Dark Phase (3 page)

Sarazen scanned his environment. The first thing he noticed was the steep incline of the terrain which wobbled him and forced him to adjust his feet. There were seters everywhere and in places, giant shadows fell across the ground before him where the Star’s light was compromised by their complex canopies. The second sensory stimulus which took him by surprise was the cacophony of noise; organic gibberish that could not be filtered by Sarazen’s auditory receptors confounded the silicant as he marched dutifully up the steep winding path towards a small conurbation. Stopping briefly to look back down and over the sprawling metropolis, Sarazen concluded that it was a wonderful sight, but one that made him feel very small and insignificant, and also gave him a feeling of peculiarity, it was his home but it was still somewhat alien to him. He concluded that he was not functioning at optimal parameters and perhaps the rising core temperature brought about by the incident on the carriage and the heat of the mid cycle Star was now having an effect on his data flow. Sarazen could not remember feeling this way before, he began to worry that there was some kind of malfunction, although it seemed unlikely. Perhaps he could ask one of his colleagues to give him an examination to ease his mind. No, he did not want to share this with anyone yet, it did not seem pertinent.

Sarazen’s target was a farmer known as Cole. Cole was an ageing silicant. Data collated at the office suggested that either Cole's cyclical feed was non operative, or he was wilfully not proceeding with the normal down time procedure correctly. This was not only detrimental to the individual silicant, as they would no longer join with The Mother and thus bond with the collective to share and collect important data, but it was commonly known that silicants could not retain functionality without this vital uplink on a cyclical basis. As a troubleshooter, Sarazen was technically adept at silicant maintenance but there were still areas concerning the network to The Mother that he did not understand. He presumed that this knowledge was not required to fulfil his functionality, so never had cause to question why certain things were the way they were. There seemed no technological reason why a silicant would cease to function without the down time feed but if he was honest, and silicants knew no other way than to be truthful, Sarazen had never stopped to think that deeply about it.

The job description did not suggest how long Cole had been malfunctioning for, but it was possible that he had already expired. If that was the case, he would have to call in a 'collector' to return Cole's body to The Mother for renewal. Sarazen dealt very occasionally with the collectors and was not particularly knowledgeable regarding their area of expertise although he had seen a few of their air transit carriages as they flew over the city. The collectors were not seen as sombre individuals, nor was their work deemed difficult. Renewal was a celebration of continuity and always welcomed. Appointed homemakers would also be renewed in conjunction with their partners as their duties tending their companions could no longer be fulfilled. As far as The Mother’s location was concerned, that fact always eluded Sarazen and did not trouble him. The Mother was omniscient, ever present and essential to the silicants as much as the corrosive was to the organics. In his eyes, The Mother did not have a single locality, The Mother was available to all silicants via their network nodes, however, the fact that the return for renewal would presuppose a set location for this event did not linger long in the thoughts of the average silicant.

Sarazen walked into the small settlement which was constructed in a clearing of handsome, thriving seters. The buildings were not bustling with activity; it was quiet except the persistent noise of organic output which did not cease. Organic activity in the settlement was startling; Sarazen took great care to mark every footfall in case he crushed one of the scurrying life forms. His stunted movement appeared quite comical to a lone silicant who stood at the front of a nearby structure.

“
Do not worry. They will move out of your way.” The stranger called out as he leaned over on to a railing with the relaxed and casual manner of an individual completely comfortable in his surroundings.

“
Are you sure? They are so frail. I fear I may cause them irreparable damage!” Sarazen called out as he tried to heed the stranger’s advice but still moved awkwardly, stepping over the organics that he could easily detect.

“
Yes. You will see that although they are primitive, they have a strong sense of peril and will do all they can to avoid it. Although of course, some just are not very good at staying out of danger. It is in their nature.” The stranger beckoned Sarazen forward.

“
You are Cole. I have been sent to examine you for defects. I am Sarazen, a troubleshooter.” Sarazen stepped up on to the solidly constructed porch of Cole's home.

“
Yes, yes. I knew they would send someone, although I have to inform you there is no defect.” Cole ushered Sarazen into his living space which immediately struck the troubleshooter as being peculiar to any other living space he had seen. It was disorderly, dirty and infested with organics. Cole's admission that he was not indeed dysfunctional was immediately brought into question in Sarazen’s mind as he saw Cole's exceptional home.

“
Where is your companion?” Sarazen inquired abruptly. It was a valid question; any homemaker who kept the living space in this condition was obviously defective too.

“
I have no companion.” Cole replied, which in itself astonished Sarazen who wanted to ask why by for some reason, but did not pursue the matter.

“
Your living space is disorderly.” Sarazen candidly remarked as Cole invited him to sit.

“
I do not require it to be orderly to maintain my functionality. I am a farmer; my role is to ensure the preservation of the organics.” Cole replied with a manner that Sarazen found difficult to compute. There was something odd about Cole. He was obviously malfunctioning.

“
May I inspect your systems, I have been informed that...” Sarazen was baffled as Cole rudely interrupted his question.

“
No, no. There is no reason to poke around my portal orifice with your cold fingers. I am quite well and that is the end of it. Come, let me show you something quite wonderful.” The ageing farmer stood and beckoned Sarazen through his home and into the rear of the building. Sarazen noted the corrosion on his surface plating particularly around the lower limbs but nothing which could have caused such unusual behavioural patterns. Never before had Sarazen heard a silicant speak so ambiguously or fail to wait for the other talker to finish their sentence. Sarazen followed Cole out into the rear of the building where a large container was situated.

“
Watch this.” Cole whispered as he grasped a handful of small organic fragments and crouched down low, extending his hand out. At first Sarazen could not see what Cole was doing, but as the farmer began to emit unusual sounds, he realised that he was trying to communicate. Within a matter of moments, an organic, brown and skulking, its surface covered with fine bristles, appeared and cautiously approached the smiling farmer. Sarazen watched silently and motionless as the organic took some of the offering in its maw and then scurried off to ingest its prize. Cole turned to Sarazen who watched with great interest.

“
You see, communicative and intelligent. Wonderful.” Cole stood and brushed the remaining food from his hands.

“
Do you see the beauty in this extraordinary place, Sarazen?” Sarazen struggled to understand Cole's meaning but he thought he grasped the concept of attraction, although he did not understand its meaning.

“
I linger whilst viewing the organics, if that is what you mean?” Sarazen replied.

“
It brings you contentment?” Cole was fishing for Sarazen's opinion.

“
Contentment. A difficult concept to compute. Perhaps, yes. If there was no contentment, then I would need not look upon it further. Is that correct?” Sarazen was confused.

“
Ah, you speak of contentment like a true Silicant. Contentment is performing your functions to the optimal level is it not?”

“
Yes. It is.” Sarazen was unsure but it seemed the pertinent answer.

“
No! That is not contentment. Contentment is waking to the sound of the wind as it unsettles the seters, the warmth of the morning Star as it bathes your brow, nurturing a 'leem' from its inception, watching it grow and mature into a fine and proud individual with its own distinct characteristics. These are the things which bring me contentment.”

“
Yes. I understand...in part. I too enjoy the morning warmth, I enjoy the dust as it reflects the light of the Star, I enjoy watching my companion as she walks, her form is... alluring, I cannot say why.” Sarazen allowed himself to enter into this unusual conversation although he should be proceeding with his appointment.

“
Perhaps then, I have underestimated you. Maybe you are not a typical Silicant?” Cole's suggestion mildly irritated Sarazen; in his eyes Sarazen had always performed his role with the greatest of diligence.

“
I can say with great certainty that you are not the typical Silicant. I have never encountered anyone of the like. You do seem to be performing your role efficiently, however. I too would like to pursue more of this 'contentment'. How is it achieved?”

“
Ah my friend, contentment is not something that you can download. It is hard to define.” Cole’s language intrigued Sarazen.

“
Friend,
I am unfamiliar with this terminology.”

“
It is a word used to define the relationship with another individual with whom you have an affinity. I use it with confidence because I understand your thought patterns even though they are tempered with certain ignorance.”

“
Ignorance? I am ignorant of nothing. I merely either possess the information or I do not. The Mother provides me with all the data I require to fulfil my position.” Sarazen felt strangely defensive.

“
Yes. The fundamental point in this case. You do not have to wilfully choose to ignore the facts to be ignorant. You have simply not been provided with all the information to allow you to make a judgement. As far as The Mother is concerned...it is better for me not to discuss the issue further.” Cole suddenly clammed up and Sarazen was intrigued that the mention of the creator was causing the farmer to cease his enlightening speech.

“
Examine me if you must. Let this be over with.” Cole snapped. Sarazen nodded dutifully and proceeded with his task although with the meeting of this new 'friend', Sarazen now felt even more unsettled than ever before.

CHAPTER 4

Cole stood perfectly motionless as Sarazen used his integrated diagnostic tools to scan and rescan Cole's well used body. There were immediate and obvious signs of wear commensurate with age but nothing that flagged up a more serious issue. It was unlikely that the network node was defective as these were maintained by The Mother's own diagnostic systems. The single point most likely to be malfunctioning was the data port. Sarazen left this part till last as he wanted to eliminate any other possible issues.

“
Are you experiencing difficulties in achieving connectivity?” Sarazen asked. It was often best just to ask the subject first what the problem was before any deep scanning or invasive procedure.

“
No.” Cole replied with an abruptness signifying annoyance.

“
On first inspection, I cannot see any hardware issues which would cause difficulty in achieving a network feed.” Sarazen said as he prodded and poked around the farmer's midriff.

“
I told you, there was nothing wrong.” Cole stated, the tone of his voice difficult to interpret. Sarazen was baffled. There was no sign of irregularities of any kind and the troubleshooter looked visibly troubled.

“
You are of course following the correct networking protocol?” Sarazen felt foolish even suggesting that. It would be self termination not to do this and that too was one of the primary commands which could not be broken. Cole looked at Sarazen who rose to his feet to look at Cole's body language. As far as he was concerned, wilfully being obstinate was not a trait presented in silicant behaviour.

“
If I were not, how could I still be functioning?” Cole replied. His answer reinforced Sarazen’s belief but avoided the question. This characteristic was difficult for Sarazen to get his head round.

“
This does not compute.” Sarazen shook his head with puzzlement.

“
It must surely be an error in The Mothers diagnostics. I am sorry your time here was unproductive.” Cole replied with a smile.

“
An error in The Mother's diagnostics? That is impossible.” Sarazen claimed with good authority and total confidence.

“
You need only return to the city and report that it was a minor malfunction which has now been rectified. That will solve the riddle without concerning your overseer with news that The Mother is flawed.” Cole was manipulating Sarazen and even though the troubleshooter's mind was racing at the possibilities, he could still detect there was more to this than was immediately apparent. The very notion that The Mother was flawed troubled Sarazen. The Mother was the creator; she was the perfection that shaped their world. She was the comfort in the darkness. Never before had Sarazen saw fit to question The Mother's credibility and the very fact that Cole was so flagrant about doing so caused Sarazen to be even more sceptical about his condition.

“
Cole, I do not profess to fully understanding elements of your behaviour. To me it is as alien as the organics you tend. I merely wish to help you return to full functionality. If I cannot prove to my overseer that you are in good working order, I will be forced to submit a renewal request.” Sarazen could see Cole tighten up at the thought of renewal.