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A JOURNEY TOO FAR
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"Twelve hundred years ago," Dizzy began, "people learned that a giant comet was on course for Earth. Attempts to stop it only succeeded in breaking it up into smaller, but still lethal chunks. There was no time to stop the remaining chunks, so most people fled to Diana."
Diana! That meant the planet that he and Calvin intended to explore was indeed habitable. He continued to question Dizzy.
The robot continued. "The colonization of Diana had already started a century before the comet was discovered. Hibernation--used in your time-- was no longer needed to travel to Diana. A space-time warp field, or wormhole, between Sol and Alpha Centauri was discovered, and by shooting through the wormhole, the journey could be made in months. Most people went to Diana, but a few went to Mars, where a dozen terradomes had been constructed over an underground Martian lake. I was one of the robots used in the construction of the terradomes."
"Did anyone remain behind?" Jay asked.
"Many remained. There were some who could not escape in time, some remained by choice, and some simply refused to believe that Earth would be hit. I do not know if any of them survived. The destruction was great, but I do not believe that it was as great as predicted. A few animals survived."
"Has anyone from Mars or Diana ever returned to see what happened?"
"None. The wormhole between Earth and Diana has probably disappeared. Wormholes are fairly common in space, but are short-lived. The one to Diana was shrinking at a rapid rate. Those who fled to Diana are there to stay."
"What of the Mars colony?"
"We have heard nothing from them."
"What of the robots and androids?"
"None were taken. The ships were packed with Humans. Many of us perished when the comet chunks hit, but there are still pockets of robots and androids scattered around the world."
"Why the animosity between you and the androids?"
"Androids think of themselves as closer to humans, and seek to subjugate us. In reality, they are different from us in appearance only."
"An order from me should keep them in check. Tell me how to contact them, and I'll deal with them."
"Yes, when they see you are human, they will have no choice but to obey your orders. I will direct you to their site."
It occurred to Jay that the robots did not immediately recognize him as human, but only after they saw him bleed. "Suppose they don't believe I'm human, or think I'm some sort of robot trick. Must I cut myself to prove I'm human?"
"That won't be necessary," Dizzy replied. "They have no breath. You can prove you are human by blowing on something, such as a flame or a blade of grass. Also, they have no reproductive parts. You could convince them by displaying those parts."
Jay chuckled. "I'll use the breath method. I have one more question. I was attacked by a giant creature as I waded at the seashore. I've never seen anything like it."
"Many strange creatures were brought to Earth from Diana. The creatures were kept in captivity, but were released, along with other animals, just before the humans left Earth. Many were killed by the comet fragments, but some survived. The alien creatures, as well as the native creatures, are increasing rapidly in number."
Speaking of the creature reminded Jay of the beating his body had taken in his struggle with the monster. He was suddenly very tired. The domestic robot somehow found material to make a pallet. He heard thunder outside, and then the drumming of rain. It was the last sound he heard before drifting off to sleep.
*****
The next morning, Dizzy and two other robots accompanied Jay to a point near the android site.
"We will not go farther unless you order it. Our presence will trigger a battle, and you could be injured or killed."
Jay agreed and went on alone. After walking about ten minutes, he spotted a group coming to meet him, weapons drawn. He raised his hands.
As the group approached, he suddenly heard a deafening bellow behind him. he turned to see a huge creature charging him. Its body was like a huge bear, but its head resembled that of a large lizard. His hand went for his pulser as he backed away from the creature, but his foot became entangled in a vine and he fell backward. He tried to clear the pulser from the holster, but knew that he would not draw it in time. As the creature leaped toward him, the androids fired. The huge animal was thrown back by the combined blasts, and was dead as it hit the ground.
As he rose to his feet, he found himself surrounded by the androids. One of them spoke. "You are human," it said. We thought all humans were gone."
Jay was puzzled that the androids had so readily recognized him as human. "How did you know that I was human?"
"The animal that attacked you was a flesh eater. It ignores androids and robots, but was drawn to the smell of your flesh. I am KN2, the leader of this group," the android continued, "we exist to serve you."
"The robots complain that you try to subjugate them," said Jay. "It is my wish that you treat them as equals."
"As you order, Sir. But without humans, all was chaos. We androids only meant to restore order, but the robots rebelled. Now your presence restores order, and we will cooperate with the robots to serve you."
*****
In the next few weeks, Jay set the robots and androids to work cleaning up rubble, as well as repairing the few remaining flyers, ground cars, and machines that could be salvaged. He traveled to other cities, and wherever he found robots he put them to work. The work was meaningless, for there was no one to benefit from their labor. But it kept the robots and androids busy and was therapeutic to Jay as well.
Jay was not a loner, but neither was he gregarious. He enjoyed solitude, but not to the point of becoming a hermit. The robots and androids treated him like a king, but this did not satisfy his craving for human companionship.
This craving drove him to plan an all out search for humans. He guessed there were probably pockets of survivors to be found on Earth, but he decided to start his search with the terradomes of Mars; he'd been curious about the fate of the people there. Also, Dizzy had helped to construct the domes and was able to give him accurate directions to find them.
He sat at the console aboard the AGS and called the computer on The Solarwind.
"Is there enough fuel for a round trip to the planet Mars?"
After a slight pause, the computer replied. "Considering the present location of Mars in relation to Earth, there is more than an adequate supply of fuel for a round trip."
*****
Jay found the domes with no trouble. The domes were in a circle surrounding an underground Martian lake. They were separated from each other by a distance of about one kilometer.
He descended in the AGS, choosing the northernmost dome to begin his search.
He found the door to the airlock standing open; he knew there would be no survivors here. He entered, but wished he hadn't. Mummified corpses--from every age group--were scattered around the dome. Most appeared to have died a violent death.
The machinery had been dismantled and parts were missing. Nothing was growing in the hydroponics tank, and the livestock pen was empty.
The second dome was different. Some of the machines were intact, and mummified corpses of livestock were still in the pen. Several men lay strewn on the floor of the dome still clutching weapons.
The third and fourth domes were very much like the first. It was beginning to appear that the trip here was raising more questions than answers.
The entry to the fifth dome was locked. He drew his pulser, and as he stepped back and aimed at the lock, a voice sounded from an overhead speaker.
"Drop your weapon or I will kill you."
Jay dropped the pulser and raised his hands.
"Identify yourself."
"My name is Jay Francis. I come from Earth."
The door to the airlock opened. "You may enter."
Jay passed through the airlock, and as he entered the dome he found an elderly man flanked by two younger men. The old man lowered his weapon.
"So Earth finally remembered that we are here," he said. "Welcome. My name is John Hartley." He indicated the man on his right. "This is my son, Reese, and the gentleman on my left is Steven Mercer, my son-in-law."
The younger men still held their weapons trained on Jay. The man called Steven spoke. "How do we know he's telling us the truth, John. He may be here to murder us for our equipment."
"Lower your beamer, Steven. This man can't possibly be from anywhere but Earth. There are none left alive on Mars but us, and a man from Earth would have no use for our equipment."
The two younger men lowered their weapons. "Sorry," said Reese, "but you're the first man we've seen since the war ended that wasn't an enemy."
The men shook his hand and apologized, and Jay was allowed to retrieve his pulser and to remove his space suit.
"Come with us, and we'll introduce you to the rest of the family ," said John.
The rest of the family included Reese's wife, Barbara, and their two children, Steven's wife, Stella, and their three children, and Steven's sister, Dawn, a widow with one child.
The family was surprised and disappointed that Jay had found no survivors on Earth. Jay was equally surprised to learn what had happened on Mars.
"After the first century passed," John began, "the pilots who brought the ships to Mars were dead. The original pilots had not thought to train new pilots. When people started thinking about returning to Earth, it was too late; no one knew how to pilot the ships.
"A few centuries ago, machine parts started growing scarce. When machines--even life support machines--broke down there were few parts to repair them. At first, the domes traded parts. But as parts grew more and more scarce, thievery, armed raids, and finally open warfare between domes erupted.
"It all ended a year ago. Dawn's husband was killed in the last battle defending this dome." John's voice broke momentarily, and then he continued. "We are the last survivors. Most of our life support equipment is damaged beyond repair; it could cease functioning at any moment."
No one spoke for a few moments, and then Jay answered a question he knew they were afraid to ask.
"The Solarwind can carry fifteen passengers, but the ship is loaded with hibernation equipment and supplies for deep space travel. We'll need to remove the equipment to make room. There are twelve of you--six adults and six children--so the trip to Earth should be fairly comfortable." He grinned. "The Solarwind is an ancient ship, but it'll get us to Earth."
All of the adults were familiar with machinery, so it was only a matter of hours until the equipment was removed from the ship and dumped in space.
Shortly afterward, they were underway.
*****
They had been underway less than an hour when the buzzer sounded, indicating that someone was waiting to enter the control cabin. He keyed the intercom. "Come in."
Dawn came through the door. Jay thought he heard the other women giggling when the door opened.
"I've always dreamed of learning to fly a space ship," she said. "Do you mind if I sit here and watch you?"
"Not at all," he said, "and I would be happy to give you lessons."
She smiled. It was the first time he'd seen her smile. And, he thought, she had a very pretty smile.
***THE END***
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