Chapter 9: Chapter Nine: Cyberspace Ghost

Chapter Nine

Cyberspace Ghost

 

A HEAT WAVE ushered in the second week of January, and Fossil Crater was transformed into an awe-inspiring extraterrestrial oasis. The Altair palm trees blossomed into an otherworldly beauty after sprouting new lime-green spears and adding a layer of fronds to its canopy. Outside the research and conservatory facilities, the Wolf 359 blue ferns grew into enormous mounds of iridescent splendor that no one could ignore. When the worst of the heat arrived, the fountain in the center of Cyborg Park became a mecca for the urban beach worshiper at the same time as its landscaped terraces were slowly morphing into a lush and colorful Galactic Garden.

             The Cybernetics program was growing in leaps and bounds. In only a few days, Scotty would be broadcasting another life-saving build: The Pollux pygmy monkey fur-coat modification. If it installed correctly, the little monkeys would be a lot warmer during the chilly desert winter.

            Scotty spent a lot of time in the Geneware server room, writing and developing lines of code in a vast array of important builds. His promotion had conjured up a lot of envy among the astrobiologists, but the exoplanetologists were especially angry. Of course, every candidate in the Cybernetics program believed that Scotty was a misfit who’d gotten lucky and wondered why Doctor Stryker chose him to be a leader on the most important team in the universe.

            Repairing Jasmine’s knees was paying dividends too. They were allowed to swap rotations so as to allow him to spend his evenings updating modifications, and she’d even pulled double duty last week; all day at the biodome and then a nightshift at the mission control building. She spent most of the evening reading Astrobiology I; it seems the Exoplanet program has a very proud and fascinating history.

She learned that the Alpha Centauri hairy lizards and giant moths were the first extraterrestrial biological life forms to be packed off to planet Earth, and flower seeds from Proxima Centauri b have to be sowed and germinated in the biodome because the giant moths will not drink nectar that is native to planet Earth. How the 70 Ophiuchi mantis grew to become twice its original size because the atmospheric pressure on planet Earth is less than its home planet. That an astrogeologist took a Ross 154 giant beetle home several years previous, only to have it escape its terrarium, and now the island of Molokai is overrun with the extraterrestrial species.  

            Jasmine was a lot happier not having to use her crutches to get around, and both Diego and Madison appreciated Scotty’s leadership. After a long day of shoring up the fur coat modification, the five of them were sitting in the hot sun beneath the Mechanical Cyborg Explorer, the metal art sculpture, and with a little help from Electra, Madison made a cloud form over the statue so they wouldn’t bake in the heat. They were sitting on the benches, reading and relaxing, when Doctor Reuven walked out of the theater. Scotty saw that he was wearing gloves and appeared agitated. They got to their feet and moved away from the cloud, as it was considered an illegal build and might get them into trouble. Nevertheless, Reuven saw Scotty, spied him holding the textbook, and walked straight to him. He wasn’t concerned with the cloud floating over the statue; that would have taken too much investigating in order to pin it on Scotty.

            “I bet that’s not a science fiction novel, researcher. You know textbooks are Galactic Research property.”

            It was Astrobiology I. Scotty handed it to him.

            “The textbooks are not for new researchers,” Reuven said. “You just lost your weekend liberty.”

            “I really don’t like him,” Scotty said, once he was in the clear. “Why is he wearing gloves?”

            “Who cares. I hope he got burned by the fire moth,” Diego said.

*

The residencia was quite cool that evening, almost cold. Scotty, Joseph, and Jasmine were together in the residencia’s lounge. For an hour, Scotty studied an article regarding the Pollux pygmy monkeys and their home planet. Pollux is an orange giant star, but its Earth-like world is much farther away than planet Mars is from the sun; roughly 157 million miles, and Pollux is just a little bit cooler than the sun. You’d think it would be cold there, but summer on that planet is notorious for sweltering heat, and it lasts for six months, so that had to be the reason the monkeys are small and hairless.

            Scotty struggled with a growing anger. He didn’t appreciate Reuven sowing discord between his siblings and the others at Fossil Crater. They were researchers too, and they would soon be promoted to astrobiologist. He thought about what had happened at Cyborg Park, about how he’d had a book taken away and then his liberty revoked. Scotty deactivated his Helix, got to his feet, and told Joseph and Jasmine he was going to attempt to get to the bottom of it all.

            “Yeah,” Joseph said. “Don’t you have to walk Jaz’s unicorn?”

            “Not this again. You’ll just get us all into big Galactic Research trouble. Nyx said they can take away birthdays here.”

            Scotty believed he didn’t have much to lose, as his weekend would consist of pulling rotations or writing lines of code in the Geneware server room.

            He rode a shuttlecraft to the laboratory and walked straight to the exoculture room and went in. The place was empty. Maybe everyone had left for the day.

            No. Reuven was probably in his office, thought Scotty, so he returned to the hall to make his way to the administrative area. There, he approached the office and found the door ajar. He walked in and discovered the office was empty, but since the door was open and the lights were on, Scotty knew he was somewhere in the laboratory.

            He turned and walked to the Geneware server room. Probably a waste of time as Reuven actually had no reason to be there. The exoculture room was where he should have been, spying on someone to gather information so he could drag their name through the mud. He wouldn’t have been alone. Would have had one of his henchmen with him as a witness or to do his dirty work. Scotty swiped his keycard and walked in, and an esoteric reality was funneled to his eyes.

            Reuven, Tarsus, and Aldrich were standing at a workstation, and it appeared as if they had been creating builds. Aldrich typed on a keyboard, and Tarsus peered into a Helix. Reuven’s arms were a metallic color and shimmered under the server room’s lights.

            All three turned their attention to Scotty.

            “Hey, Little Researcher, you’d better not tell anyone about this!” Aldrich said, and scrambled to his feet.

            “Please get him out of here,” Reuven groaned through a sneer.

            “I thought I could…” Scotty managed

            Then Tarsus was walking to where he was standing. “Researcher Astrophel, you have to leave now.”

            He did, and he ran all the way back to the residencia.

            “Well, are we kicked out now?” Joseph asked, as Scotty walked into the lounge.

            He sat on the starburst area rug to catch his breath, and after a few minutes recounted what had happened at the laboratory.

            “This has everything to do with the Star Nexus,” he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Reuven was at Building Zero the day the rabbits got out of the biodome. Tarsus is here to help him get past the quads and gain access to the Star Nexus, and he has a type of shielding build that will protect him incase he’s attacked. There must be something really important in the data.”

            Jasmine rocked back in the couch and deactivated her Helix. “They could have gotten Comet and Neutron hurt or worse.”

            “That really is the least of our problems right now,” Joseph said. “Whatever those quads are guarding, Reuven is risking his life to get to, so it must be something very important.” 

            “Something that can be dangerous,” Scotty said, “and worth a lot of money to certain people…bad people.”

            Then the door creaked forward, and Diego and Madison walked in, their Helixes crackling and buzzing as if they’d downloaded a ton of data.

“Well, Scott have you heard the latest news?” Diego asked. “Someone you don’t like became the first researcher to get placed on the Cybernetics program’s drop list.”

            “Was it Aldrich Thompson?” Scotty asked, actually hoping he’d gotten the boot. “Please say it was Aldrich.”

            “Julian Rowe,” Madison said, her eyes widening as she recalled what she’d heard. “He can’t accept a build from the Geneware. Victoria Spinster tried several times, and then Doctor Stryker tried, and he discovered that nothing will download. He can never be a cyborg.”

            Scotty shook his head in disbelief. Of all the unfortunate researchers to have cells that are not compatible with Geneware. Why couldn’t Aldrich have been the first on the list, but he already knew that Aldrich could accept Geneware builds.

            “That’s too bad for Julian,” Scotty grumbled, and then raised his voice. “Maybe the next one will be Aldrich.”

            And in the days that followed the creation of the Drop List, four additional names were added to it, and nobody was surprised when they discovered who the researchers were: Lucas Boden, Kristen George, Conor Collins, and Sebastian Luna. If that wasn’t troubling enough, Thursday morning Joseph rejected his first build. It had been written and broadcasted by Jerold Tuckerman and Diego Lopez. He had only a second and final chance to receive and accept a Geneware build, or he would be stuck in the Exoplanet program for the foreseeable future. 

 

 

*

Friday morning hosted another dazzling sunrise. The Stargazer was packed that morning, as breakfast was Bananas Foster French toast, and the air was spiced with the aroma of warm cinnamon toast and apple raisin oatmeal. Everyone was excited about having the weekend off to relax and enjoy downtime, and even the Struve 2398 Foxes were scampering from table to table, yapping and wolfing down freebies, and the Epsilon Indi pygmy parrots danced on their perches, whistling and begging for food by practicing a few words, “Merlin wanna bite,” and “Scarlet you’re from space.”

            “This is gonna be a long weekend,” Scotty said.

            “Well, try not to work all of it,” Jasmine said.

            “Scott, just ask Reuven to give you your liberty back,” Diego said.

            “I’m sure he will,” Madison said.

            He took a sip of honey lemon slush. “I might write some builds this weekend, but I’d rather work than beg Reuven for anything.”

            Joseph was visibly unhappy with the conversation. “Scott, you’re about to broadcast one of the most important builds of your cyborg career. You need to relax. I wouldn’t want you to mess anything up and risk your place in the Cyborg Corps. I need you to stay on the team.”

            “And you for sure don’t want to harm the Pollux monkeys,” Diego said.

            “You guys really aren’t helping.”

            By eight that morning, Scotty, Aldrich, Victoria, and Hayley were sitting before workstations in the Geneware server room, reviewing lines of code in the developers’ terminal, and adding important items that would help ensure the success of their build.

            Forty chairs were scattered around the server room so that the researchers could watch the action. At the back of the room were two Pollux pigmy monkeys. They were in separate cages and seemed relaxed given all of the commotion. The metal worktable had been replaced with one that didn’t stink.

            Doctor Stryker and Exozoologist Slade sat before a separate workstation with their Helixes live. To help streamline the builds for the researchers, they had uploaded a series of genetic instructions that they could use as a template. Those belonged to the Struve 2398 bat-eared foxes, and Slade believed the little monkeys would be content with a fur coat similar to the one the little furballs wore year-round.

            Scotty approached Bonzo and Newton. “Okay, guys, just relax. Everything is gonna be okay, but you need to behave.”

            Slade got to her feet and gestured for Scotty to take his seat.

            “Everyone, I need your attention. The Pollux pigmy monkeys have to have a coat of fur, or they will suffer during the chilly winters at Fossil Crater. It needs to be perfect, and it cannot harm them.”

            “The little critters need our help,” Stryker said. “Today, Thompson, Spinster, and Kita, are assigned to Newton. Astrophel, you have Bonzo. Good luck, and you have one hour.”

            After an awkward silence, Scotty rocked back in the computer chair and hit Slade with a big smile. “Sure, I think I can whip up something warm and fluffy.”   

            “It is all about what is written in the code,” Stryker said from across the server room, an expression of enjoyment on his face, evident by the shift of his eyebrows.

            “Well then, put a nice wool coat in the code,” Slade said. “Maybe a nylon, wool blend, at least sixty percent wool.”

            “I’m not sure if I can do that. Maybe just animal fur.”

            “Oh, pup fur will do.”

            “Ha,” Stryker laughed. “You have a soft spot for puppy dogs.”

            “No, not Canis familiaris. The down of a seal pup.” Slade said, and peered into Scotty’s Helix. “They have the fluffiest fur on planet Earth, but I say the fluffiest in the galaxy.”

            “What a wonderful idea,” Stryker said. “That will surely keep them warm in the iciest of desert gales.”

            “I sure hope so,” Slade said. “They had a rough go last winter.”

            “I’ll give them a warm winter coat,” Aldrich said.

            Then Stryker got to his feet. “There is nothing we cannot do.”

            “Don’t forget, the little monkeys have the Pollux star genome,” Slade said. 

            “It matters not! We have Geneware!”

            “And computer code is the language of the universe,” Scotty said.

            “Yes, indeed it is,” Stryker said, and smiled at Scotty’s boldness.

            “Now, researchers, the fur should be dark brown,” Slade said.

            “And do make the hairs thin.”

            “Got it,” Scotty said, and made his first changes to his build. “Okay, dark brown for color and-”

            Hayley and Victoria were both visibly angry, and Aldrich had something to say. “Got it, brown and thin. Shouldn’t be that hard.”

            Scotty shook his head in disbelief. “–fine hair.

            Slade got to her feet and approached the workstations. “The hairs on the face and tummy should be a little shorter than the hair on their back, legs, and tail. The width will be sixty microns, understand?”

            Then Stryker typed something into his Helix.” Before you get too far with that, everyone, we are going to leave those areas alone for right now. However, if we need to, you can modify their faces with small hairs, but not today.”

            “Will do,” Scotty said, and scrolled to the bottom of the build. “I’ll delete a few lines to leave Bonzo’s face the way I found it.”

            Aldrich made a growling noise. “You’ll have to add a separate build, Snotty.”

            Victoria giggled but never looked his way.

            “Also, write a build that will make their skin tough as nails.”

            Both Scotty’s and Slade’s eyes widened at that, and Scotty said, “Great idea. That will help them retain heat and prevent over shedding. I’ll have to write a build that will increase the blood supply to the epidermis.”

            “Sure, good luck with that,” Aldrich said.  

            Then Slade walked to Stryker. She’d seen the mockup, believed she saw a stripe in its fur and thought she should protest, then she decided that it was just the hologram playing tricks on her eyes. The little monkey’s hair was dark brown, long on top and short on its stomach and chest. Its face and hands were hairless.

            Stryker revolved his Helix to give her a better view.

            “What about camouflage. They are tiny, and they will need all the help they can get. I think a nice tiger stripe will do.”

            “Indeed, Samantha, they will need to be stealthy. Researchers, add that to your worklist please.”

            Victoria overheard the conversation and was in the process of creating a simple tiger stripe hair build. “I’m already on it, Doctor Stryker.”

            The server room’s door eased open, and an android walked in.

            “Sparta!” Stryker said, and gestured for him to walk to his workstation. “Please, feel free to join in on the fun.”

You are reading story J.C. Warren: Scotty Astrophel and the Star Nexus at novel35.com

            Slade sidestepped to give Sparta a better view of Scotty and his Helix.

            “I do not want to distract,” Sparta said. “But I must watch the researchers move this project beyond thought, and produce a tangible item.”

            “They are doing fine. One team will surely broadcast a build before lunch.”

            “Oh, wow. We really are ahead of schedule.”

            He peered into Scotty’s Helix, spied the hologram, and believed the Pollux pygmy monkeys would not only feel better but look better. At that moment he believed Scotty to be a natural at programming and creating builds.

            “The mockup looks wonderful, researchers. Keep up the good work.”

            Scotty turned to Sparta. “I need about ten more minutes.”

            That conjured laughter from Aldrich, Victoria, and Hayley.

            Scotty returned his attention to the developers’ terminal and immediately noticed the mockup had changed. The little monkey’s hair was slowly disappearing, and he wasn’t sure how to stop the changes or how the changes were being installed. Slade saw it too. She walked to the workstation to investigate.

            “Astrophel, what’s happening now?”

            Scotty reviewed the lines of code. It seemed as if the build was free of errors. He imported a quick and easy patch to block the changes and touched the enter key.

            The hologram buzzed and crackled as the build, the patch, and the changes worked to install into Bonzo, and twice it nearly vanished only to flicker back into existence. Scotty scrambled to his feet and considered shutting the system down.

            “Someone has access to this mockup. And whoever it is, is corrupting the builds.”

            Slade gestured for Stryker to move to the workstation and extended her arms to Scotty. He went. But before he could even begin trying to understand what was happening, half of the hologram vanished.

            From across the server room Sparta was brain storming. “Search for the backup file, and lock the build with the Nebula Cloud firewall.”

            “You mean to tell me the mockup program is not behind a firewall already!” Stryker said.

            “The Cybernetics program has next-generation-security-systems,” Sparta said. “Whoever is doing this has access to the Geneware servers, so we will need to place the mockup behind a firewall.”

            Stryker wasn’t happy with that bit of news. “Well, we have only a few minutes before something really bad happens.”

            Slade, however, knew what was happening.

            “Someone is accessing the Geneware server from a remote system, and they are somewhere on Fossil Crater.”

            “Well, who could it be?” Scotty asked.  

            “It matters not.”

            “Yes,” Sparta said, “we need to access the backup build and move it to Scotty’s Helix, as his is protected by a firewall.”

            “And no one can access it?” Slade asked.

            “No one,” Sparta said.

            Just then, the remainder of the hologram fizzled away, and Bonzo bounced around his cage, confused and a bit frightened. Sparta believed whoever was trying to hinder this work was definitely an enemy of Galactic Research and was not an advocate of extraterrestrial life.  

            It was when Scotty tried typing on his Helix that he became truly alarmed. The main screen seemed to be frozen and was unresponsive when he touched the icons. Not good, because if his Helix had been compromised then it too could be corrupted and then vanish.

            Victoria and Hayley never looked away from their Helixes, but Aldrich was shoring up a build and sneering happily.

            “Start a security scan,” Sparta said, and walked to the workstation. “Hurry, as fast as you can.”

But Scotty, being a novice cyborg, said, “I don’t know how to.”

Without looking his way, Stryker leaned to Scotty’s Helix. “Start diagnostic repair sequence.”

            Both Niles Winter and John Choi got to their feet.

            “Come on Scott!” Niles said. “Just a simple glitch.”

            Everyone tensed up a bit when a strange electronic clatter emanated from within the Helix. Each program was powering down and then rebooting in safe mode. The main GUI shut off for a short time and then restarted with the names of various programs flowing down the screen. When that stopped, the final stage initiated, and the programs were repaired one at a time. After only four minutes, Scotty’s Helix was back online.

            “We are under cyberattack ladies and gentlemen.”  

            Joseph and Jasmine took Bonzo out of its cage to take a look at him but also to make him feel safe.

            “Why isn’t Aldrich helping?” Madison whispered to Diego.

            “Probably because he’s the one causing the problem.”

            “Move the backup hologram to your Helix now, Scott,” Slade was so worried she didn’t bother with formalities. “And be quick about it.”

            He did. Scotty moved the mockup build and continued his work. He reviewed the lines of code, shored up a few, and was happy to see everything back in order. It seemed that the little Pollux monkeys would be getting their fur after all.

            “Do you think someone from outside of Galactic Research is attempting to interfere with our work,” Sparta asked.

            “Quite impossible,” Stryker said, and his voice was laced with a touch of uncertainty. “No company on this planet has extraterrestrial technology but us. The only technology that can harm the Cybernetics program is extraterrestrial engineered technology.”

            With that, Sparta energized his Helix, but instead of reviewing the network security system, he compiled a list of researchers who had administrative rights to the Cybernetics program. The list was short, with less than twenty people, and they were stationed on Fossil Crater.

            “Now’s not the time,” Slade said.

            “We will have to review the Helix activity log for everyone who is on this list,” Sparta said. “Both human and robot.”

            “We should not limit our search to that list, Sparta. It could be anybody who has a Helix.”

            Slade growled in aggravation, but said, “Everyone has a Helix.”

            “So, does that make everyone a suspect?” Sparta asked.

            Stryker was quick to answer that one. “Yes, yes it does. Anyone who was not here during this session will be considered a suspect.”

            Slade’s thoughts returned to the little hairless Pollux monkeys’ issues. “With all due respect, everybody, we need to wrap this project while we still can.”

            Stryker shook his head to agree. “My young Geneware architects, whoever has a final-stage product, package and broadcast it now!”

            “Yes, sir,” Scotty said, and went to work digitally packaging his build. Two minutes later he touched the send key and then went to work monitoring the status bar. “It’s on the go.”

            “What!” Aldrich shouted. “There’s no way.”

            “Calm down, researcher,” Slade said, and the anger in her voice was palpable. “I’m going to get to the bottom of what just happened.”

            Stryker and Sparta were monitoring the hologram when Scotty called one hundred percent on the status bar. It took nearly thirty minutes to download, but it was a success. Slade took Bonzo in her hands and peered at the new and improved Pollux monkey, covered in tiny hair follicles and a few spots just for fun. “Goodness, just look at this little critter, and soon they both will be covered with fur.”

*

“The sky is the limit for Researcher Astrophel,” Stryker said.

Slade studied the finished product through her lunch hour. She’d received a message from Hermes – a zoologist android at the biodome – letting her know that the Pollux monkeys were covered in hair follicles, and the pictures he offered were validation that the build had installed correctly. Scotty wasn’t partaking in the afterparty, however. He was enjoying a not-of-this-world space-ice popsicle with Joseph and Jasmine at the observatory.  

            “It had to be Reuven. He’s the only one who can pollute a Geneware build and ice a Helix at the same time.”

            “Nonsense, Scotty. Doctor Reuven would never jeopardize his employment with Galactic Research.”

            Then Diego and Madison walked in and sat on bean bags.

            “Well, have you told him yet?” Diego asked.

            Scotty’s expression became troubled. “Told who what?”

            “Have you told Sparta about Reuven and the Geneware server room?” Madison asked.

            Scotty turned to his siblings for advice but received two separate expressions of concern.

            “Sparta, you need to know something about Reuven,” he said.

            “Oh, and what is that?” 

            Scotty took in a deep breath and gathered his courage. “Reuven is using the Cybernetics program to modify his body so he can get past the quads in the Galactic Map Room and get to something important.”

            Sparta sat down in an office chair.

            “Hmm, so you know about the Star Nexus.”

            That little remark spurred everyone’s attention, and Scotty got to his feet. “Yes, we’ve seen it, well, Maddy has seen it.”

            “Yes, the Star Nexus is here. Doctor Stryker stood up the program on Fossil Crater over thirty years ago during the development of the Exoplanet program. It contains a wealth of data and-”

            “Where mom and dad are at,” Scotty said, his voice almost a whisper.

            “Possibly,” Sparta said. “But because of the cartographic data, it is all top secret, so we will have to end this conversation.”

            That got everyone else to their feet, smiling and wide-eyed.

            Scotty approached the desk and attempted to lock eyes with the android. “Sparta, Reuven is trying to gain access to the Star Nexus.”

            “I do not know of any reason why he would be interested in that program,” Sparta said. “He is a space scientist, and he is not involved in the cartographic department.”

            “Then why did he hack into the Cybernetics program and my Helix and attempt to harm the Pollux monkeys?” Scotty asked. “I saw both his arms the other day. He’s modifying his body so he can get past security.”

            “There is no reason for him to develop shields,” Sparta said. “I simply do not know of any reason why he would risk having his employment terminated. Researchers, I want you to stay out of the Astraeus Laboratory. You can get into a lot of trouble and the security drones can cause severe injuries. There are a lot of top-secret programs, equipment, and developing technology…a lot of trouble too, if you know what I mean.”

            “Cool, developing technology,” Scotty said. “And it’s either extraterrestrial weapons, or the ammunition for those weapons.”

            “I am not aware of any extraterrestrial weapons or its ammunition,” Sparta said. “And I would not be allowed to discuss such weapons and ammunition, even if it did in fact exist. Ha!”

            All five of them groaned in aggravation, but Scotty had a theory as to why Sparta was being so secretive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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