Starship Walker

The New Walker

 

Dr Morris took the screen off its stand, and folded the equipment away.

Gillian said, "It's scary, seeing me like that! The alien thinks it's me! Maybe it wants to convince you that I'm the alien!"

There was a short, uncomfortable silence. Gillian picked up a pebble and threw it into the pond. It struck the water with a hollow plopping noise. Everyone gazed at the ripples.

Joan said, "You must admit, we're forced to consider the possibility, Gillian."

"But it knows all this stuff about the wall, and how to do weird things with the ship - I don't!"

McWhirter said, "I'm sorry, Gillian, we've only got your word for that."

Joan added, "And you, yourself, did tell us that something in the wall was dangerous; you knew we had to get out of there."

"You appear to have some minimal access to the alien information, Gillian," McWhirter said, "though apparently slight. It also seems to have at least slight access to your knowledge. It understood galactic coordinates. And it also told us that you have something else in your head that watches everything."

Gillian put her head in her hands. "Well, that's just me, I think. Doesn't everyone have that? You know: no matter what happens, however mad or upset you get, there's always a little bit of you that's just, just... observing?" She was half aware that she was obfuscating.

McWhirter looked uncertain. "I don't know - maybe."

Gillian kept her head in her hands, her eyes lowered. "What can I do to prove myself? What can I do?"

McWhirter replied, "I don't know yet. Our first priority is to get home, and we need to decide if we can let you Walk again. We should focus on one clear fact: somehow, from somewhere, your brain has got hold of knowledge from a non-human species out there in the galaxy. You can do things with this ship nobody's seen before! That proves the problem is something more than hysteria or split personality. What we must do is make certain you can't run off with the ship if we let you Walk again."

Gillian said, "Let me guess, you'll set up the Walker skin suits so that they can be disconnected from the ship's helm at the Captain's command."

"We've certainly got that underway," McWhirter admitted. "But it doesn't completely solve the problem. We had no idea you had hacked into the system."

Gillian nodded slowly. "And neither did I." She had been amazed by this admission.    

"You could still break into the system before we detect it."

McWhirter gazed at Gillian and the others. Then he said, "Ok. This is what we're going to do - for now. Gillian, you'll help Abel with this lad he's trying to train up as a Walker. We need someone who can Walk with him under simulation, as Abel did with you when you started. That will be safe for you, and for the ship. Do you think you can do the job?"

Gillian did not hesitate. "Yes!" she said.

"Ok, I'll get the Captain's authorisation to proceed. We'll set up a system physically connected only to a simulator. And I do mean physically: real, solid cables, not software switching. The simulator will be a stand-alone computer system, sealed in a Faraday cage, protected from all forms of access. It won't matter if you succeed in breaking into it. Are you happy with that?"

Gillian was eager. "It's great!" She smiled. "It'll be so good to work and be useful!" She added, "You said I could see my friend Celia when you finished your investigations. Do you think you're finished, for now?"

McWhirter answered, "Lets wait a few days more."

Things moved quickly. The next day, Abel Yegg arrived in Pool Ten. He and Gillian hugged, awkwardly, sat beside the pool, and gazed at each other in silence for a second or two.

"How are you, Gillian?"

"Still a bit sore." Gillian patted her chest. "But ok, I hope."

"They told me all the weird stuff," Abel said. "About 'Gillian version two', with the alien knowledge."

"I feel like a freak," Gillian muttered.

"And they tell me something bad happened to you and your parents when you were a kid, in Candor Chasma. Do you think it's really an alien inside you?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if it's just me, being strange, with a little bit of weird knowledge from nobody knows where. I could have got hold of it somehow while I was struggling through the vent fan."

Abel gazed at her quietly for a moment, and asked, "How do you like it here?"

"It's quite nice, but I'm a bit surprised to still be here."

"They're being super cautious with you," Abel agreed.

"It's understandable, but I'm starting to miss the rim park. I wonder if they'll ever allow me back there." Gillian's voice suggested a question, which she had not quite intended.

Abel said, "I haven't picked up any hints, Gillian."

"What are they saying about me on the Ship news?"

"Nothing very much. It's all gone quiet. I think they're waiting till passenger opinion starts to look more nervous, then maybe they'll put out something positive about you. The news of a potential new Walker has calmed perceptions a little."

"Ok. Well, where is this new trainee?"

"McWhirter and Doctor Morris are bringing him along. They should be here any minute."

"What's he like?"

"Oh, you'll see. He's very enthusiastic."

They became quiet again, for a while.

"We've both got our injuries, haven't we?" Gillian said. "You were attacked by the Sun, and I'm supposed to have been attacked and boarded by an alien. Now both of us are ex-Walkers; nobody quite trusts us any more."

"You're right, Gillian."

 "This new trainee of yours - how does he feel about our problems? Is he nervous?"

"No. He thinks he's invincible."

"I must say, I've never felt particularly invincible."

"Well, I'm not surprised. You were evacuated from home in an emergency when you were only little. And you've had difficult experiences as a Walker."

Gillian shrugged. "I don't remember that stuff about Candor Chasma. Perhaps that's good."

Abel began to reply, but Gillian grabbed his arm. "Here they come." They both turned.

They saw McWhirter and Joan stepping off the walkway that ran around the second wheel. A young man accompanied them. He grinned with excitement as he followed them towards Gillian and Abel, where they stood near the pool.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, he tripped and fell headlong. McWhirter and Joan swung around and looked down at him, their faced shocked.

"Oops!" the boy said cheerfully as stood up. He glanced back at the spot where he had tripped, before he continued on his way, making futile brushing gestures across his clothes, hiding embarrassment.

"Oh, dear! Oh, God!" Gillian whispered. "He's going to be a Walker? But he's clumsy!"

Everyone was horrified apart from the young man, who still acted as if it was funny.

Abel turned to Gillian. "I was going to tell you about that little problem," he murmured.