22/1/02 Title: City Of Light Chapter: 7 Author: Squeezynz@free.net.nz Universe: Land of the Giants Rating: PG,Adventure Spoilers: Zip, nada, nil Archive: Sure, just let me know where Feedback: Treasured and hung on the wall Disclaimer: No money, no fowl *cluck*, all belong to IA *bless him* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You have to understand," Neeson started, "it was never intended that there would be no people to enjoy this creation. It was always in the plans to let people inhabit these beautiful buildings, but they didn't appreciate what had been made for them. But I speak of things to come, let me tell you of the beginning." " This City was conceived by a great architect, some say the greatest architect of the age, Sertis Han. He designed a wonderful city, it would be like nothing ever seen before on this planet. A modern, sweeping vision of the future for those that would flourish here. He had the support of wealthy backers, and a team of builders to carry out his instructions. They started by building the docks, to unload and haul the materials to the top of the cliffs, to the plateau, which had appeared purpose built for the project. Sertis had already mapped the area and found it contained everything they needed. It took nearly five years of continuous effort, but finally the last glass panel in the dome was erected and the city was finished. The builders left and Sertis opened the city for the people to occupy." Neeson paused, as if gathering himself for the next part. " All went well, the parks were full of happy city dwellers, the sky hummed with skycabs. The harbour was awash with boats and supply ships. At night the city came alive with lights and gaiety, it was fantastic. Everyone appeared happy, Sertis acted as Governor for this new world, and life was perfect. We had every conceivable convenience, the robots took care of the mundane and tedious, they cared for the people and did everything possible to make their lives easy. But it wasn't enough, the population started to rebel against the robot servants, they wanted to do things for themselves, Sertis could see his vision falling apart. The fools couldn't see, robots were the way of the future, they were indispensable, in fact the people were becoming a nuisance, the robots became targets for abuse and violence. Sertis could only sit back and watch as the people and the robots began a war of attrition. Both sides inflicting horrendous losses. Eventually the people lost and the robots took over." Neeson again stopped. The Little People, listening in horror, could only guess at the terrible vision's Neeson must have seen. " No-one escaped, no man, woman or child, Sertis mourned their passing, the dome became silent. Only the hum and drone of the robots going about their tasks to fill the empty skies. The parks tended and neat, but no-one to walk on the grass and smell the blooms. It was a terrible time. Sertis ruled a dead city. Dead except for the robots. Eventually, over time, Sertis himself started to fail, his body giving into old age, so the robots who had attended him and kept him safe offered him a chance at immortality. The robots had learnt much from their human masters before the uprising. They devised a way to extend Sertis' life and give him access to unlimited knowledge and allow him to continue with his grand plan for the domed city." Here Neeson paused and turned his back on the Little People. He raised a hand and brushed the hair away from his neck, exposing the jack point. After a second or two he let his hair drop back and turned around again. This time facing his tiny audience, he pulled back his shirt and exposed his chest. Pressing a hidden button, a section of his skin peeled back, exposing a metal plate. His audience gasped and drew back as Neeson reached in and opened the small section of metal plate, exposing electronic wiring, and circuitry. Neeson let them look their fill before covering himself again. " You understand now, they built this body for me, and moved my consciousness into this vessel. I can interface directly with all the robots, they feed information to me and take orders from me. I'm the ultimate creation of the city. I am the city." Neeson/Sertis finished, standing quietly in front of his living, but dumbstruck audience. " Your a robot !" Fitzhugh stated, indignation colouring his redundant observation. " Yes, I am, but I'm also so much more. Now with the knowledge you have unwittingly given me I am even more than before. By learning the technology and flying knowledge of your ship I can leave this planet and look for other conquests. Maybe even find an off-world population for my city." Neeson/Sertis' voice had risen, taking on an almost fervent note. His captives looked on with horror. " You can't be serious, you can't do this to us," Valerie cried, her head reeling at Neeson's statement. " I can, and I have...Mark has been most helpful, I have learnt so much from his fine mind. He helped to fine tune the Savant computer, it will make your future assimilation that much easier." " You took that knowledge without me knowing, your nothing better than a thief, you don't have an original thought of your own," Mark raged, incensed that his mind had been violated. " You have a point, I had to use my Savant Machine on so many before it worked properly, I even had a few people of your size to experiment on, but they had nowhere near your mental strength or knowledge." " Oh my god, you're a monster, how can you treat people like that " Betty asked, appalled at his attitude. " Why quite easily, afterall knowledge is everything, what are we here for if not to learn. There are bound to be casualties along the way, it is inevitable. Of course, once I am finished with you, you'll want me to end it for you." " Oh no...please, you can't..." Marna pleaded. " How dare you, you....you....Frankenstein !" Fitzhugh blustered. " I'm sorry, I don't understand your reference, please explain." " Frankenstein was a mad scientist that created a monster from parts of other men, it destroyed him in the end," Fitzhugh explained. " Well I don't think that's going to happen, do you ? I am absolute ruler here after all," Neeson/Sertis laughed, a hollow sound that echoed off the walls of the laboratory. Neeson saw that Steve was starting to come round, having survived an abbreviated form of what Mark underwent. Neeson quickly picked him up and deposited him into the cage with the others. The group crowded round, helping Betty get Steve settled, his head on her lap, as he slowly came back to life. Steve blinked up at the faces above him. " What happened ?" He slurred. " Honestly Steve, I don't think you want to know," Dan answered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Neeson had left them alone after his history lesson. They were all shocked and appalled by what had gone before. They couldn't start to understand or rationalise what Neeson/Sirtis had told them. Steve had managed to throw off the awful lethargy the machine had instilled in him. Now he stood with Mark and Dan and discussed their options for getting out of their predicament. "I don't think we have many options to consider, but I'll take anything you care to throw my way," said Steve, leaning his shoulder against the wire. Dan was standing with his arms folded, inspecting his shoes. Mark was also leaning his back against the wire, keeping watch on the door Neeson/Sirtis had used to leave. " Even if we are successful in getting out of this trap, how do we avoid all the robots ?" asked Dan. " The only bargaining chip we have is appearing to co-operate in full, try and get atleast some of us back to the ship," said Mark. " Who did you have in mind to leave behind ?" Dan hissed, giving Mark an angry glare. " Nobody, if I had a choice, but I don't have that choice, if even one of us can get to the ship, they might be able to use something there to free the rest," Mark answered, giving Dan glare for glare. Steve straightened and put his hand on Dan's shoulder to calm him. " Dan, I think I see where Mark's going with this...there's something in the ship we can use, isn't there." " That's right, there is...if I understand Neeson's rhetoric, he is the city, therefore we destroy Neeson, we destroy the city, and the robot control," said Mark. " How sure are you that Neeson is the nexus of the city's controls ?" asked Steve. " I'm just going by observation of Neeson's behaviour with the robots and what I've seen of the main computer banks. There's a ton of information, but nothing to indicate a centralised control, other than Neeson himself," Mark replied. " So, supposing that to be true, how do you propose to dispose of Neeson and get us free ?" asked Dan. Mark took his time answering, trying to pull the threads of a plan together. " I seem to have a slight advantage, in that Neeson admires my ability to resist his Savant machine. I'm proposing to allow him unresisting access to what I have in my head." Dan made a move to protest what Mark was proposing but Steve shushed him with a slash of his hand. Mark continued. " If I can draw Neeson away, even get him to return me to the ship for more access to the knowledge he wants, I can possibly use the explosives in the ship to create a bomb." " It would have to be a pretty big bomb...plus you'd have to get it into the right place to do the most damage," said Steve. " I would, that's where, if it was possible for you to create a diversion, I could get an opportunity to not only create what we need but place it as well," Mark saw a brief look of disgust on Dan's face at the prospect of another murder. "Dan, it's not like he's a person, or living being, he may have Sirtis' personality, but his views are warped and megalomaniacal at best." Mark reasoned. " Plus he's already admitted to being a party to the murder of all those people who lived here before," Mark added. Dan nodded imperceptibly, agreeing to what Mark proposed but not happy with it. " What about the spare hydrogen cell from the Spindrift, that should produce a big enough blast and still be manageable for you," said Steve, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. " I could use that, it would need a remote detonator, I could use one of the radios, tuned to a specific frequency to blow the fuse." " Okay then, lets put the proposal to the others, they need to know what's going on, we can sort out the details with them at the same time." Steve turned and started back to where the others were arranged against the other wall of the cage. After exchanging a look, Dan and Mark followed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shortly after the meeting, Neeson returned and Mark had an opportunity to put his plan into action. Neeson was pleased when Mark started to ask questions about the city, blatantly flattering his ideals and achievements. Marks assessment of Neesons regard for Mark, appeared to be born out when Neeson seemed to just want a ready ear, in this case Mark's, to pour out all his grand plans to. Mark provided that audience and with a few judicious suggestions, Mark was let out of the cage and carried, by Neeson, to another bench to continue what Neeson called his "indoctrination" into the wonders of the City. Mark was surprised at how little effort it had taken to get out of the cage, but given how little Neeson viewed them as a threat, it wasn't entirely inconsistent with his omnipotent view of his own powers. Neeson even graciously agreed to let the other's return to the compound, under robot guard of course, and continued surveillance by specialised robots, placed in and around the camp. Mark agreed to anything Neeson asked for, whatever would get Steve and Dan back to the ship and away from Neesons immediate vicinity. Mark had to use every wile and guile he had ever used in his business dealings back on earth. Every tactic of diplomacy and persuasion were tested to the limit. By the end of that day Mark was worn out by the constant need to keep Neeson's attention on himself. It appeared to have worked better than he could have ever hoped. Neeson regaled Mark with nearly every aspect of his previous life during the past thirty years since the population had perished and the robots taken over. He even showed Mark how he jacked into the robot surveillance system to monitor the Little People's ship and camp, showing Mark a direct feed on the nearest monitor. Mark could see Valerie and Betty, with Marna and Fitzhugh, sitting uneasily at the table, surrounded by the robot guards, near the perimeter of the huts. They looked scared and unsettled, but they were keeping the robots focused on them and not on what Steve and Dan, with Barry's help, were doing in the ship. Neeson wasn't prepared to let Mark back to the ship, preferring to keep his new toy close at hand. As Neeson's body didn't need to eat or drink, or sleep for that matter, Mark started to flag long before Neeson appeared to run out of anecdotes. It appeared that Neeson had revised his original plan, deciding that time was not pressing, finding that having a living sentient being to converse with was quite a novelty, despite that being only standing 6 inches high. Mark could only hope that he could maintain Neeson's attention long enough to give Steve and Dan a chance to make something to knock out Neeson. Mark had learned that he had been right in thinking Neeson was the Nexus of the city, but he also found out that there was still the original core intelligence, maintaining the basic running of the city, leaving the more complex organising and assimilating of information to Neeson. Mark could see two opportunities to put the Giant Robot out of commission. One way was to proceed with his idea of a bomb, or the other was to try and rig an electrical feedback through the jack points, and get him next time he jacked in. Mark felt unequal to the task of deciding which to choose, atleast until he'd had some more sleep. Neeson could see Mark drooping as the night wore on, so he put padding in the original cage and put Mark in there, locking the door. Neeson then left, leaving a robot on duty as guard. Mark looked longingly at the monitor showing the Windsifters camp, trying to think of a way the others could rescue him and still escape. The outlook was bleak, Mark couldn't see any way for them to really avoid killing Mark along with Neeson, unless something happened to change the current situation. Mark should have realised, one should always take great care with what one wishes for.