Чарли Андерс - Nebula Awards Showcase 2018

I paused and smiled. “Where is the third module?”

“Behind maintenance cover twelve in the main cabin.”

“Why did you tell me this information?”

“Based on your previous line of questioning, I predicted you would eventually ask about the transmission system structure.”

“Yes, I was going to ask, so thank you. And remind me to thank your software engineers when we return home.”

Ten minutes later, I’d finished removing all three encryption modules for preventive maintenance and went back to my pusher-conversion project.

“I’m no longer able to send radio messages,” Huizhu said.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

“My receivers still work and I just found another press release from Jīnshān ,” Huizhu said after a few minutes. “Would you like to see it?”

I sighed, exasperated by the interruptions. “I’m a bit busy. Can it wait?”

“Of course, but I think it explains why you were cut out of the decision loop. You are apparently insane.”

That made me pause. Was that sarcasm? I sure hoped so.

“In that case, please play it.”

A panel on one wall flickered, then showed the same perky spokesperson who had made the previous official announcements, only this time she wasn’t smiling and looked very grave.

“We regret to confirm earlier reports that our piloted picket ship is indeed on a collision course with Veronica Perez. We believe the human pilot has gone insane, perhaps driven over the edge by his desire to prevent what he believes is an atrocity committed by Miss Perez. He fired a weapon earlier, intended to destroy her ship, but we were able to intercept and destroy it.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled at the screen.

“But now he appears to be intent on using the ship itself as the means of her destruction. We’ve been unable to take control of the ship remotely and have sent warnings to Ms. Perez, telling her to alter course, but so far he has adjusted his course to match every change she makes.”

“Bastards,” I said, just as the video ended.

“It’s very confusing,” Huizhu said.

Huizhu was confused?

“We were apparently not intended to see that news release,” Huizhu said. “I was instructed not to view transmissions from news outlets, but this clip was replayed on an evening comedy show.”

“It makes perfect sense from their perspective,” I said. “That’s why they didn’t send a robotic ship. This way they can kill her and not take the blame.”

“They are lying,” Huizhu said.

I couldn’t tell from her inflection whether the comment was a question or statement of fact, but I had sudden hope. Did she have any way of overriding their orders?

“Then you have to give me control again, Huizhu.”

“I’m willing but unable to do so. I have examined every possible option but can find no way to override or circumvent the commands I have been given.”

Damn. I was still totally on my own. I ran a hand over the stubble on my head and got back to work.

INTERCEPT: 2 DAYS, 5 HOURS, 12 MINUTES

“What are you planning to do?”

Huizhu had been mostly silent during the two days since we’d seen the news release. Her ability to report me had supposedly been stopped, but there could easily be programming buried deep inside her to respond to certain events. Once again I considered ignoring her or lying but decided to risk being truthful. She needed to see at least one honest human.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I want to help.”

“I’m running diagnostics on my EVA hard suit,” I said.

“Are you going EVA?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to bypass my propulsion controls?”

Damn. I should have known it would be nearly impossible to hide my actions from her. “What makes you think that?”

“The one place you can easily bypass both the main engine and attitude thrusters is accessible only from outside.”

I held my breath and my heart raced. “Really? Can you show me the schematics?”

The wall flickered and the schematic appeared with one section highlighted.

“You would have to cut these eight wires,” Huizhu said, and the lines criss-crossing the screen flashed on and off rapidly.

My hands shook and I tried to memorize that entire circuit, just in case. “Using just the replacement-part printer, could you build me a manual control adaptor?”

“No,” she said.

My pulse slowed and I steeled myself for doing it the hard way. Then she spoke again.

“I have already designed the module and fed the information into the printer, but I can’t actually send the command to make it.”

“So that means—”

“I can explain the logic behind that limitation, or you can just go press the button.”

I scrambled to the main hold. Twenty minutes later, I held the module in my hands. I had already donned the lower half of my hard suit when Huizhu interrupted me.

“There is a new broadcast from Veronica Perez. You’ll want to see this.”

Without even waiting for my confirmation, the video flickered to life on the ceiling above me.

Veronica was pale, damp hair clinging to the sides of her face and forehead. She gave a weak smile then held a tiny baby up in the center of the camera view.

“This is my son, Ernesto. He is named after my grandfather.” Tears formed around her eyes, making her blink repeatedly. “I was forced to induce labor early in order to make sure he was born before my executioner arrives, but he is still healthy. On Earth he would weigh a respectable five pounds and nine ounces. A good weight for being premature. And as you can see, he is a perfect child.”

She moved him closer to the camera and held up tiny hands with the usual complement of fingers and thumbs, then did the same with each foot. When Ernesto’s face screwed into a frown and he whimpered, she stroked his cheek and kissed the dark, wispy hair on his head.

“I’ll show you more later, even provide a DNA profile if some of you are still unconvinced, but right now I’m tired and need to sign off.”

The video ended, leaving me staring dumbstruck at the ceiling. Then I started laughing. “Take that, you Golden Mountain sons of bitches!”

“Yes,” Huizhu said. “I still cannot monitor actual news broadcasts, but this is everywhere.”

“They’ll have to abort their plan to kill her now. Right? I mean, what’s the point? The baby is born and has been seen by all humanity.”

“Possibly, but given the company’s past actions, you will remain an embarrassing loose end.”

The comment, delivered in Huizhu’s calm voice, sent chills creeping up my spine.

“You have an urgent message from Veronica Perez,” Huizhu said, and again didn’t wait for permission to play it.

The face on the screen was haggard and even paler. She was holding the suckling baby to her breast, and when she wiped at her eyes with the back of the other hand, I saw a smear of blood on the underside of her arm.

“I know you’ve been sent to kill me,” she said with a quavering voice, “so if you still intend to do that, you’ll just need to wait a little while longer. I’m hemorrhaging and can’t stop the bleeding. Normally the nanomeds in my system could deal with this…”

She paused, swallowed hard, and stroked the baby’s head. “But of course the standard nanomed suite wouldn’t permit me to become pregnant, so I replaced them with unregulated black-market versions. I’ve yet to shed the placenta, which would be a macro problem for any nanos, but these are obviously inferior when it comes to serious blood loss. They’ve slowed the bleeding but can’t stop it.”

Little Ernesto had fallen asleep. She shook him gently, but when he didn’t wake, she pinched him until he cried then coaxed him to take her nipple again. A halo of sparkling tears floated in the air around her face.