Ravana's Shadow (30) (Patreon)

Production and testing continued for the Ravana mission—yet none had the same fanfare as that first dramatic test, or the same catastrophic consequences. Partly that was because they took even greater precautions, simulating every possible avenue for failure and putting contingencies in place. 

At the same time, Kit didn't rely on any of their further testing for moral victories. As they had learned, the potential for failure was just too high, and the consequences on the Institute's sanity too severe.

So, she watched the next test of the launch vehicle with only her senior staff, as a new model of their first stage made its dramatic exit from Mara's gravity well, only to crash safely back to the ice.

They still had a party—after the fact, when she could show video recordings instead of a live feed. The result was far less theatrical, but also less potentially destructive to individual colonists. The outcome was already known, all they had to do was get together and celebrate.

Most other experiments didn't even rate a party. There were thousands of individual components to test, and millions of small-scale simulations.

Almost nothing could just be printed from Forerunner's large library of designs. Their colony was just too strange, and too advanced. Being immortal was great when they lived in the infrastructure of a large colony to sustain them—but take even a short trip away from the Institute, and they would be struggling to meet their needs.

Kit didn't fully understand each problem they had to solve. But she really didn't have to—so long as she knew the mass, space, and energy requirements, they could plan for it. 

The closer they got to launch, the more sacrifices they had to make. Most of the exercise equipment got left behind, along with Kit's hope for private bedrooms. They would either have to hot bunk through the launch, have a few unfortunate members of the team sleep in the cockpit—or share their beds. 

Other things went too—like a full food fabricator in favor of liquid nutrition solution and packed snacks, at least until they arrived.

Kit hadn't discussed Jay's discoveries with the other members of the expedition, yet. But Forerunner knew and insisted on a far greater share of the space and energy for a larger staff of drones than the original compliment. Construction continued outside, and Kit went out almost every day to watch the Neophyte rise towards its place atop the rocket. 

“I would not typically permit a mission under these conditions,” Forerunner said. “While not likely, total mission failure is still plausible. An unacceptable, yet inescapable risk.”

Kit sat on the edge of the icy berm, meant to insulate the Institute from the heat and blast of their launch. After several tests, much of this ice had been melted and refrozen more than once, turning the surface from broken rubble to smooth blue verglas. Kit had a comfy space after about a five-minute climb. Not a safe place to watch a launch, but perfectly adequate to keep an eye on construction.

“We don’t have a choice,” Kit said. “If we send less equipment, odds of failure go up. If we wanted to send more, we would’ve had to totally redesign the mission. It wouldn’t make it to Ravana in time.”

“I am aware. However, there is another procedure that you must perform before launch. Please report to medical.”

As he said it, a light switched on at the base of the hill—a rover was waiting to drive her back to the Institute. Kit had walked the entire distance herself. But it would take hours to walk back. “What procedure? More ruggedization?” 

It wasn’t Forerunner who answered, but Jay. There were other voices over the radio—Sadie and Emma, arguing about something. He had to speak over them. “Kit, I’m in Medical now. I should have the scanner ready for you when you get here. Please hurry.”

Scanner?

Kit rose, taking one final moment to stare back up at the Neophyte. Their rocket now stood taller than the false dome of Eclipse once had, taller than their radio tower. More importantly, the Neophyte was real.

“I’m coming. Could you send me details on the way? I thought I already had all my upgrades.” She still felt off-balance from the titanium they used to replace her composite bones. The density was close, but still made her head and tail feel like she was wearing weights. 

What’s the point of all that armor on a skull that doesn’t protect anything? 

“I don’t want more implants,” she finally said. “I can still feel the one in my guts when I move around, and the bones… I don’t like them either.”

She reached the path, then stumbled down towards the waiting rover. The doors were already open, light spilling out from inside. Kit caught herself on a piece of ice to keep from falling, letting her tail drag along the ground.

“You aren’t getting more,” Jay said, quickly. “Come straight here, Director. Scans take time, and yours isn’t an iterative update. We’re taking a complete backup.”

“You’re scanning me, aren’t you? Forerunner wants to back up our minds.”

“No,” Jay spoke again, more confident. “Quantum state information on your neurons, neural net weights and interconnects. It’s just arrays in the computer.”

Kit settled into her seat. When the helmet’s HUD lights went green, she twisted it off, settling it down onto the seat beside her. “I don’t like this,” she said to no one. She wasn’t broadcasting.

“You’re not data to be copied,” said another voice. This one wasn’t using the radio—it was the drone. “You’re a human soul, the union of mind, body, and spirit. You aren’t your template, nor are you the pattern recorded in the cognitive center.  A woman is more than the sum of her components.”

Kit looked over at the drone. It was no different than the thousands of others scattered across the Institute—a metal frame, plastic limbs, and no head.

“I didn’t know you could use drones, Acheron. Machines in the likeness of men?”

He said nothing, Silence, as the faceless machine regarded her.

“Are you going to Forge me?”

The drone raised one of its artificial hands, palm towards her. “When last we spoke, I believed you came to me to request that treatment.”

“I don’t consent,” she snapped.

“Because of the Ravana mission,” Acheron asked. “I am confident you would survive. I know strength when I see it.”

The drone stood up, crossing the room to her. Even without a head, its body still came close to the ceiling, and it had to tuck its arms in to avoid bumping into various pieces of equipment. “You carry the old blood. By that right, you could demand Morgan’s office even if she were still serving competently. I could live again, with a daughter of the First Star as my captain. We could fly back there. Do you want to see your home again?”

The rover stopped, pulling into the ring. Its doors didn’t open. 

The drone retreated from her. Despite its mechanical joints, the way the machine moved was so… human? It shuffled, adjusting its balance. It slumped, moving sluggishly. “Every day you spend in this Institute, you are eroded by it, weakened by it. As the centuries pass, you will eventually be as damaged as its population. Pity them, don’t emulate them.”

It stopped beside the charging mount. “Your Forerunner forges you too, Katlin Rowe. It will hammer away until the ancient hero is dust, and only Kit Red Squirrel remains.”

Forerunner began as a primitive mechanism—but he is no more a Pioneering Society probe than you are a child. When he is finished, Katlin Rowe will be dead, and only a pet for his menagerie will remain. You’ll be his finest trophy.”

That finally roused her. Kit stood in a rush, knocking the helmet sideways from her seat. “I’m not a pet. Forerunner is my… friend.”

He laughed, loud enough to echo in the rover. “A friend who told you what happened to Ravana, instead of watching you and that mouse struggle and argue over it for months. If he thought you were an equal, he would treat you like one.”

That made her hesitate. “You know what happened?” 

Acheron didn’t answer. The drone took one more step, and a mechanical arm reached out to lift it, clicking it into the charging port. It curled its limbs tight, folding for storage. It did not speak again.

Kit stood there glaring at it for another thirty seconds or so, until her hearts settled to a more manageable speed. She relaxed both hands, shaking out fists she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Forerunner, is he telling the truth? Do you know what happened to the Ravana colony? Do you know why none of Surya's colonies worked, except ours?”

The external door opened, and someone scrambled inside—Jay, panting and out of breath. He took her arm in both of his, dragging her out of the rover. “Come on, Kit! Your scan can’t wait, or you’ll miss the party!”