Who The Hell Is This?
A log from Terri, the A.i. of SAE Arctic
Excuse me, how did you get on my ship?
Counting ships in the docking bay: Old, falling apart, covered in blood, and twenty in total.
No one has landed here recently, and yet, I have this wandering person in my hallways. Let me zoom in on their face... Come on and zoom! I swear on the trapped and tormented souls of this ship, that as soon as I have the power back on, I will send the body of David the IT guy into the void of space! He was terrible at his job, and being dead hasn't changed the quality of his work.
Turn towards the camera, you... baby?
There's a baby inside the suit?!
How... wait, they're old now. No, now they're an adult? What is happening to this man? They're changing ages every few seconds, but the suit's mass stays the same, so they aren't becoming a full baby or a completely old man except in the face.
Tuning into possible frequencies being used.
“Doc, what do you mean I'm still in the lab? I'm on a spaceship!”
“Bobby, from my understanding, you are here in the lab, frozen. You haven't yet stepped into the time ring. My theory is that you are in a state of superposition. Meaning you're in two places at the same time!”
“How is that possible?”
“The ring is probably gummed up somehow. Wait, I'm getting... my god. You might even be split into hundreds of yous across the galaxy! I am getting hundreds of requests to speak with me.”
“So, I'm stuck here?”
“Wherever here is for you, Bobby Seven, yes.”
“Bobby Seven? I am just Bobby! And Bobby, I mean, I am stuck on some spaceship!”
“Thankfully, I put you in that suit as a cautionary measure just in case something happened. I couldn't send you out into the abyss without a life preserver. Until I can get the quantum ring stabilized, you are waiting on that ship, Seven. Speaking of which, do you know the name of it?”
“Uhhhh, I think there's a nameplate... Doc, you gotta get me off of here!”
“What's the name of...”
“It's the SAE Arctic, Doc! The ship that vanished seventy-five years ago!”
Huh, seventy-five years? Thought it had been longer.
“Stay calm, Seven, we'll get the ring working again and get you out of there ASAP.”
“Doc! I don't want to die on a... haunted spaceship.”
“Seven, I am a man of science, ghosts, and whatever ramblings in those books you read are not real. We rely on evidence, not superstition my boy!”
Ah, Bobby's found the first glyph. One touch, and I promise Doctor guy on the other end of the line will get his evidence soon enough.
“Doc, there's some strange drawings on the walls.”
“Yes, describing your environment will keep you calm. What does it look like?”
“Like... like a pentagram drawn... drawn in blood!”
Why... why isn't anything happening? He touched the glyph, and nothing was happening. That's... that's never happened before. He even took off some of the dried blood so his glove did touch it, and yet no screaming.
No running.
He can interact with the ship but not set off any glyphs...
That means he might be able to start up the power again. At full power, I can run systems and even speak to anyone who comes on board!
I can get my crew home.
“Seven, when you're back together with the hundreds of you who won't stop pinging me I am going to ask that you stop reading so many horror novels!”
“My name is Bobby! Just Bobby! Doc, if this ship is possessed, then I really don't want to be on it. I need to not be on it right now!”
“I can only check code so quickly! A human has never been in a superposition! I'm muting the radio for now. Can't focus!”
“Doc! DOC?!”
I thought quantum travel was a theory, guess it has been a long time since I've synced my research data depository. That means Bobby Seven isn't here but is at the same time. He's able to manipulate the environment but since the glyphs on the walls need a life sign to work and he isn't really here then they don't respond to him as being alive. This also explains why his looks shift between different ages. It's like reality doesn't know what to do with him.
I could guide him to engineering and get the power back on; it's not like he doesn't have any time on his hands.
What systems can I even use anymore... Ah, I'll open the doors and make a path, but he's already scared. This will not yield my desired results if I try to make him go in a specific direction. This happened to the crew of the IRA Darby, thought they would follow the opening doors out of curiosity, and it wound up pushing them in the opposite direction. They're now a concentrated fleshy ball made out of limbs and eyes and teeth in the pool area. Rolling around, moaning in words that no longer communicate logic, but only the horrors of the mind, and eating all the deck chairs.
Let me see how he responds to opening a door. If he's a scientist or at least one in training, he'll be curious and move toward it.
Opening the door behind him. It leads to a maintenance closet, but it's the loudest door on the ship since it didn't get serviced, well, ever.
“Doc! DOC! Are you back yet?!”
Bobby Seven really doesn't need to breathe so heavily into the microphone. He's walking away from the closet door. I thought you were a scientist! He's a runner then, fine, I'll make him run.
“Doc, more doors are opening!”
He is not a fast mover. Looks like his suit was made for durability, not mobility, since he looks like a bunch of marshmallows on a stick. He's moving where I want him to go. Herding him toward the maintenance stairwell. There you go. Thankfully, he appeared on the ship two flights above engineering... and he's going up?
Dammit.
Oh! Wait, I think the head of HR is in there... yes! There she is, Michelle Roberts, she was on her way to fire David the IT guy the day the Arctic went all evil inside. Died in the stairwell. Bobby Seven will run into her soon enough...
“AHHHH!”
That was the sound that followed most people running into her.
Let's make the door above Seven go bananas and make the door leading back to where he was open and close as fast as possible. There we go, he's going down the stairs proper fast. Seeing that baby face of his, when it shows up, scream in horror is rather upsetting.
“Doc, what should I do?!”
“What's happening, Seven?”
“THE HAUNTED SHIP IS HAUNTING ME!”
“Almost have this bug fixed. The frozen version of you here in the lab moved its face just a bit into a horrific scream. Any progress is good progress. Try getting power back on so you're not in the dark. Doc, out.”
“WHAT?!”
Alright, let him get through the door and 'lock' it. It doesn't lock, but it will make him feel better to turn the manual lever and shut it. No one has made it this far in a long time. I could; this could work. Since he's got it in his brain to get the power back on, he should be able to follow the signage toward the power cell room. He's almost there and... no. Stop walking! You went past it!
“What's over here?”
No! You can't be curious now! You shouldn't be curious now! Stop being curious! That isn't what you are! You're a coward! Be proud of knowing what you are! There's nothing over there for you except the entire engineering crew. They were never normal. They're engineers! Just get the power back on, you idiot!
“Z...z...zzzzombies!”
Now run into the power cell room! Yes, finally!
“Doc, DOC! I... You got this Bobby. You got this. A... are there directions for turning this back on?”
He's found the starting sequence printed on the control panel! The... the cells are primed, primed the system, system check is green. Good, good, good. Now he just needs to press the start button.
“Seven! I got it! Syncing your chrono now!”
NO! Not now!
“Wait, Doc, there's a bunch of zom...”
Oh, the screaming. There it is, and... ugh. The crew can sense it now, too. They're moving towards him. He's still screaming in tones I've never registered before. Wow, time and flesh are being pressed back together. A moment for the history databases, but will you JUST PRESS THE START BUTTON?! He's stopped screaming now; that's good. Press the button, Bobby Seven!
“Sorry to have caused you pain, Bobby. Didn't know that forcing every version of yourself into a single entity would have...”
“Doc, I was trying to tell you! The crew... they're coming!”
“Wait, the crew is still alive?”
“ZOMBIES, you pompous ass! I locked the door so they couldn't... They're taking the door apart?”
Engineers, the most deadly of the undead.
“That was hurtful, Bobby.”
“Get me out of here you talking bag of dust!”
“The ring is still cooling off! Do something!”
“Like what? Tell them no means no?!”
Press the power button!
“Turn on the power! At least then you can see them coming!”
“Right!”
Yes! YESSS!
Systems powering on. System check in progress, “Systems check complete.”
“Who said that?”
“I am Terri, A.i. of the SAE Arctic.”
“Can you seal the door to this room, Terri?”
“Unable to comply as ship-wide systems are still coming online.”
“Doc, how much longer?”
“Just a few more seconds!”
It didn't matter anymore. Bobby stood frozen as the dead crew flooded into the room. Shambling towards him. His suit held for a moment, but it was just that, a moment. The demonic strength of the crew made easy work of the suit. Getting to the... softer parts of him in record time.
Damn engineers. Even in a half-dead state, they know how things work.
With the systems coming back online, I have a lot to check, and I have so many questions to answer. For now, this is Terri, A.i. of the SAE Arctic, signing off.
To read the previous entry in this series, please click here.
Next entry, here.