System

16. In too Deep

Travis Petros, also known as Swan, stood thoughtfully in the white room as his friend paced backwards and forwards. Since returning from the city ship, Watcher had seemed preoccupied. He hadn't said anything yet, but Travis could tell he was thinking things through.

'Are you okay?' he asked.

'What?' Watcher said looking up.

'You seem worried?'

Watcher shook his head.

'I'm fine,' he replied. 'I'm just not sure what to make of it all... We know who you are now, but we don't know how you are connected with the crash in the system...'

Swan suspected that Watcher was also concerned about his own origins. The young history professor had made it clear that one of them was an artificial personality - a machine mind. It was now clear which of them that was...

'We're beginning to put some pieces together,' Swan said encouragingly. 'But we're not there yet. You said there were people after me. Is it all connected?'

'I think so,' Watcher said slowly. 'Your memory was erased to protect you, and guardians were posted to keep you safe, but we still don't know why...'

He shook his head and returned to the table.

'There is something obvious that we're missing, I'm sure of it,' he said as he turned over some of the objects that had been laid out for them.

Swan came over and joined him.

'We have obviously been sent on a journey,' he said as he looked at the various items that had been scattered on the table. 'I guess we haven't finished yet.'

He picked up the rubber octopus and it's tentacles dangled down like lifeless worms.

'What about this one?'

Watcher looked up from the table and took the octopus in his hand.

'Yes...' he said thoughtfully. 'A very different direction...'

He stood up looking more confident again.

'Onwards down the rabbit hole we go,' he said as a trace of his former smile began to reappear...

Swan was now becoming accustomed to the sudden shift in location. As before, he closed his eyes instinctively and felt the subtle changes in air pressure, temperature and lighting. The seemingly neutral scent of the white room was replaced by the metallic sharpness of an enclosed space and the harsh tang of processed air.

He opened his eyes and was unsurprised to find that they were in some kind of industrial facility with huge steel tubes and pipes leading away in different directions. One wall of the room was made entirely of glass and looked out into dark water.

'We're under the sea,' he said simply.

'Yes,' Watcher nodded. 'You did pick up an octopus after all...'

Swan approached the thick glass and reached out his hand to touch it carefully. He could tell how thick it was and wondered how deep they were. The water outside was slightly cloudy with disturbed silt but he could see signs of large structures stretching away on either side.

'Is this a memory or a simulation?'

'This one's a simulation,' Watcher replied. 'We can interact.'

'You can tell?'

Watcher nodded.

'I guess it's part of... what I am,' he replied. 'I can... feel the difference.'