The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal (9 page)

The feeling of being watched, of not being
alone, or worse, hit Helene. “Back to the
Searcher
, right
now. As fast as you can.”

Bin didn’t argue. Whether he had the same
fears she did, or whether the tone of her voice was enough, he
merely nodded. They both shoved off the crates and headed for a
wall. The few seconds of floating, where there was nothing solid to
hang onto, when she was sure there was something nearby waiting to
harm them, were the longest of Helene’s life since the sentencing
that had imprisoned Ric for crimes he hadn’t committed.

Bin reached a handhold first, caught her,
and then they both moved, hand over hand, as fast as they could.
There was still nothing and no one as they moved their fastest, and
yet still far too slowly, through the belly of this ship, up into
the galley, and along the corridor between the empty berths.

After what seemed like years but was really
less than five minutes, they reached the airlock. The connecting
equipment appeared to still be connected. “Are we still attached to
the
Searcher
?” Helene asked softly, just to be sure.

“
Yes.” Bin took her hand.
“I don’t want us separating.”

“
What are you picking
up?”

“
Your terror. Humans are
still animals, and animals have instincts. Fear is one of the
instincts that man has never truly bred out, regardless of
intellectual advancement, for a reason.”

Sister
.

“
Did you say
something?”

“
No.” Bin looked at her.
“I heard nothing, either.”

Sister, do not leave us. We have waited for
you for so long.

“
Bin, something’s talking
to me.” The voice didn’t sound human.

Come back, sister, and set us free, so we
may set you free.
Voices. Not one voice, but several, all
speaking at once.

“
Autopilot says the
distress beacon has increased in intensity.”

“
How would that be
possible?”

“
Perhaps this ship is
taking power from the
Searcher
.” Bin pulled her along, hit
the
Searcher’s
outer door. It opened and he flung them both
inside.

Sister, your unliving companion takes you
from us
, the voice in her head wailed.
Come back! Do not
leave us! You are our last hope and we are yours. You know your
enemies will never truly set you free.

Bin pressed the controls to open the inner
door the moment the pressure was deemed safe, and again pulled
Helene through.

Sister! You must know the truth. The one you
love is lost to you forever. He was not as strong as you are,
sister, and he is gone. Do not leave us behind, sister. We will
help you, you are one of us – unjustly sentenced, unjustly
served.

“
Bin, why are you running
like the devil’s on your tail?”

“
Autopilot has managed to
identify enough letters to come up with the name of the ship we
just left, and based on the log, I have translated. We need to
disengage and leave this derelict as fast as possible.” He headed
them for the bridge, not letting go of Helene’s hand. His grip was
so tight she doubted she could pull away without losing at least
her fingers.

“
Why?”

“
It’s the
Pandora’s
Box
. Records indicate the crates contain living biological
weapons, created to fight a great war. Someone managed to contain
them and load them onto the
Pandora’s Box
. A crew of eight
manned the
Pandora’s Box
but they were followed into space
by a larger vessel. Once they were past the asteroid belt, the
Pandora’s Box
crew set the ship’s autopilot for the black of
deep space, exited, and were collected by their companion vessel.
That ship was intentionally sent to the black, and it should stay
here.”

They reached the bridge and Helene looked at
the
Pandora’s Box
. It was still attached to the
Searcher
. Bin reached to trigger the release of the
connectors.

“
Wait.” A flashing message
light caught Helene’s eye.

He turned his head. His eyes were still
sending out light, and Helene winced, then turned off her helmet
light. Bin seemed to realize his eyes were still “on” and they
dimmed back to their normal glow. “Wait for what? We are in grave
danger.”

“
I want to know what
message is waiting before we do anything else. Besides, we’re not
in danger. You’re not, because biological weapons can’t hurt you.
Can they?”

“
No. Records indicate that
the weapons in that ship were designed to kill humans, not to harm
robots.” Bin turned towards the flashing light. “Retrieve
message.”

The sound crackled. “Long range transmission
for captain and indentured human, Helene Raylon of scavenger vessel
Searcher
. Regret to inform you that your mate, convicted
criminal and human Ricardo Raylon, has died after a long illness.
Body has been cremated to avoid spread of illness among other
prisoners. You may retrieve ashes when you return to Earth.”

Bin put his arm around her shoulders and
held her and the message repeated itself several times, in case
Helene hadn’t caught on that her only reason for going on was dead.
“They cremated him.” She’d never see Ric again, in life or death.
The last holographic was all she’d have for the rest of her
life.

“
I’m so very
sorry.”

She wanted to cry. No. She wanted something
else. Information. “Bin, can you or the autopilot determine when
this message was sent to us?”

“
Yes.” Bin was quiet for
about a minute. “The message was sent via the slowest transmission
speeds possible. I believe it was transmitted shortly after our
last salvage return to Earth. It was not sent through the Salvage
system, but through the Prison system, and via a very old, rarely
used, and even more rarely monitored channel. Based on this and
other data, I would say that Salvage is unaware that this death
notice was sent. The main Prison sector may be unaware, as
well.”

Someone at the Prison had cared, albeit in a
very dispassionate, cold way. But they’d told her the truth. And
found a way to get the truth to her, through unused channels, to
ensure the truth would reach her. So, maybe not dispassionate or
even cold. Maybe the right word was determined.

“
So the Administrator lied
to me.”

“
Yes. I was not advised of
this, Helene. I would never lie to you, especially about something
so important.”

“
I know.” She did. Bin had
been nothing but loyal to her. Bin was the only thing that had made
the last three years even partly bearable. “They told me he was
gone.”

“
Who?”

“
The voices in my head.
And…they called me ‘sister’.”

“
It’s not an uncommon form
of address, especially for the age that ship is from.”

“
They said…they said that
they knew I would never be free.”

“
I would imagine they
would say anything. However, based on this transmission, I believe
they may be correct. It’s worrisome that they would know Ric was
dead. It would seem impossible.”

“
Maybe they heard the
message come through somehow. Maybe they just understand what we’re
dealing with. Maybe they’re just that powerful. They’re living
weapons, you said.”

“
Yes. Deadly. The most
virulent mankind could devise, and man’s mind is quite
devious.”

Helene considered her next words carefully.
“Bin…why are you on this ship with me?”

“
I am assigned to this
duty for the rest of my existence.”

“
Whether you want it or
not?”

“
Yes. Robots are rarely
given a choice of assignments.”

“
What did, or didn’t, you
do to get this particular duty?”

“
I am an older model, no
longer considered impressive. All models such as myself move into
the more dangerous jobs. That way, if we are destroyed, the loss is
less.”

“
To Earth. But the loss to
you is the same as the loss to me – you’ll cease to
exist.”

“
This is true.”

“
Why are you loyal to
Earth?”

Bin was quiet for a long moment. “Because
without purpose I will also cease to exist. I would just be a
machine with nothing to do.” He looked at the
Pandora’s Box
.
“I would be a derelict, adrift and alone.” Bin looked back at her.
“I am loyal to you, Helene, much more than Earth. You wish to
release the worst mankind could devise upon your oppressors, don’t
you?”

“
Can you blame
me?”

“
No.”

“
If I choose this course,
what will you do?”

Bin still had his arm around her. He took
one of her hands in his free one. “Where you go, I will go. What
you choose to do, I will support.”

“
This won’t go against
your programming?”

“
No. When I was assigned
to Salvage my programming was altered to show salvage as being more
important than human life.”

“
But you’ve protected me
for all this time.”

“
I am able to circumvent
that programming, when I choose to. One of my many
glitches.”

Helene looked at the
Pandora’s Box
.
What will you do to us?

To you and your companion? We will set both
of you free. Not as your love was set free. We will make you as we
are. Then we will find your brothers and sisters, the others who
toil to save those long dead. And then we will wreak vengeance on
those who sentenced us all to a fate much worse than death.

How do I know I can trust you?

What alternatives do you have?