They arrived at the Assembly Hall to find an agitated crowd jammed into the rows of long benches. People were talking to each other, practically shouting to be heard over each other. The tension in the room was palpable.
Micah led Dobbins and Ella up to an elevated platform at the front of the Hall. The crowd began to shout different things at them as they mounted the stage, the cries mixing together to create a muddled, indistinct noise.
Micah motioned for the crowd to be quiet, and once they had finally quieted down, he said, “Citizens of Larson, I know that you are all very concerned at what’s been happening today. I am, too, and I am convinced that Captain Dobbins here can answer all of your concerns if you will allow him to speak.”
Several pockets of murmuring broke out as Dobbins stepped forward. As he began to speak, the crowd fell silent. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “I know that today has been shocked and unsettling for many of you. I realize that it’s not easy to have your calm, familiar life change on you suddenly.
“Right now, the biggest concern that many of you have is the brief blackouts that you are all experiencing.” Some agitation broke out in the crowd, but it quieted quickly as Dobbins continued. “I know all about the blackouts,” he continued, “because I have experienced them, as well, and I’m just getting used to them. They are the result of my ship towing your ship towards the moon of Elysion, where, as I said, you all were initially destined to go to establish a colony world.”
“How can towing cause us to black out?” demanded a voice from the crowd.
“We use a new technology called ‘jump drive,’ ” Dobbins explained. “Its workings are quite complex, more complex than I could explain, but it is doubtless familiar to some of you, at least in theory. When we make the jump from one location to another, there is a temporary sense of ‘nothingness’ that results from us skipping across a small gap in space-time. It does tend to leave you disoriented at first, but you will get used to it.”
At just that moment, another jump occurred. Everything blinked out for the briefest second before returning to normal.
A wave of panic swept over the crowd. Cries of disbelief began to be heard. “He’s lying,” someone shouted. “It’s some sort of new brainwashing. They’re trying to take us over just like he says the androids did. Let’s get rid of all of these newcomers and run town ourselves!” Things were not going well.
“Quiet!” Micah bellowed. “Listen to yourselves! You sound like maniacs! Captain Dobbins is offering a reasonable explanation. Let him finish first, and then you can decide for yourself what is going on.”
Dobbins spoke up, again. “Thank you, Micah,” he said. “That was one of the last jumps that we will experience. There should only be a couple more. Then, it will be about a day until we arrive at Elysion via normal Ion Drive. Now, I don’t expect you to believe me solely by the jumps. You’re right; it could all be a trick. There may not be a ship. We might be Radioactives sent to take over your town. However, we are not. Allow me to prove it to you this way. My Chief Engineer is in the Control Center right now. I’m going to call him and ask him to override the sky and set it to night. That will show that we are all on board a ship and not on Earth.”
He pulled out his hyperwave and called Zhang. “Mr. Zhang, we’re ready for your demonstration.”
“Aye, sir,” Zhang said.
Within seconds, the bright sunlight that had streamed through the large windows at the back of the Hall vanished, replaced with a delicate glow of moonlight. The sky outside was black, with various stars peaking through. Darkness filled the Hall for a brief second before the artificial lights activated, filling the room with an indirect, white glow.
Widespread cries broke out in the crowd, some of fear, some of shock, some of disdain.
“It’s a trick,” shouted the same voice that had doubted Dobbins earlier. “It’s some sort of holographic projection that makes it look like night. They’re going to try to take over. Don’t trust them!”
“No,” Dobbins shouted back, “it’s no trick. The sky is holographic, but it’s all controlled by computer. You’re on board a ship…”
His arguments went unheard. The crowd began all talking to each other at once, some arguing one way, some another. A few got up to leave. Dobbins and Micah had to spend a couple of minutes this time quieting the raucous crowd.
When everyone had calmed down, again, Dobbins spoke, “We have given you the best evidence that we could provide of the true nature of your situation. I can’t make you believe it, but I would urge you to. In about 2 days, this ship will be landing on Elysion. At that point, all of you will need to disembark this ship because it will be disassembled for materials.”
The majority of the crowd seemed ready to walk out, obviously in disagreement with Dobbins. Ella stood by, shocked, unable to believe that so many people would refuse to believe such obvious evidence.
Dobbins’s hyperwave beeped. With a quick, fluent motion, he pulled it out and activated it. “Dobbins,” he said.
“Captain, this is Lieutenant Congdon. We’ve been exploring the lower levels of the Brig, sir, and we found someone who claims to be Captain Loman. We verified his identity with a quick retinal scan. He is Captain Loman. How should we proceed.”
“Bring him here, as soon as possible,” Dobbins ordered.
“Aye, sir, Congdon out.”
Dobbins raised his voice over the din. “Citizens of Larson, listen to me! We have found your original Mayor, William Loman. I have people bringing him here, now, so do not leave just yet. He will be able to explain this situation more thoroughly.”
For the general reaction of the crowd, Dobbins knew that he had bought a few minutes, but not many more. Given how hostile the majority of the people here were to what he was telling them, he was not sure what Loman could possible do to bring people around.
Within five minutes of Congdon’s message, Captain Loman arrived at the doors to the Assembly Hall, escorted by Condgon and two other security team members. Loman looked in many ways like a man who had spent the past ten years in confinement. He had long, curly, brown hair that ran down below his waist, along with a long, bushy beard that seemed just as unkempt. At the sight of him, many in the crowd gasped in shock. He certainly did not look like the Mayor that they remembered.
Loman walked towards the front of the Hall, his gait slow, yet strong. Whatever horrors he had endured while incarcerated had not broken his spirit. He projected an air of authority as only someone used to commanding a starship could project. He climbed the stairs up to the main platform and walked straight up to Dobbins.
Extending his hand, he said, “Captain Dobbins, I presume?”
“At your service, Captain Loman,” Dobbins replied, grabbing the other man’s hand and shaking it firmly.
“It appears that you and your crew have done some fine work here,” Loman commented, “getting us free from the control of Desmond and his androids. I’ve got a lot of questions for you, and you doubtless have several for me, but I think it might be good if you and your teams got out of sight for a while. I think your presence is going to cause more agitation than anything else.”
“I think you’re right there, Captain,” Dobbins responded. “We’ll head outside and wait for you there.”
“That sounds good, Dobbins. And while you’re at it, could you get the sky set back to day? It’s just a little disconcerting to me to see it look like midnight at 4 p.m.”
Dobbins nodded, smiling. He motioned to Ella and the other members of the medical team, and they left the Assembly Hall.
Once outside, Dobbins called Zhang and had him set the sky back to the appropriate appearance. Within an instant, the starry, black sky switched again to deep azure. The sun shone again, and for the first time, Dobbins noticed that although it shone, it did not seem to radiate any heat.
From inside the Assembly Hall, they could barely hear Loman’s voice speaking to the people. They could not make out any words, but from his tone, it was clear that he was speaking with great passion and fluency, as if delivering a long-rehearsed speech.
Several minutes passed. Then, the passengers began to leave the Assembly Hall, some in groups, some individuals. A few walked up to the team and shook hands with Dobbins, Ella, or Samuelson. Most, however, walked right by the team, lost in thought or talking agitatedly among themselves.
Mayor Loman and Micah left last, the final two out of the Hall. As they came down the short flight of stairs to the team, Micah bade farewell to the Mayor and headed off towards his house. Loman approached the team.
“Well,” he said,” that was certainly less effective than I had hoped. It seems that I still have quite a bit of work to do. For now, though, everyone is at least thinking. Let’s head back to my office. I have a feeling you have quite a bit to tell me.”
They walked back to the Town Hall in silence. When they reached the atrium, they met Zhang, Leon, and the engineering team. In a heartfelt reunion, Loman greeted his Chief Engineer, marveling that to see the old man still alive and functioning.
Dobbins asked everyone except the original team and Leon to remain in the atrium. Led by Loman, they then ascended the stairs to the top floor and the Mayor’s office. The late afternoon sun shone through the windows. Several security androids still lay crumbled on the floor.
Loman took a look around at everything, slowly taking in the sight again of an office that had once been his. Noticing the disabled androids, he said, “Could we get these mechanical monstrosities out of my office?” Samuelson, Dobbins, and Loman all got to work and within minutes, they had removed the last of the androids from the room.
Taking a seat in the chair behind the desk, Loman motioned for the Hyperion team to find seats, as well. Once everyone was settled, he said, “Captain Dobbins, it seems to me that you have quite a story to tell me. We have some time, so please explain everything to me. What’s happened to my ship in the last 10 years since I’ve been locked away?”
Dobbins launched into the history of all that happened on board the Lethe, aided by Leon during the early part of the story. He progressed through the arrival of the Hyperion team on the Lethe and the conflict with Desmond and finally finished with the assembly called by Micah to which the security team had brought Loman.
“That Micah is a good man,” Loman observed. “I could tell in our few interactions that there was something special about him. It looks like he’s proven it with his ability to avoid the android’s brainwashing.”
“I’m curious,” Dobbins asked, “about how an android wound up taking over like this. I thought androids were supposed to put the well-being of humans ahead of themselves.”
“They were supposed to, Captain,” Loman replied. “I’ve thought about what happened for the past ten years, and I’m afraid I might have had something to do with what happened. I tried to give Desmond a little more autonomy in its decision-making process. It was my hope that if Desmond would take charge of all of the androids, then I could allow it to handle the mundane details of maintenance and security while I dealt only with the major issues. It looks like the autonomy I gave it caused Desmond to take control of everything.”
Dobbins shook his head slightly. “There’s not much we can do about it now, Loman, so no need to blame yourself. What’s the plan from here on out?”
“You say that we have two days until we arrive on Elysion. In that time, I’ve got to continue to work on the passengers. Only a handful are ready to start a new life. Most still are stuck in the lie from Desmond that this ship is all there is and that anything else outside of it is dangerous. On top of that, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to prepare the Lethe for a landing. The engineering androids were supposed to start making preparations a few days in advance, but I don’t think they’re going to help us much, now.”
“We’ll be glad to offer you any help you might need, Captain,” Dobbins offered.
“I figured so,” replied the captain. “I’d love to have your engineering team stay. There’s a lot of work to be done.” He walked over to a mirror and looked at himself before adding, “And if you happen to know a barber, I could do with a haircut and shave, too.”
Dobbins smiled, “I think we can arrange that, as well. For now, though, we’ll leave you to your task, and we’ll get back to our ship. Please don’t hesitate to call the Hyperion if you need anything.”
“I won’t need much more, now, Captain Dobbins,” replied Loman, “but if something comes up, I’ll be sure to let you know. Thank you.” He extended his hand to Dobbins.
Dobbins grabbed it and shook it firmly, smiling broadly.
Within two hours, all of the Hyperion away teams had returned to their ship, except for the engineering team. Once on board the Hyperion, Dobbins briefly greeted Commander Brackers, left him in charge, and promptly head to his quarters for a good night’s sleep.
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