am heading outside again. The rest did not bring about any memories, but I have a lot on my mind. In any event, I am walking down the walk to the street in front of my house. My curiosity of the movement is over-riding my fear. I must know what it is. I have now entered the road. I am on the other side.

Oh ....

Okay, I am back in my house. I can barely type this. The door is closed and secured. My heart is racing. The movement was not a living thing. It was a robot! The only moving thing in this world seems to be a mechanical man. Where are the people? Have the robots taken over? That would be one explanation of the weirdness that I have experienced. Has the robocalypse occurred? It will have to wait until tomorrow. I cannot go out again.

 

End of Entry

"The Amnesiac" - Second Entry

The Amnesiac

Second Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Date: 525.3.42

 

When I awoke this morning, I remembered the previous day. I, however, still do not remember the days before that. I slept in the bed to make sure that its apparatus was not responsible for my memory loss. Nonetheless, I am suspicious of the bed. The tubes and wires running into it do not seem normal to me. I may sleep elsewhere tonight.

During the night, it came to me that I am a medical doctor. I do not know why I think that is the case. In my dreamlike state, a few things came to mind and I can think of no other explanation for them. For instance, I can think of no reason why I would know all of the bones in the body. I am also very familiar with the organs. Again, I do not know why or how I know these things, but I do.

During the night, I left the door to the sleeping chamber open. In this way, when the sun rose, the light would enter the sleeping chamber and wake me up. This is exactly what happened. Again, the sun and sky appeared to have an odd color in my estimation. I do not know why I would think that, but this world seems quite odd to me.

I am planning to look at the sunrise more thoroughly tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow as I am still uncomfortable with exiting my home. I do want to look at my surroundings more closely, but I will do it in the safety of my home for now.

After my morning meal, I got down on the floor and observed the sky through the skylight. My intent was to just lie there looking up for a few hours. The purplish color of the sky still seems odd, but then I thought it might be the window altering the color. I will no more once I go outside.

The other odd thing was the lack of clouds. For some reason, I think there should be clouds. There simply were none to be seen. I thought that perhaps I live in the desert. It is quite possible that clouds are rare at this time of year. Being almost half way through the third month, it may not be in the rainy season. The clouds may come along later.

At that moment, I realized that I am becoming aware of my ability to rationalize these various types of occurrences. I do not know why I think these things, but for some reason, I notice things and then rationalize why they may be. I could be way off on all of it. In any event, I am recording them. At this time of year, in my estimation, it should be about time for the farmers to start planting. That way, we will be able to make it through the driest part of the season. That is, if I am on the right track about the desert.

The other strange thing about the sky is the lack of animals. I have not seen or heard a single animal. No birds flew over my house during the entire time I looked at the sky. The airtight nature of the building may be the reason for not hearing any animals. Nevertheless, I think I should have seen something in my view out the skylight.

In fact, during the few hours I looked up, the sky was a constant purplish light blue. Nothing flew over my house -- no animals -- no flying machines -- nothing. It was simply a constant clear sky. It was hard for me to concentrate on the sky without anything changing. Nothing caught my attention the entire time. I find that weird.

After my adventure with the skylight, I decided to look out my front door. This was quite an experience. I was nervous about opening the airtight seal of the front door. At first I did not think I could manage it, but, I gathered up my courage and pulled open the door. It made a sucking sound as the seal broke.

My heart was racing, but I was somewhat comforted by the still sealed outer door. The outer door was transparent, and it opened out. Hence, I could have pushed it open and ventured outside. I did not have enough strength to do that. I just stood there looking outside.

While I could not see far, I could get a better look at the terrain. Once again, I did not see any movement during this time looking out the door. However, my anxiety prevented me from looking out too long.

Outside my door was a walkway. The cobblestones were roughly rectangular and placed tight together. On either side of the path was a sandy lawn. This fact reinforced the idea of being in the desert. I somewhat expected green grass. I do not know where that expectation came from, but it is what I anticipated.

There was a tree in the yard. For some reason, I think it is an oak. It was a relatively large tree surrounded by a raised bed. The bed was filled with some sort of substance that I suspect to be mulch. The raised bed was flanked by a line of what I would describe as prickly desert shrubs. These plants did not look like they required much water -- or got much.

Past the walkway that led towards the house was a walkway going in both directions. This seemed to indicate that other people could walk to my house. I could not see any other houses, but there were several indications that other houses and people existed. I just have not seen any direct evidence of this.

There was a wider path past the sidewalk. I assume it was for some sort of vehicle. It was much wider, and there was a formidable wall separating it from the walking path. The wall has a slight opening to allow pedestrians to enter the street, and drivers to walk up the path.

Past the road there appeared to be a grove of trees. Some of them were in bloom. They were well trimmed. In my mind, someone had taken great care of these trees. I have not seen anyone yet, but there were clear indications that someone maintained those trees. For that matter, my yard seemed also maintained. Did I do that maintenance before the memory loss?

As a doctor, it seems unlikely that I would have time for that type of thing. It was just another indication that there were others here. Tomorrow I will gather up my courage and venture out of the safety of my house.

I did think I saw something moving in the fields past the grove of trees. I am not sure. It would be the only sign of life that I have, but it could have been just my mind playing tricks on me. I will explore tomorrow.

 

End of Entry

"The Amnesiac" - First Entry

The Amnesiac

First Entry

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Date: Unknown

 

Greetings to anyone who reads this. I have just awakened from sleep, and I cannot recall anything before that moment. In fact, I do not even remember going to bed. As you can see, I know how to write, but I do not remember learning this skill. I do not know my name, or where I am. I am a proverbial blank slate.

If my memory is erased every night, how would I know? Thus, I am writing this diary of my experiences. If I awake tomorrow without memory, I can refer to my writing here. I will explore my environment with you and note the things that I see.

First off, I have a nice portable electronic device on which I am able to take these notes. Thus, I have some sort of experience with this type of device. I guess that is a plus. There is a date noted on this device, so I will include it in future entries. I will assume that it is correct, because I have no reason to doubt it.

My living space is rather small. It consists of a tiny sleeping chamber which accommodates a bed for a single person. The room is slightly larger than the bed itself, and it contains no windows. With the door closed, the chamber is completely dark. The bed consists of a lying surface and a lid. There are a series of wires and tubes running to it from a receptacle in the wall. I was covered with a blanket when I awoke, and the lid lifted easily. I was not strapped to the bed in any fashion.

There is a separate living area. It is spacious in comparison, but by no means is it massive. There is a crudely constructed small metal table in the center of the main room flanked by two chairs. I find two chairs to be odd. From the appearance of the bedchamber, there does not appear to be room for another person to live here. Thus, why would I need a second chair? In my brief search, I have not discovered anyone else; although, I have not ventured outside my living quarters. Perhaps, I will have a visitor later.

Along one wall are storage places. The cabinets and drawers are built into the wall, and sit on each side of a wash room. I searched through them and they are mostly empty. I did find a few articles of clothing in one of the drawers next to the wash room. Upon this discovery, I washed myself and put on some clothes. These clothes were made of some sort of synthetic fiber. They were soft to the touch. Further, they fit my quite nicely. It appears that they were made for me.

The washroom was quite small. It contained a tiny toilet built into one wall. It would barely accommodate someone sitting upon it. There was a very small sink on the wall across from the door. Behind the door was a very small showering space. The bathroom door doubled as a door for that space.

After washing I continued to explore the storage area. I found another drawer which was not empty. It contained some eating and food-preparation utensils. All of the utensils seemed very crudely formed; however, there were enough eating sets for two. Everything appears to be arranged for two people, but as of yet, I have not seen another individual. I am becoming hopeful that someone will show up soon.

On the opposite side of the storage area, is the kitchen space. Directly across from the wash room sits a small counter with a sink in the center. On one side, there is a cooling device. Currently, this device is empty. I wonder what its use is if there is no need for food to be chilled and stored. It does have a dispenser of cool water and ice if desired. I went back to the cabinet with the eating utensils and found two glasses. I filled one of them and placed it upon the table.

On the other side of the sink is some sort of cooking device. It has two burners on top and warming cabinet beneath. Above this stove hang a few crudely formed metal pots and pans. Obviously, these would be used to prepare meals. With the refrigerator empty, I looked for something to eat.

I found some sort of freeze-dried food in the cupboards. I was capable of reading the instructions on their packages, so that is what I prepared. The instructions were simple and I could follow them without difficulty. The meal itself was not noteworthy.

At the top of the wall, is a glass ceiling. This lets in the daytime light and allows me to see out. In my opinion, the sky seems odd. It seems a little more purple than I remember. However, I do not know why I think that. It could just be my brain playing tricks.

There are lights that line the walls when the sun goes down. Thus, I do not have to rely solely on the sun for my light. I tested the fixtures, and they do work. Hence, my home is equipped with functioning electricity. How and why I know this is a mystery. I find this entire situation interesting.

In my state, I dare not venture outside my house. There could be untold dangers outside my front door. I am going to wait to see if my memory is wiped out the next day. If I retain my memories, I may open my door. I am not sure if the outside environment is suitable. It appears that my home is sealed against the elements. If my memory is gone, then I will know I am not alone. Someone or something is removing my memories, and I will investigate why. For now, all I can do is wait.

 

End Entry.

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter Six: Smith Meets Wesson

Smith and Wesson

Chapter Six: Smith Meets Wesson

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Alias Daniel Wesson was now on Earth, but he did not know what to do next. He did not know anyone. He was alone in a strange place. He only had his pack of vials which were filled with water. He had no identity. He had nothing. On the other hand, it was not like this was an unusual circumstance for him. He ended up on The Rock because of his actions to get money. Once again, he would fall on his old ways.

Daniel crawled out of his pod. It was more difficult than he thought. He was used to micro-gravity, and he could not just pull himself out. He had to struggle against the Earth's gravity.

The treatments continued to make him feel odd. His brain felt a little scrambled. Further, with every movement he had to wrestle with this strange thing called gravity. It all felt very strange. After crawling out of the pod, he had to rest. He wanted to attempt to stand, but it was going to take quite an effort. His muscles felt strong enough for the task, but he simply was not used to using them.

After a short rest, he pushed himself up to attempt to stand. He realized that so many things he would have to relearn. He thought about the last time he stood or walked or any of it. It had been over 20 years. He was simply not used to making his muscles push against Earth's gravity. They just would not work like he wanted.

With the help of his pod, he finally stood. He felt a great triumph, but he fell as he attempted his first step. He used the pod to get him up again. He held onto it as he attempted to hark back when he used to walk and run and wander around on Earth. He could not remember how it was done. It had been a long time. He told himself that it would be just like riding a bicycle. He could not remember what that was like either.

He took another tentative step while holding onto his pod. His arms were used to holding onto things. Further, they were strong enough now to fight against gravity. Thus, he managed to take a couple of steps while grasping the pod. He decided not to celebrate until he could walk comfortably.

Walking started to come back to him. His muscles responded naturally, and he began walking independently of the pod. His head began to clear. He hoped that it was a good sign. He did not need to have his muscles revert to their micro-gravity state. That would be bad.

For several minutes he did not stray far from the pod. He wanted to be sure he could get up without it should he fall. He practiced simple actions. He sat on the ground. He stood up without the pod. He jumped. He ran in place. He did all of the activities he could think of. Once he was done, he did them all again.

He wondered what the people would think if they saw him doing these things. Then he thought it must be common here. He would not be the only one coming back from space who needed to get used to gravity again. Then he realized what he was wearing. The simple lightweight smock did not conceal much.

He looked in his pack and found that his space suit was not among his effects. Instead, there was a pair of pants and a shirt.

Damn! he thought. That suit was very hard to come by.

He realized that the clothes provided would be much more useful on Earth. Further, he had no intentions of returning to space. Thus, he finally welcomed the switch, but he did not feel it was an equitable switch. Then he noticed a credit voucher in the bag. He had money! Now, he smiled broadly at the exchange.

The next order of business was to put the clothes on. Getting dressed was another adventure he did not anticipate. Nonetheless, he finally was dressed in Earth-like clothes. He was ready to face Earth.

Daniel did his list of actions in his clothes. He felt ready to go, so he jogged away from the pod. However, he was struck by some anxiety and raced back. He chastised himself for treating the pod like a security blanket. He would need to free himself from its siren call. When he felt comfortable again, he decided to walk away from the pod slowly and to not look back. Before he knew it, he found himself in the center of New Vegas.

He wandered around the city looking for opportunities. However, the citizens were very guarded. They clearly did not trust strangers. Further, he could tell those that were not afraid of him were looking at him as a mark. The city had changed a lot in the years he had been in space. So, he continued to wander around.

Eventually, he found himself at a little diner. He was hungry. He talked to the waiter, and heard that Zephenia Smith was the richest man in town. He confirmed that with a few others. Therefore, he decided to make Zephenia Smith his target. With enough money, he could lose himself somewhere a long distance from the space elevator.

It was dusk when he found himself at the store. He laughed when he read the sign Protected by Smith and Wesson. He chuckled as the Wesson name he had chosen was from that very firearm manufacturer.

No gun would help Mr. Smith, he thought.

The store was still open, but it would be closing soon. Daniel walked in confidently. He closed the door and began pulling down the security gates.

"What are you doing?" asked Zephenia.

"I am helping you close up," Daniel replied.

"Why?" asked Zephenia with a quizzical look on his face.

"Oh that?" answered the escaped convict. "Well you see this is a robbery!"

"What?"

"Oh yes, I am going to take your money from you."

"Smith! Wesson!" shouted Zephenia.

Daniel heard some dogs barking. He thought to himself that Smith and Wesson must be dogs.

"Ha ha!" Daniel laughed. "Your dogs won't help you!"

"Dogs?" inquired Zeph.

Just then, two robots shot out from nowhere and grabbed Daniel. He tried to struggle against their grip but was unable to free himself.

"Let me go!" he shouted. "If you don't you'll be sorry!"

"I will? Hmmmm." Zeph responded. "I really do not think that is true."

"I have connections! I can get things done!"

"Once again, I doubt that to be true. If you had connections, you would not be wearing such shabby hotel clothes."

"I..." Daniel began but could not think of anything further to say.

The police arrived. They took a blood sample from Daniel. They were astonished that his identity was not in their records. After some checking, they found out he was 235218. A prisoner who was presumed dead. He was returned to his cell.

That is the story of the only person to successfully escape from The Rock.

The End

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter Five: Back to Earth

Smith and Wesson

Chapter Five: Back to Earth

By Douglas E. Gogerty

"Sir? Sir?" came a voice in the escaped convicts dream.

It took him a while to realize that it was not a dream. Someone was prodding him and calling him sir. Slowly, 235218 regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman before him. He rubbed his eyes a little bit, and found out she was not as attractive as he first thought. She was still lovely, but the years in prison and his sleepy state played tricks upon him.

"What is it?" he said eventually.

"My name is Linda Carlson and I am the Earth Travel Coordinator. I understand you wish to see me?"

"Um... Yeah! I need to get to Earth."

"Very well, if you follow me," she replied.

She had some sort of jetpack with her. She just jetted down the hallway. The escaped convict had to use the railing along the wall to follow. It was a lot more work than what she was doing, but he managed to make his way to her office.

"Let me see," she began as she opened a form on her computer. "What is your name?"

"2352... Oh! Name. My name is Daniel Wesson."

"Could you spell that?"

"Huh?" he replied still foggy from sleep. "Oh -- d. a. n. i. e. l. w. e. s. s. o. n."

"Okay Mr. Wesson, what is your reason for going to earth?"

"My ship malfunctioned and I managed to eject before it burned up in the atmosphere. I fortunately made it safely to the hotel here. I have some vials that need to get to Earth."

"So?" responded Linda. "Business then?"

"Yes."

"Thanks. Who is your employer?"

"Employer? Er -- uh -- Vandelay Industries ... v. a. n. d. e. l. a. y."

"Excellent! How long have you been offworld?"

"I don't know? Is it relevant?"

"We need to know for the gravity-reinstitution process -- roughly."

"Let me see -- 25 to life..."

"What?"

"About 20 years."

"More than 5 years. Thanks. Deep space or low earth orbit?"

"Deep space -- I guess."

"We need to be sure on these things."

"I was in orbit of another planet in the solar system. Thus, I was not in low earth orbit -- if that matters."

"I see -- yes -- thank you. When would you like to go?"

"Immediately."

"The process takes several weeks."

"Weeks? It is important that I get to earth as soon as possible."

"Your business is urgent?"

"Yes! Very important. Lives at stake."

"Why did you not say so in the first place? That is another form entirely."

Daniel and Linda filled out the new form. Fortunately, there was room in the expedited return program. Which meant that no one had ever used it in the past. In fact, this procedure was rarely used that no one currently at the hotel had any experience in the expedited procedure. Nonetheless, the station personnel welcomed using it.

The escaped felon was ushered into a small capsule. They informed that he would need to strip and gave him a smock to wear. They placed his belongings in a small box that attached to the outside of the pod. They informed him to enter and sit. He could barely move in the small space. Once inside he was strapped to the lone seat in the small pod. They told him to hold his breath and the pod filled with liquid. He was about to the point where he could hold his breath no longer when the liquid drained out of the pod.

A technician opened the pod door and gave Daniel several injections. They made his body ache and his head swim a little bit. However, he knew this is what had to be done.

Once the injections were finished the pod was ushered into a simulated gravity environment. The pod was attached to a bar, and the machine was switched to the on position. Naturally, the spinning made Daniel nauseous. Via an speaker in the pod he could speak to the gravity-reintegration people. He spoke of his nausea and was told that it was normal. When the gravity simulator stopped, someone opened his pod and took some blood. After several minutes he got more injections and then simulator was run again.

The dry heaves reminded Daniel that he had not eaten in quite a while. He was somewhat happy about that. He did not know what they would do if he lost his lunch or breakfast. He asked but the technician told him that he did not really want to know that.

More blood tests and more injections continued. The process went through a few more iterations. After each round, he felt more strange. The injections had some weird effect. He forgot to ask about side effects, but he knew he could not wait a couple of weeks before returning to Earth. He could disappear on Earth. He would be discovered if he stayed in the hotel. Thus, he tried not to think about side-effects. He could deal with them.

"Okay Mr. Wesson, we need to get you to Earth now."

"Now?"

"We need to get you in gravity as soon as possible or we would have to repeat the process."

"Let's go!" Daniel responded anxiously.

"First, hold your breath."

"What?"

Before he could react, the pod once again began to fill with some sort of liquid. He held his breath as long as he could, but the liquid stayed. He knew he held his breath longer this time. He wondered why they had not drained the pod.

His lungs began to burn. The liquid stayed. He pounded on the doors. The liquid stayed. He could hold out no longer. He exhaled and inhaled. His lungs filled with the liquid. He started coughing, but he realized he could breath in the liquid.

His entire body began to tingle as he sucked in breath after breath of this liquid. The coughing subsided, and then the pod began to drain. The air filling the pod seemed cold and dry. It induced him to cough some more. The liquid he inhaled came out with each cough. Finally, the pod was empty of liquid, and he felt weird. However, he found that he could breath normally again.

Just as he felt comfortable. The pod began moving. The pod buzzed down the corridors and came to a stop at an airlock.

"Good luck on Earth," the technician told him on the communicator.

"My stuff?" exclaimed the escaped convict.

"Your belongings have been attached to the outside of the pod. They have been scanned and deemed safe. Once you reach Earth, you will be able to access them. Pleasant voyage."

The pod entered the airlock and was lowered via the space elevator to earth. 235218 had made it to Earth. His escape plan worked. Now what?

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter Four: The Life of Zephenia Smith

Smith and Wesson

Chapter Four: The Life of Zephenia Smith

By Douglas E. Gogerty

At the foot of the space elevator life was difficult. Because of the level of crime, the once prosperous city of New Vegas became feared. The few tourists that came to the city would fly in and immediately go up into space. They feared the city. They feared its criminal element. Thus, they did not spend any money there. In this way, the city could not prosper. Hence, crime continued to be the only option for many citizens. This completed the never-ending cycle.

This is the circumstance in which Zephenia Smith lived. During the boom times, his family purchased a nice estate away from the center of town. It was a nice house with a good sized plot of land. His mother loved to garden, and she took the time and effort to make sure it was nicely landscaped. In the midst of the rainforest, anything and everything would grow. Thus, she took great pains to make it look good as well as be easily maintained.

Zeph loved that old house. He had never known any other place. As a child, he had fond memories of playing in the junglish garden. He knew and loved the old trees. However, as an adult, he did not have time to maintain the land. He also did not like his trip into the city. Therefore when a developer offered him good money for the house and land, he happily accepted the offer. Fortunately he got his money before the developer's business went bankrupt.

Zeph placed the money in a rainy-day fund. Life in New Vegas was difficult to predict. The city had seen ups and downs. There was always talk of fixing the towns problems, but no one seemed to have the will or the money. Thus, everything stayed as it was. Zeph was not one to rush ill-prepared into the future.

In this way, he had a pretty good nest-egg saved up. He lived well within his means. His business did not earn him lots of money, but it made enough. At least he had income. His life ran in the black. With his savings and his steady income, he was doing better than most people in New Vegas. In fact, many people in the area knew he was one of the richest men in town.

Without the estate, he needed a place to live. Above his store there used to be five smallish units that his family would rent out. However, in the circumstance of the city, it was difficult to find anyone who could afford to rent a place. Further, it was difficult to find anyone to trust to live above his business. Therefore, Zeph converted the entire upper level into one big living space.

Further, he built a garden upon the roof. It was the best of both worlds. He had a rather large living area, an extremely easy commute, and he had access to a garden space like he did at his family's estate. He even splurged and hired a gardener to come in once a week. He really enjoyed his new living arrangement.

With this reputation, Zeph had to make his shop a fortress. There were steel grates that he had to pull down every night. He had detectors of every type. Cameras recorded any movement around the perimeter. He had motion detectors and security lights. While the police department was mostly useless, he also had a sophisticated alarm system that would alert them. Thus, he had multiple levels of security. It helped him rest easily at night.

All of this was enough to keep the criminal element from attempting anything during the hours when his shop was closed. However, when the shop was open, these were mostly ineffectual. If his alarm would go off during the daylight hours, the police would call him to inform him that his alarm was sounding. They would never send anyone out. Thus, he found the alarm useless, but he kept it anyway. Many citizens did not know that the police would not respond to his alarm.

Nonetheless, without the police, anyone could enter his establishment and cause trouble. He was vulnerable during business hours. Therefore, his final level of security read "This Property is Protected by Smith and Wesson". This was enough to prevent most trouble from entering his shop. Because of this situation, Zephenia was able to steer clear of most of the trouble that plagued his city.

With his reputation as a prosperous business owner, he had several advantages. Other business owners regularly courted his business. Zeph always paid his bills, so he always got excellent customer service. If you did not treat him well, he would take his business elsewhere. Few establishments could afford to lose him as a customer. Thus, he got regular deliveries of groceries and other supplies. He rarely had to leave the safety of his establishment. A quick phone call and a courier was on the way.

Furthermore, he was regularly voted New Vegas's Most Eligible Bachelor. This meant he was a bachelor and he had money. There were plenty of bachelors in the city. The city had long been dominated by a male population. Few single women came to the city during the construction phases. While many came during the boom times, they left in great waves during the downturn. With a two to one male to female ratio, there were many bachelors in the city. Being most eligible had little meaning.

If you had a reputation for wealth, the few remaining single women would call. A single woman could afford to be choosey. The rich bachelors would often shower them with gifts. Some women took advantage of the situation. For the most part, Zeph did not feel he could trust the single women in town. After all, he wanted to be around someone who was interested in him and not his wealth. He could never get over this initial distrust, and he remained single. He let others deal with the troubles of relationships.

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter Three: The Escape Continues

Smith and Wesson

Chapter Three: The Escape Continues

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Now that 235218 was safely aboard the space elevator's hotel, he needed to work on phase two of his plan. He had arranged a few days off his work in the prison. Thus, they would not miss him for a few days there. While people disappeared from The Rock occasionally, they always checked the hotel as a matter of course. When the authorities checked the hotel, he wanted to be gone. He had just a couple of days.

Generally, the "jumpers" were never found. A few would be found frozen in space, but most were assumed to burn up re-entering the atmosphere. Thus, it would not be unusual for a prisoner to simply vanish for good. In this way, the prison could claim that no one ever escaped from there prison. The fact is that no one knew for certain. However, for 235218 to make it, he needed to get to Earth. This was the next phase of his plan.

He had been in microgravity for years. He would not be able to do anything in the gravity of the Earth. He would be weak and unable to stand if he just snuck aboard the elevator. However, he knew the station had a system. They had to. People came and went all of the time. He just had to con his way into that program. He did not know anything about it, but he would need to be part of it.

Further, he could not go around as 235218. He had read that Earthers used names not numbers. He did not know any named people, but he believed he needed an alias. While still in prison, he did a lot of reading. He read many old books. He had read a name in some ancient book. The book was rarely checked out in the prison. Thus, it was not popular. Further, since the book was so old, he was sure no one would know who had the name in the past. Thus, 235218 became Daniel Wesson.

Daniel had his story figured out if anyone would ask. He would say that his ship came from deep space. His communications were knocked out, and it ran into some space debris as he approached earth. With this difficulty, he managed to eject and make it to the station before his ship burned up in the atmosphere.

He opened his storage case and fondled some water-filled vials. He would tell them that he had to deliver some important vials to Alpha Base as soon as possible. He hoped they would not delve deeper into Alpha Base. He did not want to have to pull the Top Secret card if he did not have to.

Further, any quirks and oddities of his personal actions could be explained by him being out in space. Also, they would likely not check any aspects of his story. It would take weeks to check the details. Not to mention, why would anyone come to the hotel and fabricate such a tale? He hoped the people did not think about the prison floating just a few hundred feet away because then the entire scenario would come crashing down.

Nevertheless, he thought it was a good cover story. He hoped it would not evoke too many questions. He was counting on them just taking his word for it. He had practiced it so many times, it almost felt like the truth. Thus, he felt he could tell it sincerely. He also hoped it would help him expedite a trip to Earth. Then he would be home free.

Daniel had never been to a hotel before then. He realized he should have studied them more closely. He put his helmet back on and pulled himself along the corridors. He needed to speak to someone, but he did not know who that should be. He passed a few people in the halls as he pulled himself along, but they just stared at him. He gave a polite smile to these other patrons, but he did not know if they could see his expression through his helmet.

Eventually, he came to what he believed to be a public space. The railing with which he used to pull himself along, led to a large desk. He pushed a button, and a computer screen flickered. There were some type of sounds, but he could not make them out while wearing his helmet. He removed his helmet and pressed the button again.

"Welcome to the Hotel Habitat. How may I help you," stated the image on the computer.

"I need to speak to someone," replied Daniel.

"With whom would you like to speak?"

"Hell if I know!"

"I am not familiar with the term Hell. Could you rephrase your query?"

"I do not know who to speak to," sighed Daniel.

"You do not know whom to speak to?" inquired the computer.

"Whatever! You see, my ship malfunctioned..."

"Would you like to speak to someone in our repair facility?"

"That won't be necessary."

"I am not familiar with the term won't. Could you rephrase your query?"

"My ship was destroyed. Thus, repair is not an option."

"Very well then with whom would you like to speak?"

After years in service, no one seemed to feel it necessary to improve the user interface of these computers, Daniel muttered to himself.

"I need to get to Earth," Daniel stated deliberately.

"Would you like to speak to our Earth Travel Coordinator?"

"That would be great!"

"Please answer yes or no."

"Yes!"

"Are you sure you would like to speak to our Earth Travel Coordinator?"

"Yes!"

"Please stand by."

"But..." Daniel attempted to say when the screen went blank.

The computer made some strange buzzing noises. After several buzzes a voice stated, "You have reached the E.T.C. office. Our hours are from 10 to 14 hundred hours. Please call during our normal business hours. Thank you for staying to the Hotel Habitat."

The screen remained blank for several seconds before Daniel realized that his transaction had ended. He did not know whether to press the button again or not. Reluctantly he did.

"Welcome to the Hotel Habitat. How may I help you," stated the image on the computer.

"The Earth Travel Coordinator Office is closed," Daniel said with his contempt for the computer barely suppressed.

"The E.T.C. office hours are from 10 to 14 hundred hours," replied the computer. "Can I be of further service?"

"What time is it now?"

"The current time is 20.24 hundred hours. Can I be of further service?"

"What can I do until 10 hundred hours?"

"Do you have a reservation?" asked the computer.

"No! My ship crashed!" shouted Daniel.

"For 160,000 credits, you can be placed in a very comfortable room."

"I do not have that kind of money!"

"For 16,000 credits, you can be placed in a very comfortable room."

"No thank you," replied Daniel attempting to suppress his anger.

"For 1600 credits, you can be placed in a very comfortable room."

"What can I get for not destroying this computer monitor?"

"For 160 credits, you can be placed in a very comfortable room."

"How low do you go?"

"For 16 credits, you can be placed in a very comfortable room."

"Keep going."

"I am sorry, but we are full. Thank you for coming to Hotel Habitat."

Daniel pushed himself to one of the chairs along one wall and strapped himself down. He was tired, so it did not take him long to fall asleep.

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter Two: New Vegas

Smith and Wesson

Chapter Two: New Vegas.

By Douglas E. Gogerty

New Vegas was founded by some very wealthy industrialists when electrical power was still in great abundance. They had made their money in various pursuits, and were looking for adventure. They wanted to create something big. This particular group wanted to leave their mark, and New Vegas was their idea.

They carved out the city in the midst of the Amazon jungle on the banks of the Jari River. The land was cheep and it was important for the town to exist on the equator. Thus, they clear-cut the forest, and built the airport. For them, the actual town was not important. It was just a place to fly into for the eventual trip into space.

Brazil could not provide enough workers for the massive undertaking. Hence, during this first immigration wave, workers came from all over the world. They constructed a hydro-electric dam, a 5-star hotel, and much of the infrastructure the city would need out of the virgin forest. The industrialists anticipated New Vegas to be a small touristy town. Therefore, they spent very little money providing resources for the town. It did not have roads to connect it to the rest of the country. It was plopped down in the middle of the forest without thought of it thriving without the tourist trade.

Nonetheless, people flocked to the city looking for work. Some anticipated that construction materials would be needed in space for the space hotel. There was a minor resource boom in the area. However, it was terribly expensive and energy intensive to transport all the materials from earth to the station. Hence, the industrialists planned all along to capture an asteroid to provide materials. The asteroid was placed in geo-syncronous orbit a few hundred feet from the location where they wished to place the hotel. It would be able to provide all of the concrete and steel needed for the hotel.

Hence, the second immigration wave came into the New Vegas. The workers that built the structures on the ground were strong and bulky. They were well suited for the harsh work on earth. However, they would be expensive to launch into space. Hence, this second wave consisted of small and light individuals. These smaller individuals would be cheap to place in space and they could work in smaller spaces. Most of this second wave spent a majority of their time in space. Many of their children and grandchildren still live and work at the hotel.

These space construction workers built a few structures on the asteroid to house the workers and process the materials. These accommodations were crude and harsh. The early workers spent months in space with cramped quarters and long days. As is often the case, they were just glad to have the work. They did not complain about the conditions even when one of their own did not survive. Working in low earth orbit was hazardous and many workers were lost.

Nevertheless, the hotel slowly took shape. Eventually, the workers were allowed to move to the more comfortable accommodations at the hotel. They would commute back to the asteroid during their shifts. They would rather make the leap back and forth than stay at the cramped rooms on the asteroid.

When the space elevator became operational, it became significantly cheaper to bring earthly materials to the hotel. Thus, the upper-levels of the hotel could have some of the finest luxuries from earth. Some rooms actually had woodwork in them. The most luxurious had carpeting. Thus, the space hotel became the destination for the very wealthy.

When the hotel was finished, there was no need for the asteroid. However, it was large enough that it would cause issues if it were left to enter the earth's atmosphere. Further, there was no money to tow it back into space. Thus, it was converted to a high security prison. Everyone involved believed it would be impossible to escape from it. Thus, only the worst offenders were taken there.

When the price to ride the space elevator was reduced to increase the profitability of the hotel, New Vegas became the place to be. Hence the third and final wave of immigrants entered the city. Zephenia Smith's grandparents were part of this wave. They moved from Portsmouth in the UK to New Vegas to have a better life. They catered to the tourist trade. They had a shop at a good location near the space elevator landing. At the time, purchasing the spot was quite expensive, but it was also a high-traffic location. Travelers came from far and wide and purchased things from their shop. Thus, the Smith family made a comfortable living.

However, when electricity became prohibitively expensive, travel became a great luxury. Many of the energy sources at the time were of the non-renewable variety. Thus, in the end, only renewable sources were available. While solar and wind power were quite abundant, they did not meet the needs of the energy hungry population of the earth. Thus, the earth went from a high energy consuming world to a low energy consuming world. This changed everything.

The fuel to fly to New Vegas became prohibitively expensive. Without roads to other cities, besides flight, the only way into the city was by river. Hence, once again only the wealthy were able to afford to go to the space hotel while the average citizen could not. The wealthy patrons were not enough to support the population of New Vegas. Many citizens left the city and left it a shell of its former self.

Some business owners saw the downturn coming and left. However, many businesses were not so lucky or smart. As time went on, it was expensive to enter and leave town. Many of these individuals had nowhere to turn. There was no work for the dwindling population, and it was too costly to try somewhere else. Some of these people turned to crime. Thus, New Vegas became known for its criminal element. This kept even more people away.

Zephenia Smith's great-grandparents passed the store to their children. Zeph's family passed the store to him. While it had opened as a souvenir shop, it had morphed into more of a flea market/junk shop. In this configuration, Zeph managed to keep his store going. He mostly abandoned the tourist trade and catered to the local population. He had a few My parents visited New Vega and all I got was a stupid shirt shirts, as well as some commemorative plates and salt and pepper shakers. Those items did not sell well, and mostly collected dust.

With the items that came into the shop, some were in need of repair. Thus, he learned to repair things and resell them. Eventually, he found that he could fix anything. In this way, he could make money fixing the local citizen's things. They would either pay for the repair, or he would take the items and resell them. It was not lucrative, but he managed to scrape by.

"Smith and Wesson" - Chapter One: The Escape

Smith and Wesson

Chapter One: The Escape.

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Prisoner 235218 quietly put on his space suit. It was the most valuable thing he had ever come across. The prison guards tracked resources rigorously. Only rarely did they miss anything. However, it is even more rare for them to miss something as important as a space capable suit. He was lucky. He was also quite careful. If they found it, there would be hell to pay.

Once his suit was on, he opened the airtight seal to his tunnel. It made its telltale shhhhwop sound. He felt the tug of the escaping air. He had to be quick, or the breach alarms would sound. He jumped in, and sealed the door behind him. While the tunnel took months to dig, it took longer to fashion the door. It had to be just right, or they would find it for sure. However, it was the kind of thing at which he always excelled. That is why he worked in the prison engineering department.

The tunnel was rough-hewn. 235218 found that it was difficult to get through the rock and metal of the prison asteroid. Fortunately, he had access to the tools required to cut through it. He was also lucky because of the microgravity; he did not have to worry about collapses. He just needed to bring his own air. That was another obstacle he had overcome.

Some said The Rock was a mine in a past existence. Most thought that was a fairy story, but 235218 knew it to be true. He had run across a few tunnels in his work -- mining tunnels. These helped him out in a few places. At times he wondered about its previous life, but mostly he just kept digging.

After months of work, his tunnel was done. He was now ready to make his break. Everything was going according to plan. He pushed himself along to the end of his tunnel. There he found his crudely fashioned air rig. It would provide him with breathable air as well as his sole source of propulsion.

The best thing about his plan for a prison break was that no one would suspect it was happening. No one tried to escape from New Alcatraz. It is a huge rock in space. Where would you go? He knew. He had researched it. He knew how to escape.

235218 looked at his watch. He had to pick it up if he was going to make it. He disconnected his small air-tank and connected himself to his air-rig. He checked the air connections, and he was ready. He breathed in deep. The air seemed stale, but it was breathable. He was ready to make his break.

The prisoner attached his lifeline to a carabiner near his planned exit spot. It would be no good to just float off. His launch had to be controlled. He was almost free.

With his mining tools, he poked through the thin layer above him. The dark sky nearly took his breath away. Prisoners rarely ever saw the night sky. He was awed by the stars. For a moment he lost himself, but he shook it off. He looked at his watch. It was just about time. He let out a bit of line and stood on the ground outside the prison. He tried not to think about the last time he had done that. He had a schedule.

Scanning the night sky, he looked for his markers. He needed to get his trajectory right. He crouched and lined himself up to his spots. He hoped his math was right and took a deep breath. It was time. He disconnected himself from his lifeline and jumped.

The jump was enough to get off the rock, but he opened up his air-rocket to gain control of his flight. He gave just a few quick bursts. He read that this is how the early miners reached their home station. Most people just thought those things were idle stories. 235218 was about to find out.

He knew there was something there, but the darkness hid it well. He took another deep breath. It was time to start slowing down. It would be no good to smash right into it, or worse -- miss his target completely. A few more bursts.

The prison authorities were always careful to keep prisoners from seeing the station. They did not want to encourage prisoners from making a break for it. A jump and you are off. However, you would likely miss if you did not jump just right. Further, you would have to hold your breath for a long time. That is why everyone said, there was no escape from The Rock. That is, unless you had a suit, and something to steer. 235218 smiled at that thought.

Getting his landing just right was not something that he could practice. Not to mention, his jet simply did not have the fine tuning to come in softly. At least, he was not prepared to turn his propulsion nozzle back and forth and make several attempts at landing. He was only going to do it once come what may.

He smashed into the station harder than he thought he would. While it was painful, it did not hurt too bad. He shook it off as he attached his second lifeline to the station. He had to get his bearings. Where was he? While in prison, he studied the station as much as he could. However, there was not much information at the prison. He only had books, and most of them were quite old.

Nevertheless, with his finding the station, he knew the story of the miners had to be true. Thus, someone probably used to make this trip a long time ago. If it was not a tall tale, he knew there had to be a way into the station from his location. There had to be.

Before any panic set in, he noticed an odd rail with something unusual underneath it. He managed to grab one of the items to examine it. It was a narrow bar with a 'P-shaped' loop centered on the top. Near each end of the bar was a ball-bearing wheel on the same side as the loop.

The prisoner looked at the rail. It had a slot in the top, and it was as wide as this little thing was long. He slipped the little car into the slot and gave it a turn. It was a sliding lifeline connector.

The rail was not like that on accident. It had to lead somewhere. He was certain it would lead to a place where he could get into the station. Thus, he attached his line to the loop and picked a direction.

After quite an effort, he thought that he chose the wrong way. He had pulled himself hand over hand for quite a while and had not come to anything. Eventually the rail turned into the station. He was there at a door-lock.

Could he get in? He had come too far to stay on the outside of the station forever. Not to mention, he would need to replenish his air soon. Thus, he would have to take a chance. He peered into the window. The chamber was empty, so he turned the big wheel and opened the door. Once the door was open, he connected his secondary line to the interior hook. Safely attached to the station, he disconnected himself from the car and returned it to its place under the rail. With a little effort, he pulled himself inside and secured the door.

Inside the station, he closed the outside door and opened the air intake valve of the airlock. It slowly filled the room with air. Eventually, this would pressurize the airlock. Before the green light lit, 235218's airtanks ran out. He hoped their was enough breathable air now in there. He held his breath for as long as he could. When the green light eventually lit, he breathed deeply. With a flick of a switch, the interior door opened. He was inside the station.

235218 sat outside the airlock door for a while to see if anyone would come. He looked around and no guards came running. So far, his plan had worked without a hitch.