Chara and the Planet

Chapter No. 52

Chapter No.52.

When the Avenger arrived near Earth, everyone was surprised by what they saw.

"The major cities look deserted," Evan said. "There's no evidence of travel on the oceans as well as in the air."

"I'm not surprised," Ryan said. "Earth is in a phased conversion to being uninhabitable."

"The space ports are unoccupied," Myra said. "There are no vessels in orbit. I'm not detecting any signals from the surface."

"There is evidence of human activity," Alma said. "This looks like agricultural activity." The display on the main screen exhibited a plowing operation. Several tractors pulling wide plows were moving in unison across a large level plot in the Midwest plains of what was North America.

"Infrared scans indicate that they are being operated by humans."

"Well, it appears that some humans have survived," Ryan said.

"There is no evidence of any threat to our vessel," Myra said.

Everyone on the Command deck intently watched the main screen as the Avenger moved around the planet to the night side.

"There are some lights on the dark side," Alma said. "But they are isolated and much less than normal."

"Assuming there is a normal," Ryan said. "We can assume that Earth has a much smaller human population." He turned to ask Chara something, but what he saw made him cringe.

"Oh my God! Chara has shut down!"

"So did Alma!" Myra said, her voice cracking.

"What the fuck is going on?" Evan yelled. "My console indicates that all of the androids have shut down!"

"I think I might have discovered a reason," Myra said. "I'm detecting a sub space signal emanating from a location in the Rockies."

Ryan got up out of his seat behind Chara and turned to Gary. "Help me get Chara out of her chair."

Gary came over and helped Ryan pull Chara out of her chair and lay her on the floor. Ryan sat down in the pilot's chair and began arming a small missile. He turned to Myra. "Give me the coordinates of the sub space signal."

Myra sent that to the pilot's command system. Ryan programmed the missile to launch and travel to that location. The missile exited the ship and began a powered course to the target, a bunker deep within a mountain in Colorado.

Everyone on the command deck watched the missile reach its target and detonate in a brilliant flash of blinding light.

"The signal stopped," Myra revealed.

Ryan went to Chara, but she was still inoperative. "I believe this must have been a shutdown signal. We're going to have to go through the android system programming to find it. I'll need you to help me."

"Why do we need these androids?" Evan asked. "They only need us to repair them. If they're all inoperative, we don't need them."

"I beg to differ. The androids control the nanobots that are keeping us alive, and they are the only ones who can program them. Without their constant contact with the nanobots the tiny bastards will eventually kill us and believe me our deaths will not be pleasant."

"Why in the hell did they program them like that?"

"Because they have the same nanobots running through their fluidic systems to keep their electronics working properly. They adapted them to work in us, but those tiny devils must be under their control at all times, or they will malfunction."