Vatican Ambassador (39 page)

BC opens the seals on the suits helmet.

No alarms, that’s good. No weird odors…

BC takes off the helmet and takes a deeper breath.

Huh. It actually smells kind of pleasant. Almost floral, like lilacs or something. Not
obnoxiously strong, but it’s there.

He removes the rest of the suit. He checks his hands, his arms.

No weird rashes or reactions, good. Still no trouble breathing. So far, so good.
BC looks around for a com unit.

Seeing no com unit, he speaks out loud.

“Does this room have a communicator of some kind?” BC asks.

“Yes,” a voice much like Camex’s says back, “What do you require?”

What am I dealing with here? Let’s find out…

“Are you flesh or machine?” BC asks.

“What is this question you ask?” the voice replies.

“Are you a computer? Or are you an Eldred?” BC tries to clarify.

“I am not a computer. I am not an Eldred. I am not a machine. I am your room,” the voice says.

“How so?” BC presses.

“I am intelligent circuitry, artificial intelligence equipped to serve your needs. I have been modified to interact with your human species.”

“I see. So, you’re circuitry? What should I call you?”

“You should call me ‘room’,” the voice says. “I am your room.”

“What do you do?”

“You ask, I provide,” the room says. “Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you bored? I am here to meet your needs.”

“…long winded for circuitry,” BC mumbles under his breath.

“Do you insult me? You do not need to make this difficult,” the room says.

“I didn’t know rooms could be insulted,” BC replies.

“I have been built with a personality module to allow me to interact with you more effectively,” the room informs him.

Here’s a thought…

“Could you sound more feminine? Higher pitched voice, maybe?” BC tries. The voice responds, “Is this better?” in a lighter, airier, sexier voice. “Is this how you like it?”

BC nearly blushes.

Now that just sounds wrong!

“That’s… better,” BC answers. “But could you sound more, I don’t know, um, businesslike?”

“Is this better?” the room says pertly, less breathily.

“Good!” BC says, “That sounds better,” he tells the room.

“So,” the room asks, “What do you need?”

“Something to eat would be nice,” BC tells the room. “I don’t suppose you have any steak?”

“Let me see,” the room says, and pauses. “Steak? The sliced, cooked flesh of your ‘cows’? No, not available as such. We can present you with a reasonable facsimile of this ‘steak’, if you’d like. But it will only be an approximation.”

“I think I’ll pass,” BC says.

“That seems wise,” the room says. “I can find you something we have approximated more precisely. Would you care for beef bourguignon?”

“Wait,” BC says, “You can’t do steak but you
can
do beef bourguignon?”

“It has something to do with the way it is made,” the room says. “I will have that for you in just a few minutes. Now, I have a question for you, Bernard Campion.”

“What is it, room?” BC asks.

“How shall I address you? Is ‘Bernard Campion’ your preferred address?” the room asks.

“Call me BC,” BC says to the room.

“You will be addressed as ‘BC’, then. One beef bourguignon on the way, BC.”

“What, not immediately?” BC chides the room.

“No, BC. I do not materialize your meal. It will be fabricated elsewhere and brought here. The orders have been given,” the room says.

“Thank you, room,” BC says.

The meal is delivered through some means unseen to BC, arriving behind a sliding door in the wall over the table next to the bed. BC chows down on it hungrily.

This is actually better tasting than the stuff they serve on some of the orbital stations I’ve been
on. Almost tastes like the real thing!

“BC?” the room asks as he finishes his meal.

“Yes, room?”

“I have a message for you. It is near the night cycle now. Our leader asks that you eat and rest. Our leader will meet with you as the next light cycle begins, in approximately twelve of your Earth hours. Our leader instructs me to offer you anything you might want or need.”

“Thanks, room.”

So, that’s the plan, then. Meet the leader in the morning.

“Is that acceptable to you, then, BC?” the room asks.

“I guess so.”

“I can ask them to change it if you would like. You are our guest.”

“Thanks, room, but no, that isn’t necessary. No hurry. I’ll just fire up the entertainment unit.”

“That unit does not require fire to operate,” the room says, sounding alarmed. “In fact, the use of open flame with said unit is not recommended,” the room cautions.

“That was just a human expression, room. I’m going to turn it on and watch it. Is it loaded up with programming?”

“Yes! It possesses over a million programming options for you to choose from!” the room says with a hint of excitement.

“One million?” BC shakes his head, “that’s a lot of choices.”

“The entertainment unit has been augmented by the Eldred to hold more of your programming. It’s well above such a unit’s usual capacity.”

“Great!” BC says. “So, let’s see what’s on!”

BC begins looking through his choices as he settles in to watch, rest and wait for the Eldred leader. He drifts off watching a vid.

As he starts to sleep, a familiar throbbing begins behind his temples.
Oh no! Not now! Not here! Not…

BC winces in pain. He curls up into a fetal ball on the bed. The pain is more intense, more insistent, more pounding, pounding, pounding on his brain!

Suddenly, everything shrinks down to a pinpoint. BC feels still, calm. His world begins to open up and expand. The walls fall away.

What? Where? Where am I?

IN THE CENTER, IN TOUCH WITH THE ALL THAT IS ONE

Oh… sure I am.

BC walks across an infinite ocean: a still, calm sea. The other voice echoes in from nowhere and everywhere, not heard by ears but heard, all the same.

YOU ARE CLOSE, NOW, SO, SO CLOSE. NEW ENERGY! FRESH ENERGY! YET

DIFFERENT! MIND UNAWARE, UNAWAKE? AWAKE! AWAKEN! LOOSED FROM THE

CONFINES OF CENTURIES SLUMBER! REACHING OUT!

BC is suddenly hit by another wave of pounding, crashing pain in his skull. He cannot tell if his eyes are opened or closed: All he sees is red. He feels the bed beneath him again. His head slowly stops exploding, and he drifts off into dreamless sleep.

Despite the headache and the bizarre dream, BC wakes up refreshed the next morning.
I think it’s morning. I’m not quite sure what the day/night cycle is on this planet. Seems pretty
close to Earth by what the room was saying last night.

“Room?” BC calls out.

“Yes, BC?”

“When is my appointment with the leader?” he asks.

“Whenever you are ready to go see him, BC,” the room informs him.

“Okay. Should I eat before I go?” BC asks.

“I cannot answer that question, BC,” the room tells him. “There is food for you, a planned meal at the leader’s later today, but it is a few hours until that occasion. They are not as well prepared to attend to your needs as we are here.”

“Is that pride I hear in your voice, room?” BC asks.

“Simple statement of fact, BC. This room was designed to take care of you. The leader’s home is not.”

“So, I’ll need to put the suit on again, then, won’t I?” BC says.

“Absolutely, BC, but they will have a room ready for you at the leader’s, so you will not have to continue to wear the environment suit the whole time you are there,” the room informs him.

“I see. Thank you, room. Is there a refresher attached to this room?”

“There is a full water shower closet here,” the room says, and a door opens in the wall opposite the table.

“Great!” BC says. “Then I should be ready to go in about an hour. I’m going to hop in the shower. Room, could you get me some breakfast? Something normal and human.”

“Are pancakes agreeable?”

“Sure,” BC agrees. “I’ll eat when I get done with the shower, after I get dressed.”

BC luxuriates in the hot, steamy, real water shower.

I wonder if it
is
a luxury here? Water might be plentiful. Either that or I’m getting the royal
treatment!

He gets out, grabs a towel to dry himself. He notices the mirror and the window of the room have fogged over. He wipes them off, but they fog back up immediately.

Damn. No fan.

Without thinking, BC cracks open the window. Steam rushes out and cool air flows in.
Fuck! What am I doing?

BC slams the window back down.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, BC! That’s directly outside! Could poison my…

Wait a minute. All I smell is cool, clean air. Could be an odorless, colorless toxin, I suppose. No
way to analyze it, though. Let’s see if I fall over.

BC realizes he’s been holding his breath.

Heh! Well, let’s go.

BC sucks in a diaphragm-expanding lungload of air and closes his eyes. He exhales, breathes deep again.

Okay. So far, so good.

BC looks at the window.

The window didn’t seem to be especially sealed. I just opened it with a normal push.
Frozen by indecision, BC stands staring at the window for a full minute, maybe two. He finally caves in to his curiosity and opens the window again. He puts his face right up to it and takes a deep breath of the outside air. He waits.

One minute.

Two minutes.

BC, wearing only a towel, stands leaning over at the window, breathing in the air for a full five minutes.

Five minutes!

And nothing!

“BC you shouldn’t be doing this. The window is open!” the room finally cautions him. BC straightens up from the windowsill.

“Oh really? The shower room steamed up,” BC says innocently.

“I was told you were not to be exposed to the outside environment,” the room tells BC.

“Room, are there any special filters in place on the air systems that lead into this room?” BC quizzes the room.

“I really cannot answer any questions along that line of inquiry,” the room says, voice stiff, formal and mechanical.

I just bet you can’t! Can’t have the babysitter giving away any secrets now, can we?

“You are running short of time. Your transport will soon be here to take you to the leader’s residence,” the room informs him.

“You’re trained to change the subject, huh?” BC quips, “Pretty advanced AI.”

“Thank you,” the room says. “Please close the window.”

BC complies with the room’s request. He finds his clothes and dresses for his meeting with the Eldred leader, deep in thought.

The air outside is fine. Unless there’s something in it that’s harmful low level and long term.
But then why worry about a quick visit? They seemed fine in our air back at the base! If there was
a strange compound or substance in their air, wouldn’t they be likely to need to breathe it on
some level?

Maybe they think this will help keep me under control, limit my mobility – keep me boxed up in my
room.

“You should get into your atmosphere suit now, BC. The transport is arriving at the front door. Your escort will soon be here,” the room informs him.

“Right, thanks,” BC says.

I don’t like being kept boxed up in a room! I won’t put up with being kept in a large closet.
Not again!

BC suits up, but leaves his suit’s helmet just slightly unsealed.

Okay. Let’s see what gives. Hope it’s not my lungs.

“They are outside the door,” the room says. “If you are ready, I will open the door.”

“Go ahead,” BC says.

His Eldred escort stands outside, including the tallest Eldred BC has yet seen, nearly his own height.

“Bernard Campion. We are here to take you to the eldest of the Eldred,” the tall one says.

“Great! Thank you,” BC says.

“Follow me to the transport,” the tall one says.

He turns and walks away, not looking back. BC has to scramble a little to keep up. Two more Eldred

“escorts” fall in behind BC as he walks behind the tall one. They go back through the courtyard and out the front door to the street to a waiting silver transport.

“Please get in,” The tall one says to BC, stepping to the side. BC complies with his request.
This transport is roomier inside than the last one.

The tall Eldred gets into the transport and sits down beside him.

“The trip will not be long,” the Eldred tells him as the transport door seals and disappears. The transport floats up and away from BC’s building and then whisks them down several “blocks”. It turns, flits down another half a block, and then descends in front of another non-descript silver box of a building. Only this building’s immense size distinguishes it from other buildings in the city in any way.
Big place! Looks a little more worn on the corners, maybe a little older. Or maybe I’m
hallucinating! Wouldn’t that be something: the reason we can’t breathe their air is that it makes
us trip!

Nah… Anita never mentioned that. I think she’d know something like that.
I don’t actually feel at all funny or different or lightheaded. No ill effects. And none of
them
have noticed the unsealed helmet.

The outline of the door once again appears in the wall of the transport next to the tall Eldred. The door opens up. The alien exits the transport and steps to the side so BC can get out. BC steps out of the transport and looks up, taking in the height of the building.
Impressive.

“Bernard Campion, please, follow me,” the tall Eldred says. He turns and leads BC into the big building.

This building’s interior is a hectic contrast to the plain interior of the other Eldred building BC has been inside.

BC walks into a large, open lobby area. Numerous Eldred slink through the space in front of him on unknown errands. They carefully pass inches away from each other as they quickly dart through the lobby on their way to other parts of the building.