Klunk
by Bill Bowler
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Table of Contents, parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
conclusion
We received the news in stunned silence and gathered by the landing pad to greet the newcomers.
The ship touched down, the hatch opened, and Colonel Oscar Bagrath, in combat fatigues, black boots and red beret, stepped out followed by a phalanx of heavily armed Red Blood Brigade anti-android militiamen.
Colonel Bagrath stood at the top of the ramp, looked around and saw the mix of android and human faces in the crowd surrounding the landing platform. A sneer seemed to form on his face, but it could just have been the shadows playing tricks.
Captain Pierson stepped forward. “Welcome to Alphane 3, Colonel. You can put down your weapons. We are at peace here and all are welcome.”
Colonel Bagrath motioned for his men to lower their weapons.
“Do you bring news of Earth?” Dearborn Wappinger called out from the crowd.
Caspar stepped up alongside Captain Pierson. “Hello, Oscar.”
“Klunk, what are you doing here with these droids?”
Bagrath took a closer look at Caspar. “What in God’s name happened to you?”
“It’s a long story, Colonel. It’s none of your business.”
“What did you say?!”
“Come down with your men, please,” said Captain Pierson. “We will organize accommodations for you. And then we can talk. We both have a lot of catching up to do.”
Colonel Bagrath and his militia disembarked and followed us into the tunnel. We gave them our quarters and we moved in temporarily with our android brothers and sisters. After the militiamen had rested and refreshed themselves, we all gathered in the meeting room of the Temple.
“We received your message while still on board the Seeker,” said Captain Pierson.
“Then you know the androids and collaborators declared war,” said Bagrath, “overwhelmed our forces, and took Earth. We commandeered a starship and fell back to the Moon to regroup. The android forces followed, stormed our stronghold, and we were forced to evacuate. There was nowhere to go. Our only hope was Alphane 3.”
“We’re glad you made it,” said Caspar. “Tell me another one.”
“What are your plans, Colonel?” asked Captain Pierson.
“Will you stay with us here,” Tanya asked, “join our community and help us build a new world?”
Bagrath laughed. “I think not. We have no intention of abandoning Earth to the droids. Far from it. They’ve won some battles, but the war is not over. We executed a tactical retreat. Corporal Klunk, you still serve in Red Blood Brigade and I am your commanding officer.”
Bagrath stood up and turned to us. “All able-bodied male colonists, human colonists, will be conscripted into the militia. That’s an order. We will arm ourselves, return to Earth and take back our home planet. We are few here, but humans on Earth are still a vast majority. They have no love for droids and will rally to our cause. We will prevail.”
The militiamen stood to attention and saluted their leader. “Hooah!”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. We stood speechless for what seemed like an eternity, looking to each other for a sign, looking into ourselves. Robby, BOT Twelve and Areal stood apart, impassive. It was impossible to know their thoughts.
Captain Pierson finally spoke. “Well, Colonel, you’ve given us a lot to think about. We’ll talk it over among ourselves.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Captain. I am senior officer here now. You report to me. Our first task will be refitting your machinery here for the manufacture of high-energy heavy weapons, long-range stun artillery and hypersonic EMP missiles and launchers. Any questions?”
No one said anything. The Colonel turned to his men. “Dismissed.” The militiamen jostled each other, laughing and joking as they went out. We rose to leave, as well, silent and somber.
“Captain, a moment, please.” Bagrath put his hand on Pierson’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t there be more of you... humans? Is this everyone?”
I butted in. “The original colonists didn’t make it, Colonel. They perished. We would have, too, if it wasn’t for our android friends.”
“And you are?”
“This is Rector Egon Mobius,” said Pierson. “He led the pilgrimage from Earth and founded the new colony here.”
“The Brigade could use a chaplain.”
“That’s most kind of you, Colonel.” A dull heaviness descended upon me and crushed my spirit. My heart sunk to its lowest point, though the worst was yet to come. “But what about our android friends?”
“They will be taken care of,” said Bagrath. He turned and left.
The pilgrims in the room all turned to me.
Dearborn spoke first. “Just what did he mean by that?”
“Let’s not read too much into it,” I said. “Let’s give them the benefit of a doubt.”
“No, Egon. They’re dangerous,” said Tanya, “like a snake in the grass. They can’t be trusted.”
“Let’s not overreact,” I said. “I’m sure they will listen to reason. This may all be an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
I was terribly discouraged but wanted to keep our people’s spirits up. It was no time to give in to despair. The situation seemed hopeless, but something had to be done.
“All of you should go now, to your quarters. Get a good night’s rest and we will meet again here at seven in the morning, just us, without Bagrath and the militia, to devise a plan.”
The congregation shuffled out, speaking quietly to each other. Robby, BOT Twelve, and Areal were the last to leave.
In the dead of night, after we had fallen asleep and the androids had entered sleep mode to recharge, Colonel Bagrath gathered his militiamen, equipped their weapons, moved out quietly, and opened fire. They went door to door, zapping every android they found. The destruction was indiscriminate. None were spared. The dormant androids, helpless while recharging, were fried on the spot.
I was awakened by the crackling sound of stun guns discharging their bolts of electricity and the smell of burnt plastic and charred metal wafting through the tunnel. I crept into the hallway and ran into Caspar. Down the corridor, a Red Blood Brigade militiaman kicked in a door with his heavy boot and dragged Areal by the hair out into the hallway.
“Good God!” I cried. “They’ve lost their minds! Caspar!”
But Caspar was no longer by my side. He flew down the hall like a bat out of Hell, and swept down on the militiaman from behind. He grabbed the man’s rifle, swung the butt against the side of his head, and kicked him behind the knee. The militiaman dropped to the floor, bloody and unconscious. In his fury, Caspar raised the man’s weapon and was about to smash his skull with the butt of the rifle.
“No, Caspar! No!!” I ran to him.
“Not so loud, Egon.” He lowered the weapon and helped Areal to her feet. By the grace of God, she was shaken but unharmed. “You two, follow me.”
We heard crackling, sizzling, cracking and snapping, sometimes nearby, sometimes in the distance, as we crept along the hallway. Acrid smoke hung in the air. We went from room to room, gathered Captain Pierson, Dearborn, Tanya, BOT Twelve, and Robby, and went together to the Temple.
“They’re animals!” said Dearborn. “We’ve got to do something!”
“They’re slaughtering everyone!” Tanya was weeping.
“But what can we do?” asked Areal. “They’re armed and we are not.”
“We have one rifle, at least,” said Captain Pierson, gesturing towards Caspar who still held the militiaman’s weapon.
“We need to use our brains,” said Caspar. “We can’t out-fight them, but we might outsmart them. I love it. I thought you would. We know the tunnel layout. They don’t. Maybe we can lay a trap, bag the rat, so to speak. Hahaha. That’s a good one.”
“What do you have in mind, Caspar?” I asked.
“We could lure them into a tunnel and seal it off.”
“We need a big tunnel,” said Pierson. “There are forty of them.”
“Tunnel C is high capacity,” said BOT Twelve. “It runs between maintenance and the silos. It’s L-shaped, designed to accommodate vehicle traffic, and has gates at both ends. The gates are solid slabs of reinforced titanium.”
“Big enough to hold forty militiamen?” asked Captain Pierson.
“Yes,” said BOT Twelve. “They can all stretch out and nap if they want.”
“Here’s how we’ll do it,” said Caspar.
Caspar’s plan was an act of desperation, but with a little luck, I thought, God willing, it just might work. And what choice did we have anyway? It was our only shot and we decided to take it.
“I’m going with you,” I said to Caspar.
“Out of the question.”
“There are two gates to seal, yes? It’s a two-man operation.”
“Rector,” said Captain Pierson, “let me do it. We can’t let you take the risk.”
“They won’t trust you, Captain. We need to bait the trap. I’m the last person they would suspect. That’s why it has to be me.”
There were no more objections. They knew I was right. Areal took my hand. “Be careful, Egon.” She turned to Caspar. “Don’t let anything happen to him.”
Caspar nodded. “Let’s go.” As we raced down the hall, Caspar said, “My quarters first, then yours. Time for a quick change.”
* * *
Colonel Bagrath stood with his men at the juncture of two tunnels, uncertain of which way to go. His stun gun was red hot and smoking. His fatigues were splattered with fluids. The hallway was littered with android heads and body parts. The smoke and stench of burned plastic and charred metal filled the air and stung our eyes.
“You ready, Egon?” Caspar asked. I nodded yes.
We ran up to Bagrath, Caspar in his Red Blood Brigade uniform, I in my vestments.
“Colonel!” Caspar spoke breathlessly.
Bagrath looked us up and down. Seeing Caspar in Red Blood Brigade uniform and an old fool in robes, he relaxed. “I see you’ve come to your senses.”
Caspar saluted. “Reporting for duty, sir! There’s a large group of droids hiding in Tunnel C.”
“You know the way?”
“Rector Mobius does.”
“Follow me, Colonel.”
“Lead the way, but stay out of it when we get there, Mobius. We’ll take care of them. All right, men. Move out!”
Bagrath and his men followed Caspar and me through the complex. We led them away from the Temple and living quarters, towards Tunnel C. We rounded a juncture and the entrance to Tunnel C yawned before us.
“That’s it,” I said.
“Draw your weapons, men!” ordered Bagrath. “Shoot to kill. No prisoners.”
When we reached the entrance, Bagrath turned to me. “Stay here, Rector. This is no job for an old man. Let’s go, Corporal.”
I remained at the entrance. Caspar ran forward with Colonel Bagrath and his men following close behind. When the last of them had turned the corner, I hit the switch, dropped the gate and sealed off the entrance.
I ran back to the Temple, not knowing if Caspar would make it. When I entered the main room, Dearborn ran up to me.
“What happened? Where’s Klunk?”
“Springing the trap.”
“What do we do now?” asked Tanya.
“We wait,” said Captain Pierson.
“And pray to God for mercy,” I added.
There were thirty androids left, including Robby, BOT Twelve and Areal. The rest had been stun-gunned or bludgeoned. And there were the twenty-five of us, pilgrims from the Seeker. All of us knelt and joined hands in silent prayer. I’m not sure the Lord has ever heard a mixed chorus quite like that one before.
After an agonizing wait, minutes that seemed like eternities, we heard footsteps in the hallway outside the Temple. I almost fainted from fear. Areal steadied me, and Caspar appeared at the door, sweating, disheveled, panting for air. All eyes were upon him.
“You made it!” cried Tanya.
“Nothing to it,” said Caspar. “No need to be modest. I ran like hell. Thanks to me. It’s true, my leg was gimpy. But my leg was strong. I took big hops, like a rabbit, pulled ahead of the militiamen, and made it to far end, the exit that leads to the silos. The gate was down but the hatch was open and I started through.
“The Colonel heard Egon drop the front gate and knew what was up. He dove and grabbed my ankle. Your ankle. My ankle. I started squirming, trying to shake him loose. His men were almost on me. I kicked him back with my foot. Gave him a good shot. The Colonel fell back on his ass. Haha.
“I squeezed through, slammed the hatch behind me, and dropped the bolt. I heard them shouting and firing their weapons, but they were stuck. The rats are in the bag.”
“It’s God’s will, Caspar. You have saved us again,” I said.
“We can’t hold them forever,” said Captain Pierson.
“They’re a pack of mad dogs,” said Tanya.
“If they get loose, they’ll kill us all!” said Dearborn.
“We must reason with them. They are God’s children, like us,” I said, and hoped no one could sense my sneaking doubt.
“I’m one of them. I served with them,” said Caspar. “We have to negotiate. No, we don’t. Let me talk with them. I don’t want to. I know Bagrath. I don’t. He may listen to reason. Fat chance.”
“Will you two stow it!” said Captain Pierson. “You’re like an old married couple. We have no choice. We have to talk to Bagrath. Let Caspar carry the ball.”
* * *
Colonel Bagrath was furious and ashamed to realize he had fallen for our trick. He knew they were trapped. It was a stalemate, and he agreed to talk. The Colonel remained adamant and made threats and impossible demands, but some of his men had had enough. A few even decided to stay and join us.
The hardcore led by the Colonel were too blinded by hate and could not bring themselves to accept integration. We confiscated their weapons and let them go. They blasted off to look for a new planet. I fear they thirst for vengeance and may return some day, but we’ll be ready for them. We have forgiven them, but we have not forgotten what they did.
Faced with the unrelenting harshness of Alphane 3 winters, and with grim thoughts of the inevitability of aging and death, after a great deal of discussion and soul-searching, some of the congregation took the same decision as the original colonists had made. Captain Pierson, Dearborn, Tanya and many of the others had their minds transferred into specially manufactured compatible android bodies.
I admit I’m torn. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m getting old. I like my silver beard. It makes me look rather distinguished and matches my gray robes. But my eyesight is poor and getting worse. I can’t hear a thing anymore. I have constant pain in my neck and lower back. My skin is dry and cracked. I itch all over. My memory is shot. I have to write everything down. And it’s downhill from here. I don’t want not to be. The thought is terrifying, forgive me Lord. But what to do?
Outside my window, the snowflakes fall, a solid curtain of swirling white, obscuring the mountains from view. The river is frozen to a solid block of immovable ice.
“Egon, I’ve bought you some tea.” Areal had come into the Temple library. She put the teacup down on my desk and touched my hand. “You’re cold. Here, put this on.” She draped a warm shawl over my shoulders and adjusted the pillow behind my back. “Is that better?”
“Yes, much better, dear. Thank you.”
Areal glanced over my shoulder at my screen and read these last words I had written, my complaints about aging and death, and not knowing what to do. She hugged me and said, “You’ll know what to do when the time comes. I’ll be with you, either way.”
I looked into her beautiful radiant face and her shining, crystal-clear eyes, and I filled with hope and love.
“Thank you, Areal. I believe I may already have made up my mind. But now I have work to do. I must begin my new chronicle for the coming year. It will be a record of struggle and redemption. But our present story is done.”
Copyright © 2021 by Bill Bowler
