In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 12

“Max, send a message to the planet below,” Richard Stryker commanded. “Let the Steward know that we’re ready.”

“Right,” the captain replied. He stared at the controls in front of him and frowned. “Andy didn’t tell us what frequency to use, did he?”

“I very much doubt it matters,” Sergeant Howell replied. “Something tells me that whoever watches over that planet is more than capable of detecting any signal that we might send.”

“Sounds good to me,” Captain Maxwell answered. He sent a message down to the planet below. A moment later an indicator light on the control panel lit up.

“Looks like we’re getting a response,” Richard replied. “Put it on the screen.”

The captain complied and a moment later the forward viewscreen showed a picture of a tall, elderly man wearing a red robe, tied around his waist with a white rope. When he saw the crew of the Sparrow he smiled. “It’s so good of you to contact me! I was wondering how long I would have to wait, but I understand that business is business. Might I have permission to come aboard?”

Captain Maxwell looked at Sergeant Howell, who shrugged. “Why not?” he replied.

“Thank you, sir,” the man replied. The screen went dark and a moment later the Steward appeared on the bridge of the Sparrow. “It’s so good to see all of you!” he said, smiling. He extended his hand to Richard and shook it vigorously. “You have no idea how good it is to finally meet you. We’ve been waiting such a long time.”

“So I’ve heard,” Richard replied.

“Excuse me, but I have a question,” Laura said. “I hope I’m not being rude but I was wondering why both you and Andy go around wearing robes. Is that the latest fashion? We’ve kind of been out of touch for a while.”

“Andy?” the Steward said, puzzled. “Oh, you mean the Artilect. Right. Actually, we Stewards have just copied the Artilect. I don’t know why he has chosen that mode of apparel. Clothing really isn’t my department, you know. But come to think of it, I can see my outfit doesn’t fit in with your period garments. Let me switch to something a bit more old-fashioned.”

In a soft flash of light the Steward’s appearance complete changed. He suddenly became a young man with blond hair and bright blue eyes, and wore bright red shorts, a tie-dyed t-shirt, and sandals. “There we go!” he said gleefully. “I feel like a new man.”

Richard grinned and started to say something, but his wife stopped him with a warning look. “You look just fine,” she said warmly. “Thank you.”

“I live to serve,” the Steward said grandly. “And please, call me Jack. There’s no need to be all formal. We’re all friends here, after all.”

“Do you have a last name?” Laura asked.

“I will once you name the glorious planet down below,” Jack replied. “In fact, let’s start there. What would you like to call it?”

“Doesn’t it already have a name?” Richard asked.

Jack shook his head. “It’s got an ID number but that’s not quite the same as a name. The Artilect – sorry, I mean Andy – felt that the honor of naming the planet should go to its first inhabitants, which just happens to be you.”

“Ah,” Richard replied. He looked at Captain Max, who shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there, Rick,” Max replied. “Naming planets is not in my line of duty.”

“I’ve got to agree with the captain there,” Jones said.

“Sergeant?” Richard asked.

He shrugged. “Sorry, sir. Perhaps your wife might have an idea.”

“I’m afraid not, dear,” Laura told her husband.

Richard sighed. “Well – hmmm. I guess that only leaves one option, doesn’t it?”

“Which is?” Jack asked.

Richard whistled. “Hey, Alex!”

The family dog, which had been sulking in a corner, walked over to Richard and looked up at him. “Yes?” he asked.

Richard got on his knees and pointed out the viewport at the beautiful planet they were orbiting. “Do you see that world out there, Alex?”

The dog shook his head yes.

“Well, that world is going to be our new home while we look for Amy and Amanda. Once we find them we’re going to live there together as a family. But before that happens I need your help.”

“You’re going to find them?” the dog asked.

“Of course,” Richard replied.

“But what if you don’t?” the dog asked sadly. “I want them back.”

“We will find them,” Richard said firmly. “I know you’re worried about them, Alex. I’m sure that the girls miss you terribly. But we have some work to do and it all starts in that world out there.”

“You said you needed my help?” the dog said curiously.

“That’s right,” Richard said. “The planet needs a name. What do you think the girls would have called it?”

The dog thought for a moment. “Quetzalli. I’m sure of it.”

Richard nodded. “I can see that.”

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that word,” Jack said. “Does it have a meaning?”

Captain Max nodded. “I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it. Even in our time it was an ancient word. A long time ago – and by that I mean before the Mayan civil war, so for you it would be a really long time ago – there was a bird that lived in South America called the ‘quetzal’. From the pictures I’ve seen it was a truly gorgeous bird. Legend tells that its beauty was only rivaled by its passion for freedom. Quetzalli came to mean ‘beautiful’ – which certainly describes that planet.”

“Then it is done!” Jack said. “For the rest of time the planet below will be known as Quetzalli. It shall be entered into the Archive of Planets.”

“The what?” Richard asked.

“We’ll get into that later,” Jack said. “Right now I need to get started on modifying the planet to suit your needs. It’s going to take a bit of time, you know – in fact, it could take a couple days, depending on the type of changes you need.”

“He’s got a point,” Captain Max said. “We can ask questions after we’ve got a place to live. I imagine your wife is about ready to get off this ship.”

“It’s nothing personal,” Laura said quickly. “I’m just not used to living on board a ship.”

“No apologies are needed, ma’am,” Jones replied. “Your girls have already explained the situation to us.”

“They did?” Laura asked. “When was this?”

“When I gave them the tour of the ship a few days ago,” Captain Max said. “They were just full of opinions, they were. I think they were expecting the Sparrow to be something more along the lines of a five-star hotel.”

“At least it’s not the Starfire,” Jones said. “I can only imagine what they’d think if they ever saw that wreck.”

“Getting back on topic,” Richard said, “exactly what are our options?”

Jack materialized a chair and sat down on it. After seeing everyone’s astonished reaction he looked at them, puzzled. “Is sitting down a violation of some cultural taboo of which I am unaware?” he asked.

“Oh no,” Captain Max replied. “No no no no no. Please, go right ahead. We’re just not used to seeing objects pop into existence from nowhere.”

Jack smiled. “Apparently the stone age from which you come is more primitive than I had imagined. No offense, Captain, but materialization technology is quite old. You’re going to have a lot to get used to. I’ll try to go easy on you.”

“I’m sure we’ll adapt quickly enough,” Richard replied. “You were about to tell us what our options were?”

“Quite so,” Jack agreed. “Ok. There are a lot of things I can do but there are some things I can’t. For instance, modifying the star is out. If you don’t like it you’ll just have to move to another planet.”

Richard laughed. “The star is fine, Jack. You can leave it alone.”

Sergeant Howell spoke up. “But just out of curiosity, is there anyone that could change the star?”

“Oh, of course,” Jack said. “I’m sure that Andy could do it, although I’ve never seen him try. But the Nehemiah probes do it all the time. It takes some time but in many cases it’s necessary in order to create a stable planetary ecosystem.”

“What are the Nehemiah probes?” Sergeant Howell replied.

“I thought we were going to wait to ask questions later,” Laura said.

“It’s ok,” Jack replied. “I know there’s a lot to get used to. The Nehemiah probes are named after their creator, Dr. Nehemiah Temilotzin. Of course he didn’t invent the probes all by himself, but he did lead the project and it was his work in theoretical physics that made them what they were. The final versions weren’t created until a century after his death but at that point they were just building on the foundation he had laid.”

“What did the probes do?” Richard asked.

“Terraformed planets,” Jones replied.

“Exactly,” Jack said. “At first the replicating probes only explored star systems. They came, they saw, and then they moved on. Terraformation was possible but it was a long, drawn-out process that couldn’t be done automatically. Nehemiah was the one who solved that problem. If it wasn’t for him the network would never have come to exist.”

“When did all this happen?” Richard asked.

“Just before the Artilect was built,” Jones replied.

“That’s true,” Jack replied. “But how do you know all of this?”

“It’s quite simple, sir. If it had happened after the Artilect was created you wouldn’t know about it. Once the Artilect was built there was no further contact between the network and mankind. Everything that you know predates the Artilect.”

“You’re a smart man,” Jack said. “I like that.”

“So you can’t change the chemistry of a star,” Richard replied. “That sounds reasonable enough. But what can you do?”

“I can do pretty much anything you like to the planet,” Jack said. “I can change it size, gravity, orbital position, weather, continents – you name it and I’ll make it happen. I can add satellites or take them away, I can change the ecosystem, and so forth. Just tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”

“What about building a place for us to live?” Laura asked.

“Oh that’s the easy part,” Jack said. “But that needs to come last. First I want to customize the planet to suit your needs. Then I can build cities and infrastructure and so forth.”

“And how long will that take?” Laura said.

“Modifying the planet can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the extent of the changes. Building the cities, though, will just take a few hours.”

“Oh,” Laura said. She looked at her husband. “Don’t you think the planet is fine the way it is?” she asked.

Sergeant Howell spoke up. “If it’s all the same to you, ma’am, I’d like to see the Steward work his magic.”

“I have waited a very long time to do this,” Jack said. “You are the first customers we’ve ever had! I’m really quite excited about this.”

“But I’ve never done this sort of thing before,” Laura said. “I don’t even know what to ask for.”

“I know what the girls would want,” Alex said. “They’d want a planet just like home, only with better weather. And more beaches.”

“He’s got a good point,” Richard replied.

“Keep in mind this decision isn’t going to be set in stone,” Jack said. “If you change your mind I can always redo my work. This isn’t a limited-time offer.”

“That’s good to know,” Richard replied.

“But isn’t it expensive to do this?” Laura asked.

“What do you mean by expensive?” Jack asked. “In the network things don’t have a cost. If you want something we’ll just get it for you.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Laura replied. “How can there not be a cost?”

“Look at it this way,” Jones said. “The purpose of cost is to efficiently distribute scarce resources. However, the Artilect has created a society where there are no scarce resources. The only price you must pay is the time it takes for a Steward to create it for you.”

“If you say so,” Laura said.

Jack rubbed his hands together. “Very good! So you want a planet that’s just like Mars but with better weather, eh? What, exactly, do you mean by ‘better weather’? Do you want the entire planet to be temperate all of the time? Should there be seasons or would you prefer an eternal summer?”

“No, they’d want weather more like Earth,” Richard said. “Sunshine, snow, blue sky, and lots of oxygen.”

“And rain,” Laura added. “The girls always did love the rain.”

“I think that was just Amanda,” Richard said. “Amy hated the rain.”

“What about life forms?” Jack asked. “You know – plants, animals, that type of thing?”

“Well, all Martian life originally came from Earth,” Richard said. “In fact, I think the same can be said for all of the colonies.”

“It sounds like you want the planet to be just like Earth except for its size and physical features. Those you want to look just like Mars. Am I correct?” Jack asked.

“I guess that about sums it up,” Richard said. “What do the rest of you think?”

“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Captain Max said.

“Nor me,” Jones agreed.

“You’re the boss,” Sergeant Howell said. “I can be happy anywhere.”

“Then let’s do it,” Richard said.

“Very good,” Jack replied, standing up. “I’ll get started. Given the extent of the changes it will probably take three or four days to finish. While I’m working you can continue to orbit the planet and watch, if you’d like – just don’t try to land. Once it’s done I will let you look the planet over to make sure it’s what you wanted. When you’re satisfied with it we’ll start building the cities.” He smiled. “It’s so good to have colonists at last! I am so glad you’re here. Is there anything else I can do?”

Richard looked at Captain Max. “How are we doing on supplies?”

Captain Max shrugged. “We’ve got enough to last us for six months, Richard. We’re fine.”

“Then I guess we’re good,” Richard said.

“I do have one final question,” Sergeant Howell said. “Did you have this ability to terraform worlds when the Artilect was first built?”

Jack shook his head. “Oh, no! I didn’t even exist back then. When Andy was first built all he could do was categorize the worlds the Nehemiah probes were terraforming and keep an eye on them. But as time went on his abilities have grown and now all sorts of things are possible. He’s really put effort into making sure he could meet the needs of whatever colonists came his way.”

“Thanks,” Sergeant Howell replied.

“If you need me for anything else don’t hesitate to ask,” Jack said. “I’ll see you later!” With that he disappeared in a soft flash of white light.

Captain Max looked at Sergeant Howell. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

Sergeant Howell nodded. “The last time mankind had contact with the Artilect all it governed were a bunch of empty planets. I’m not at all surprised that no one cared about empty planets – mankind had enough problems of its own to worry about. That’s why no one ever got back in touch with the Artilect. I don’t think anyone ever guessed what the Artilect would become.”

“So you don’t think anyone knows about the Stewards,” Richard said.

Sergeant Howell shook his head. “I think after a couple centuries mankind forget about the Artilect, the Nehemiah probes, and the whole lot of it. But if they ever found out what awesome power the network was offering to anyone who came along and wanted it–”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Richard said.