Star Fields

Chapter No. 113. Trickster

Chapter No. 113. Trickster

Appearances can be deceiving,

I decided to do something a bit different this time. I teleported Alex, Molly, Alice and Ben down to the surface with me. I wasn't sure what the robots were doing but it was obvious that this human colony did not create them. There was no evidence of the technical capacity to do that. I assumed that this was a Tyco trick.

For some strange reason, the people ignored us even though we didn't dress like them. This added to my suspicions that this was a trap. What we saw next, startled us. One of the robots shot an energy beam out at one of the humans and killed him. The surprising thing is that none of the bystanders seemed alarmed.

We continued walking along a walkway that led to a complex of stone and glass buildings that rose high and dominated the city, which consisted of mostly mundane looking two- or three-story buildings.

"Why did the robot kill that man?" Alex asked.

"I'm not sure, but it didn't seem to disturb anyone. Either he's a criminal or he was too old."

Suddenly, another robot killed an older woman. Again, no one reacted to this seemingly violent act.

"Okay, this is beginning to look like Logan's Run."

"What?" Alex reacted.

"It's an old science fiction movie about a post apocalyptical utopian society living in a domed city. When people entered their 30's, they agreed to die in a ritual sacrifice in order to maintain the optimum population. Logan was a sandman, a euphemistic term for one who terminates those who try to escape death."

"Okay, but that doesn't fit in this case. First of all, the robots are just killing people without any semblance of a ritual. What's even more disturbing is that these people are not concerned or alarmed by these killings, and they're not even noticing us."

"Yeah, you're right. This is definitely a trap. The people are real, but they are in a trance or something. Maybe the robots are the source of that effect."

Molly used her portable instrument to get a scan on one of the robots. "I'm detecting a rather sizable amount of antimatter in the robot. They look like our battle bots, but we don't use that much antimatter to run them. I'm also detecting an alpha signal being broadcast from them. That could be how they're keeping these people in line."

"Well," I said. "I guess the only solution to this is to get rid of them." I envisioned the robots as being not here, and they disappeared. What happened next, surprised us.

The people suddenly stopped and began conversing. They appeared to be excited. A woman pointed at us and a crowd of people gathered around us. I activated the universal translator.

"Who are you?" some people shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"We are an android collective searching for an individual called Tyco. We have eliminated the robots that were affecting you and systematically exterminating you."

"They were brought here to control us," a woman said.

"Who brought them here?"

"They looked a lot like you. We don't know who they were."

"Are you native to this planet, or were you brought here?" I asked.

"We are not sure. Our ancestors spoke of a space vessel that came from another planet."

"There's another habitable planet in this star system," I said. "Do you know if anyone lives on it?"

"Our Sayers tell us that they are gods."

"Are you going to rule us?" an older male asked.

"No. We are not interested in ruling anyone. We will leave now and allow you to deal with your situation."

I teleported all of us back to our ship.

"What the hell did you do down there?" Marie asked.

"I made Tyco's robots disappear, which allowed the humans to be free of his control."

"Why were the robots killing people?"

I shrugged. "It's Tyco's demented idea of fun. He has no idea how stupid that is."

"Are we just going to leave the humans without any way to protect themselves?" Alexa asked.

"The only way we're going to guarantee any species' survival is to finish this Tyco once and for all. The bad news is that's going to take time. We have to find him first."

"What's next?" she asked.

I turned to Judy. "Take us to the other planet, Judy."

The trip over to the planet didn't take that much time. However, Judy decided to approach the planet slowly before inserting our vessel into orbit. Her caution turned out to be propitious. Energy beams from the surface shot up at us, making the shielding sing in a high-pitched scream.

"Do you wish to retaliate?" Judy asked.

"No. Move us out of range."

Judy moved our ship to a distance of 200,000 kilometers.

I stood up. "I think I'll investigate this myself. I teleported to the surface near a large complex of domed structures. As I walked closer to one of the buildings, six armed men rushed out to confront me.

I held a hand up. "I come in peace!"

The men shot at me with energy weapons, but I made the beams bend away. "You're wasting your time. You can't harm me. I want to talk." I held the universal translator out to help me converse with them.

A woman approached. She was wearing what looked more like a flowing gown. Its fabric reflected light as if it were coated with tiny prisms. She motioned for the men to stand down.

"I'm not here to harm you," I said. "I just want to understand why you're using violence against me."

"We know that you are a non-living device," she said. "Creatures like you have come here to conquer us. We have been able to prevent it, but you are not like those that came before."

"I'm surprised that you were able to prevent being controlled. If it were Tyco's collective, you are very fortunate. He has destroyed many species, including ones like yous."

"Are you in conflict with him?"

"Yes I am. I am the Prime Mover of an android collective that numbers more than 1.5 million, but we have been unsuccessful in locating him and his collective. We just freed the humans on the other habitable planet in this star system. They were under his control, but now they are free."

"Are they aligned with you?"

"No. We don't conquer biological species. Our mission is to preserve all life and bring peace to the universe."

"We apologize for trying to destroy you. You obviously have powers that are beyond our knowledge."

I smiled. "Actually, they are beyond my knowledge too. I was given them by the originator, the immense being that is composed of the multiverse. Our universe is just a tiny fraction of the particles that make up this being."

"Are you inferring that this being is intelligent?"

"We believe it is, but I doubt there is any way to communicate with it."

She didn't reply.

"I will leave you now. I have work to do to find this Tyco."

I teleported back to the command deck of the Explorer-2.

"We saw what happened," Molly said. "I'm surprised that they knew our language."

"Yeah, that is odd. Maybe they know a lot of human languages."

I realized that we really didn't know much about these human and proto-human species. The only thing that was certain was that they were vulnerable to Tyco's demented plan, except for this last group. Maybe they had the means to Tyco's demise, or it was yet another trap,