Instinct (part 4)
Chapter 22 of Senses
Hello, Mats here.
I think this next bit may be my longest single piece of narration, talking about our raid for information. I have to tell it though, because 'drink didn't come along.
We started by introducing Scott David to Janis. Love at first sight. I gave Scott, with Janis' permission, free will to find out how The Foundation programmed their computers. This took longer than expected by quite a ways, because Foundation computers are self-aware. As Scott explains it, The Foundation computers are programmed in duo-hexidecimal or base 256. Whew! I don't follow the mathematics of it, but it's apparently the key to the computer being self-aware.
At any rate, once Scott had that figured out he broke the code down to a sort of strangulated binary. Apparently, like death, entropy and stupidity, binary is universal. I'm not arguing though, because the reduction to binary allowed us to avoid the self-aware sights of the program and avoid tracing. The code was not uncrackable but it took a long time to crack.
Like two and a half months.
Scott, Paul and I left for The Foundation, with 'drink admonishing me not to take too long if I wanted to be back in time for the birth. I anticipated this taking about four weeks, so we'd be cutting it close.
Travel time to The Foundation from Earth is about twelve days. During the trip I changed my registration back to normal and let Scott program some interesting games into Janis. Janis assured me he wasn't touching her flight programs, but considering how in tune I am to her I would have been aware of any tampering. Besides, Paul trusted him and so would I.
Paul and I, in the meanwhile, were putting together Blue Shift's next tour. There are more details in the rock and roll business than I had ever imagined. You have to coordinate each city and it's own schedule, set up rehearsal locations along the way, hotel reservations, catering, parties, press conferences, video shoots, and hiring road personnel. Watching Paul and Scott haggle over the price was hysterical.
Of course, the honeymoon ended and we landed at Foundation headquarters. I radioed in that I had found nothing this trip and felt antisocial, and would be staying in my ship. Refuel and restock my cargo holds, please. And let me refresh the air for my ship.
We extended a chute to the air duct and I crawled through to attach it to the vent. I detached the vent cover and peeked through, then ducked back quickly, holding my breath. I had seen someone!
But what the hell, I wasn't doing anything unusual for someone in my profession. I poked my head back up, then laughed. The person I had seen was my own reflection. The Foundation had mirrored the inside of the ventilation system!
I ducked back into my ship asking myself why they had done that.
The three of us talked it over for a bit, and decided that The Foundation had installed some kind of detection system. Okay, how do we beat it?
We drew up a plan of the ventilation system to my room on base, where Scott was to go to work, then I planted a smoke bomb at the lip of my vent tube. I gave both Paul and Scott gas masks and an acetylene type torch, plus a small explosive taken from one of the ship's weapons. I'd be carrying matching equipment myself. As a last second thought, Scott grabbed some duct tape so that he could keep wiring intact and handed me a box labeled ECM, and after explaining it to me we were off.
I set off the smoke bomb in the ventilation shaft and set Paul and Scott through it. They immediately set off the small explosive I gave them, and were outside the shaft in seconds, on the far side. In the electrical wiring. I smiled briefly, then put on my best frown as I ran out of my ship.
I looked around the hanger to see other pilots doing the same, as their ships were getting as much smoke as mine. I joined several of them berating a deck officer, then angrily took hold of my possessions and stormed to my quarters, saying my ship had best be aired out in twelve hours, and no excuses!
I got to my room and paced around a bit. After about twenty minutes I heard a thump at the ceiling, which was followed by the roof light fixture swinging down as if on a hinge as Paul and Scott jumped down into the room.
I turned on the ECM machine to stop any bugging of the room then greeted them as Scott, under Paul's direction, began to work to find the appropriate files. It took a total of nine hours and 68 floppy disks on Scott's lap top computer to download it all.
We got back to the ship the same way we left it, by use of distractions and the exterior of the ventilation shaft, as we were on our way back to Earth, in a somewhat smoky ship.
Which is where I turn the story back over to 'drink and go listen to Dylan and The Dead. Talking is hard work.
Paul stopped the tape at that point. "I realize, esteemed panel members," he said, "that Mr. Gibraltar's narration leaves several questions unanswered. I ask that you please be patient, and I shall address these points when testimony is over and I present the defense."
Without waiting to see if the panel had acknowledged his words, Paul pressed play.
Birth is an amazing thing. Having witnessed the birth of my first child, I ('drink) now feel completely in awe of it's power. I can do virtually anything, but I cannot give birth.
Beautiful, man.
Mats and Paul got back four days before Debbie went into labor. I saw little of either of them those four days as they went over the data they had retrieved, but they were telling me it looked good on almost every count.
When Debbie went into labor everything got dropped and Paul called a doctor up to the property and we all spent twelve tense hours with Debbie, with me holding and comforting her as best I could.
We were scolded by the doctor for not having prenatal care taken care of, but babies have been born since before man left the trees, and more are coming. Ours was a healthy girl, who we named Nicki.
Well! We just played back the entire tape, and Paul believes it is enough. I do not understand the precedent he draws this tape from, but I'm willing to go with it. Let me say a few final words.
Mats is about to deliver Paul into the hands of The Foundation to present our case. Mats should be cleared of any suspected wrong doing if Paul is right about precedence. I hope so. I will say now that making Mats or Paul a hostage would be a mistake.
Besides, you really don't want Mats' ass, you want mine. Me, my wife, and my supposedly dangerous daughter. This legend you have about her is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard. I have never believed it and do not understand where it comes from. Perhaps I never shall.
But I am tired of running. Understand that I never wanted any of this thrust upon me. I am a simple man of simple pleasures. If I and my family are left alone, you will be as well.
That so stated, let me close by giving you a formality,
as I will not be at The Foundation during my hearing. My name is Joseph
'drink Davis, one of a very few class nines, none of the others of whom
I have met. I am on Earth, and will be living in the house I was snatched
away form so many months ago. If you wish to speak with me, I will talk
and I will listen. But you'll have to come here to do it.