Tevun-Krus #71 - Spy-Fi

Life Signs Zero - Part 007 of a Short Story by @JeffreyVonHauger

Life Signs Zero

Part 7 of Significantly Advanced Tech

By Jeffrey Von Hauger

A perfectly straight line of radioactive energy ran between FeRRuM 26 and its star; like it was drawn with iridescent marker and a ruler. The Ibi-Ero Makina were at the beginning stages of becoming a type two civilization and beamed energy directly from their sun to collecting stations in orbit. When scanned from space the glowing robot ecumenopolis, a literal planet-wide city, showed low levels of oxygen and no signs of life.

Pippalotti Ritz stopped pacing when her cell door rushed open. A two-meter high Makina robot-soldier filled the doorway with its gunmetal gray steel body. Three electronic eyes scanned her from below curving shoulders that wrapped the robot's oval face. Thick tubular arms led down to clamplike hands. It clanked into the square room followed by a second. They were big, unemotional, and non-communicative.

Pippa backed up against the opposite wall. The robots stood side-by-side taking up the entire cell with just enough space between to see a synthetic woman entering behind them. She was naked, tattooed head to toe, perfect breasts with no nipples, yellow glowing eyes, and sporting a spiked forest green mohawk.

"You!?"

"The Makina want to know why you're still alive?" asked the synthetic Zero-G commando known simply as X.

One of the Makina rattled off an insane digital gibberish. The Zero-G looked at them with her triangular pupils swirling in her eyes.

"They think your ring has some kind of micro-nanotechnology they can't comprehend."

"You were on Elipso! With Grandmama's dog walker!" Pippa couldn't believe her eyes.

"They'd like to cut off your finger and dissect it. I've suggested removing the ring may kill you."

Pippa cupped her fingers into a fist. "His name's Greg, Greg Pedix!"

She heard in her mind. "Rhymes with buttocks," followed by the stern warning, "all technological communication will be monitored."

The cyborg's eyes spun when she used her neural transmitter to communicated via telepathy. She winked a yellow eye at Pippalotti.

"There's not enough oxygen on this planet to sustain a Grandorian. The only reason they don't kill you right now is that you're alive and they can't figure out why?"

Pippa looked down at the glass rainbow ring Murphy had given her. "Magic?"

The Zero-G rolled an eye, stuck out her hip, and put her hand on it. "Take her."

The first Makina clamped an unstoppable metal hand onto Pippalotti's wrist. She struggled and attempted to pull away. The second grabbed her other arm and they lifted her kicking and screaming off the floor.

"You fuckers!"

#71EEB8

Qubits of information passed through the #71EEB8 populations at speeds that defied the laws of subatomic motion. They were able to reach a uniform consensus on needed decisions at seemingly the same moment a question came into play. In the case of what to do about getting involved in a mission to retrieve a possible teleportation device from the Ibi-Ero homeworld, they determined to use an unknown operative that would leave no trace of their involvement.

The knocking that woke Shorty this time was far less aggressive, yet far more immediate. He stumbled across the room and opened the door to three identical middle-aged bald men with silver skin and matching seafoam green flight suits.