Chapter 697

The Castle

...”Certainly,” Arlene responded, “but please don’t either of you touch it. The AI can become quite persnickety, and he has the means to back up his displeasure.”

“You have a functioning artificial intelligence?” Karl asked.

“Please don’t mention it around him. I think he is trying to find a way to become a citizen,” Arlene returned with a chuckle.

“Uh, I won’t,” Karl responded, not quite sure if Arlene were kidding or not.

Both Karl and Fischer thanked Arlene and hurried off the deck to check out the interceptor.

“You were kidding them about your aircraft, right?” Mia asked.

“Don’t worry. He’ll warn them first,” Ann answered before Arlene could.

As the conversation continued, Mia would try to direct her responses and questions to Arlene, who seemed in charge, but time and again, Mia would wind up addressing Selina. Dessie and Phillip were her parents, but it was more than that. No sooner was the answer to a question out of Mia’s mouth than Selina had another ready.

Sophia came back pushing a cart bearing refreshments, including freshly made coffee and a pitcher of iced tea. After thanking her, Selina casually selected coffee, putting a half dozen spoons of sugar and some cream in it while never pausing with the conversation, her mannerisms those of an adult.

At one point, a question from Selina startled Mia, which caused Arlene to break in. “I know that her parents must have told you that she is a genius, but she truly is and probably beyond. I don’t think there is a word for it.” With a grin, she said, “Just assume that she’s a brilliant adult whose body has somehow shrunk.”

“Arlene, you’re embarrassing me. You are talking about me as if I had gone with Karl and Fischer,” Selina complained, a blush creeping across her countenance.

There was a “sssssswhap” sound as static electricity found its way to ground, accompanied by a startled yelp from one of the men who had gone to inspect Arlene and Ann’s interceptor.

The women tensed, and Mia came to her feet, but Arlene and Ann were chuckling. “Looks like someone forgot what I said about not touching the interceptor. Don’t worry about them, though. It’s just a static charge similar to what you sometimes get when you walk across a carpet and touch a metal doorknob — well, a wee bit stronger, perhaps.”

Sophia chuckled. “I can guarantee you which one it was. Fischer just has to investigate.”

In a moment, they could hear the men laughing and talking as they were coming back.

Mia turned to Selina, smiled and continued the conversation. “Oh, your Mom and Dad told us about you, but hearing about you and encountering the beautiful Selina is different. I can certainly understand why they bragged so much about you, though.”

“I am having difficulty imagining my Mom and Dad bragging on me after the way I treated them.” Then abruptly changing the subject, “How are we going to find my parents?” she asked as she tried to direct the conversation away from herself.

Mia thought for a second before saying, “Dessie called me on her SAT phone one night shortly before the Miadax attacks took out our phone coverage. She said they were camped by a small lake that was part of a chain waterfall. I think she said there were three falls, and the lake was between the first and second one. She laughed about coming five thousand miles to camp in the woods and play with their slingshots. She said they had found some red clay and had molded clay balls similar to the ones they bought to practice with back in the States.”

“She mentioned a swamp they had crossed not far from the falls and the small lake where they were camped.”

“Did my mother say how far the falls were from here?” Selina asked.

“No ... but Mia did mention that Karl had saved them some wasted time because he had mentioned that the main trail veered to the right to bypass an area that was almost impossible to traverse. Since they were avoiding that area, they had veered farther to the left at that point and managed to miss the major part of the swamp and the rugged hills that preceded them.”

“They had already seen a part of the falls through binoculars while on a two-day preliminary camping trip to get them accustomed to the area and their new equipment. They had returned excited about their trip and could barely wait until they were back on the full, ten-day trip.”

Arlene and Ann passed a glance before Ann spoke. “With that information, we should easily be able to find the chain falls from the air.”

Karl and Fischer had returned and seated themselves at the big table with the others, but Fischer’s face was red with embarrassment.

“Did you two check out our interceptor?” Ann asked, oh so politely.

“Yeh. It was a rather shocking experience,” Karl said as he grinned at Fischer.

“Your AI has an unusual sense of what’s amusing,” Fischer grumbled.

“Oh, I thought it was hilarious the way you jumped,” Karl commented while trying to keep his face straight.

“He must have liked you,” Ann said with a smile.

Karl thought that was funny, but Fischer, not so much.

When the kidding was over, Mia filled the men in on the conversation about where Dessie and Phillip probably were, and Karl remarked, “We’ve been out here frequently over the years, and I haven’t heard any of the guests talking about any large falls within a couple of day’s walk, let alone a triple falls. Have any of you?” he asked the others.

When all their responses were negative, he went on, “I think the falls aren’t large, and they must be off the main hiking trails. All the area around here for miles is managed by the government and can’t be improved. In other words, the whole area for many miles in every direction is covered in old-growth timber that hasn’t been cut in forever. I can well imagine that it would be difficult to see the ground from an aircraft. The swamp and the terrain are more deterrents for would-be campers and hikers. My point is that if the falls do not have a long and spectacular drop, and the forest is thick, the falls might not be easily seen and consequently very infrequently visited.”

Ann opened a folder while Mia moved the drinks aside so Ann could spread the map out.

“This map is fairly small, but we used a much bigger one before we left. We’re right here,” Ann said as she touched a manicured nail to a tiny spot that was faintly showing. “On the big map, you can see that the light area here is your castle,” she told Mia.

Karl leaned past them to run his finger along the map. “Wait. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I wish we had printed out the digital map, but we were in a hurry,” Arlene said.

Karl was back and quickly opened his map book before pointing to an area that showed a view of the castle and surrounding area, probably taken from Google. Again, he ran his finger along a route before coming to a stop. “From their description, this should be the area where they camped when they were testing their equipment. They said they had gone on a few hours the next day, and that was when they saw the falls in the far distance.”

Again, Karl traced his finger along the map before coming to a stop. “Here. That has to be the swamp Dessie told you about on the phone. See, it isn’t far to the main trail from the swamp, but there are steep hills and probably rough terrain between the main trail and the far end of the swamp, just as Dessie talked about. If so, those falls should be somewhere along the beginning of the mountain ... here. See, there is something showing through the gap in the trees there.”

A moment later, he took out a magnifying glass. “Look,” he said, “you can see the glint of water through the trees. This is bound to be where the falls are located. Ten to one, Dessie and Phillip’s camp is somewhere along in here, he said as he drew an imaginary circle around the area with his fingertip.”

“We can’t put down in a swamp,” Ann said, “but what’s this to the left of what you say is probably the falls? The color is slightly different.”

“Hmmm. At this scale, it’s hard to tell, but I’d bet that much of this is just overgrown with bushes and weeds. Maybe there was a forest fire in years past, but I’d just about bet there is enough open area to put your craft down safely. You certainly did a good job of sitting down in the exact center of our helicopter port, so I would think you can put your...”

“Interceptor,” Arlene offered.

...”interceptor down. I know nothing about your fighter except for our short visit to look at it, but it certainly appears rugged while somehow maintaining a look of ... elegance. If that makes any sense. Anyway, I don’t think a helicopter would survive sitting down in that. The backwash from the blades might well prove catastrophic when those bushes, or whatever that growth is, gets sucked into the rotors and air intakes.”

“We don’t have air intakes, since the interceptor is actually a spacecraft that is capable of being used in atmosphere. In addition, it is armored as well as having force shields surrounding it that can be activated. A few bushes, no matter how big they are, will be of little consequence to the interceptor. Our guns would destroy the vegetation, but we don’t want to start a forest fire.”

“I’m going with you. I’m not the man I once was, but still, a little male strength might come in handy,” Karl injected.

“No,” rang out from Mia, Sophia, and Fischer simultaneously.

“There isn’t room,” Arlene added. “Oh, we might be able to stuff someone in the area between the seats, but if you’re talking about transporting Dessie and Phillip, it would be easier just to make multiple trips.”

“But what if they’re injured?” Karl asked.

“We have medical facilities with us,” Arlene returned as she felt Little One’s mental agreement. Then after a second, “Probably the best medical facilities currently on the planet,” she finished mysteriously.

Ship at the Retreat the Night Before

General Whitworth was sitting in his seat a little way behind the Captain’s seat and slightly higher. The Miadax First Officer was sitting in the Captain’s seat but quickly moved to his own seat just to the right of the Captain’s, even as he called out, “Captain on the bridge.”

Since the crew was at their stations, they did not come to their feet, per Jeff’s standing order. Kayla was at her Security Station, where she could easily observe the entrance hatch to the bridge as well as her Captain. A moment later, Helen hurried in to sit at her station.

“Report,” Jeff said as he seated himself and spoke to his First Officer.

“All personnel accounted for, and all Stations report ready, Sir.”

Jeff had informed Ship that this would be a training mission for the Miadax, and she was to obey them unless their actions would endanger her or someone else. After all, he told her mentally, you are the one who insisted on having a crew.

As I have mentioned in the past, all AIs, including myself, can be predicted to some extent by other AIs. Humans offer a level of unpredictability that I cannot consistently match. Also, there is the possibility of damage during combat. Better to have human beings aboard to assist in or oversee those repairs. Again, to leave more of my mind free to continue the engagement without those distractions. I have, obviously, included the Miadax under the human category. After observing them during their continuing training program, they seem to have that same general level of unpredictability when faced with dire circumstances.