Bypass Gemini

Chapter 15

The DAR carrying Lex settled down in the hangar just under a day later. It would have taken Lex considerably longer if he’d had control of the ship. This is chiefly because Lex has petty human concerns like survival. The course traveled by the ship was nearly a straight line, which passed through no fewer than six heavily patrolled regions of space, directly through the center of a debris strewn nebula, and deep enough into the corona of a red giant to risk all sorts of nasty consequences at superluminal speeds. Somehow, though, he arrived in one piece, though the waste disposal system of the pilot’s chair got quite a workout.

He peeled himself out of the seat and crawled shakily to the catwalk of Karter’s hangar building when the cockpit finally opened. He hadn’t even bothered to change out of the construction uniform during the trip.

“Welcome back, Mr. Alexander. The bus is waiting for you outside to take you to Karter’s lab,” said the helpful voice of the computer.

“Yeah... I’m... just going to sit down here for a minute,” he said, slowly collapsing to the catwalk.

“Is there something wrong?”

“… Yeah. Yeah, there is something wrong. Were you in on that little jaunt through space he sent me on just now? Did you know what he had in mind?”

“Yes.”

“And you were okay with it?”

“Your survival odds ranged from ninety-two to ninety-eight percent, based upon known factors. Intervention did not appear necessary.”

“You were okay with ninety-two?”

“The mean was ninety-six point eight five percent. My default safety threshold is ninety-five percent.”

“Maybe next time aim for ninety-nine.”

“The survivability of your departure through the reduced exit window was only eighty-four percent. Perhaps your perceived helplessness due to the lock out of manual controls sensitized you to the risks involved for the return trip.”

Lex stared blankly for a moment.

“Did he program you to psychoanalyze people, or was that your idea?”

“Careful analysis of intention, motivation, and mental disposition has become an indispensable skill when monitoring and reacting to Karter.”

“Yeah, I guess it would.”

A moment passed.

“Was your trip successful?”

“Well, it was very productive. I’ve still got the package, but now I’m pretty sure I pissed off the mob.”

“That is an undesirable outcome.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

A few more moments passed.

“Please gather your personal possessions from the vessel. The bus is waiting for you outside to-”

“JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE!” he snapped, shutting his eyes tight and cupping his forehead.

“You are showing strong indicators of stress. Would you like to talk about it?”

Lex sighed and climbed to his feet, beginning to fetch his things from the ship.

“I’m screwed, Ma. I’m screwed, and I have no idea what to do. The biggest company in the universe wants me dead, and they are working both sides of the law to do it. I don’t have anyone to turn to. There ISN’T anyone to turn to! And I don’t even know why they’re after me! Evidently they think that this big pile of papers has something of huge importance that could do major damage to the company,” he said, shaking the battered case, “but I don’t know what it is! I don’t know if there’s a way out of this one, Ma. I can’t even turn on my slidepad and call for help, because the second I do, they’ll be all over me, and probably whoever I called, too.”