Chapter 01

Ready

About an hour after Saturday’s breakfast I’m ready for my next trip to Chaos. I’m a bit nervous because there’s been so many changes in the last two weeks. The five new portals are ready and set up in the vault area Small and Little built in my ‘Work’ section of the main house. All of the workers are confused by the set of vaults. They’re six high security rooms like walk in bank vaults. Each is ten feet on a side with the entrance secured by a vault door. Only one is set up with shelves for the secure storage of valuables. They open off a fifty foot by thirty foot room just like them, but with two more vault doors: one opens to my office and the other is an external exit which only opens from the inside. All of the doors need codes to open them for entry and exit. All of the rooms and doors are monitored from a security centre. Five have portals in them. Both Joe and I will use my new portals because they provide good security against external trouble from the Brotherhood and their friends.

Sharon found a Chinese couple in their late twenties who want to get away from modern life. Lin grew up on a farm in a remote province of China. Zhu grew up working in his father’s construction business in the same province. They were relocated as government adult forced labour. A few years later they ended up as domestic servants in Hong Kong after its return to China. When the family they worked for left China they took their servants with them in order to delay the report of their unapproved departure. After arriving in the US, almost two years earlier, the couple got married. She knows all about growing and harvesting rice while he knows all about using bamboo for making furniture and construction. Both know how to cook rice in a wide range of recipes.

Bridget found two staff members who want to opt out of modern life. Warren grew up on a horse ranch so he knows how to breed and train horses. Carla is a student of history with an interest in the use of horses in the military and cavalry tactics. They also want to get married.

Frank sent up initial breeding stock for me: two stallions - Gaza and Nek; and four mares - Beersheba, Megiddo, Rafa, and Romani; so I pay the company for them. Having a good trainer and a tactician I want good horses too. The horses’ names let me know Frank has a romantic streak in him because they’re all named after places where the Australian Light Horse fought in the First World War, many of the ALH rode Walers.

I inform the four transferees of the dangers and they still want to go. They’ve been training in the basics of Chaos style warfare. Bridget isn’t ready for Chaos yet, but Kira wants to see what it’s like. Her sword skills are much improved. I’d like to take Tora, but an oriental as my sidekick will stand out too much and it’ll increase the dangers of detection by the enemy because she’s very visible while I can keep the Chinese couple in the background and out of sight until I get them to Grassy Meadows.

All of the gear is checked for unapproved materials and is ready. The horses have their tack and full saddlebags, including bamboo armoured horse blankets. All travellers have basic clothing with bamboo armour and backpacks of gear. I’ve a new set of armour since I’ve been putting on some muscle. My set on Chaos can be given to someone else. I’m taking a lot of plants, wooden mallets, quality hemp rope, denim cloth, high carbon sand, plastic dish-ware, and six machined wooden tubes for the telescopes: each of them is three tubes that slide inside each other to make a smaller package to carry. All will be very useful to me on Chaos.

I make a last check of everyone waiting in the main vault area because there’s not enough room in the portal vault. We form up in a continuous chain of contact with each of us having an arm over the neck of the horse we’re leading and those behind have a good hold on the tail of the horse in front with their hand resting on that horse’s rump. Sharon will lock the vault behind us. I smile at her as I approach the portal since I can’t think of anything else I should do before we get started.

Crossroads

Arriving in the earth portal room of my quarters at Crossroads I find Merry holding open a new door to a stable. With a large grin I lead my horse, Gaza, through the door. I wonder how they knew I’d need a stable. Looking back I see Kira with the next horse and Warren behind her with his mare halfway through the portal. A few minutes later all of the horses are comfortable. Their tack and packs are on tables set on the other side of the stable. Merry leads us through another door and into the main lounge of my Hero’s suite.

Entering the lounge I smile while I watch the display change to show Mac is present as well as Jeeves. Merry is quick to organise drinks and snacks while I introduce everyone to her: Lin, Zhu, Kira, Warren, and Carla. I explain everyone’s role and skills when I introduce them. Very soon we’re all chatting while we have a drink and eat a snack.

A little later Merry and I leave. While we get reacquainted the others stay to study a program about Chaos society and its rules. A few hours later we re-join them for a late lunch. We take a long time over lunch as Merry and I answer questions about Chaos while we expand on what they’ve seen in the program. Following lunch Merry takes them into the training room to evaluate their skills with sword, knife, crossbow, and bow while I have a private talk with Mac at his request.

I’m more than a bit worried when I enter what I call the Data Centre. I call it that because it has several computer consoles in it.

A Special Request

I sit down at the centre computer console of five units and lounge in the chair. Mac says, “Al, I’ve got a very difficult rescue I’d like you to look at and consider for me. All of the other Heroes have examined this task and refused it because they can’t see a way to effect a rescue!” This has me sitting up straight as fast as a whip. “Sid Jones was most upset at having to refuse it, so were Malcolm Chandler, Cameron Richards, and a dozen other top Heroes. It breaks them up to refuse, but they can’t see any way of making a rescue work.”

“Damn! What makes it so difficult? With all of their experience what makes you think I can do this?”

“Al, I’m not sure you can but you’ve a few skills they don’t, due to your ninja training. Also, while they all think ‘outside the box’ you think outside the packing room containing the box. It’s my hope you can see or think of something that no one else has.” Stunned, I simply ask him to continue. “We’ve had a Damsel captured by a Dragon every now and then, but in the last six weeks there have been seven Damsels taken prisoner by the same group of Dragons. Their danger isn’t critical yet, but if no one can effect a rescue they will die in about eight weeks. The Dragons take people as a source of fresh food for their young for when the young hatch out of their eggs. That’s eight weeks away.”

“OK, I can see the concern. Since we’re talking eight weeks of Chaos time it’ll be ancient history by my next trip. What’s so difficult with it?”

“The main problem, Al, is Dragons are a protected species. Any plan calling for the killing or harming of Dragons is vetoed by the safety overrides and the Hero isn’t allowed to go on the mission. Add in the physical size and capabilities of Dragons and you can see why the others see it as a fancy way to commit suicide. I checked the records, and there’s no record of a Hero ever saving a Damsel from a Dragon!”

I slump back in the chair while I digest this. Something about this does not feel right to me. I’ve no idea why, but it just feels off kilter. I look up when Mac puts a picture of a Dragon on the computer screen in front of me. I gasp while I stare at an image of a huge green scaly monster that’s a weird cross between an elephant and a crocodile with two sets of wing pairs. A list of figures at the side of the image shows an average adult is twenty-seven feet long from nose to tail. It can lift its front half off the ground up to twelve feet. It’s ten feet wide with a wingspan of thirty feet and a weight of about a thousand pounds.

My first thought upon looking at the data is, That can’t be true. The figures don’t fly. I’m in shock while I stare at the monstrous image, and I can understand why the others feel the task is beyond their abilities. How do you deal with a monster like that without killing it? I plan to stay silent while I think on this, but I hear myself say, “It can’t fly!”

Mac replies, “All our record reports say it does fly.”

Having voiced what my subconscious is telling me I realise it’s right, and declare, “Mac, that bloody thing can’t fly!! It’s not physically possible for it to fly. Something is not right here.” Mac starts to speak. I cut him off, “Mac, activate a program on aerodynamics. Work out the wing size needed to provide the lift for that weight on Chaos. Then tell me what you think. Without a rocket up its arse it can’t get into the air!”

A few minutes silence, then, “Al, you’re right. It would need ten times the stated wing area to get enough lift. Also, I doubt the muscles and wings would be strong enough. Why didn’t I see that before?”

“Don’t worry, Mac. You have to assume all of the data entered has been checked and verified. Otherwise you’d spend all of your time checking fine details that have already been checked. I probably wouldn’t have noticed, except I’ve recently been learning how to use a hang-glider. I had to calculate lift and load capabilities to ensure I didn’t overload the wing I wanted to use. Even then it was my subconscious that did the figures and said it wouldn’t lift that load with that size wingspan.”

Sighing, I lean in to have a closer look at the photo. “Mac, can you do a scan of this image to see if the pixel size and amount of data per pixel is the same across the whole image?”

“Yes, I can.” A slight pause. “The amount of data per pixel varies a lot. What does that mean? I’ve not seen that before.”

“Aha. Things are a bit clearer now, Mac. On Earth we have a term ‘Photoshopped,’ this is derived from a software program used to adjust and repair images. If you alter an image to add something that doesn’t belong in it it’s been Photoshopped. This photo’s been altered. Check your databases for information and procedures relating to computer forensics and image manipulation. Then see if you can work out what’s been changed and change them back. Hand that over to another AI to deal with if you can, since it’ll take some time to give it a close look.” I smile when Mac acknowledges my orders. “OK, let’s see if we can find the truth about this Dragon. Move that image to the left-hand screen and place all you know about Dragons on the screen beside it.” The image is moved to the screen on my left, the one between the picture and the central screen now shows the very little information about Dragons they have. The basics we have, the image, the date it was declared protected, but nothing on habitats or habits. This lack just adds to my suspicions.

“Al, I can’t believe we have so little data on this animal. All of my other files on protected animals have a lot of data on their eating and mating habits with maps of where they live. But almost nothing is here.”

“Mac, do you have an idea of how long ago you think people started messing with the databases? If so, double that and search for an old archive of back up data from that time. Access the old data and check it against what you’ve got now. Your current databases should have more, but they should also include all of that old data. Then check the updates.”

“Al, we do have a date we believe is correct. To go back as far you ask we’ll have go back about four levels of technology. It’ll cost a lot to recreate the systems needed to read and transfer the data. I’m not sure I can get that approved by those in charge of the funds.”

“Mac, would that be dearer or cheaper than having to go back to the source data and recreating all of your databases?”

“Point taken. The Administrators aren’t happy, but they’re doing it.”

“Good, let’s see if we can get a better handle on these Dragons. I gather there is such an animal on Chaos!” This is an angry statement.

“Yes. It’s not like either of the Dragons of Earth folklore, but it fits close enough and it’s on Chaos. That’s confirmed. I’m surprised I don’t have a live recording of them. I’ve checked my systems and found there are two satellites not recording images in their areas. The Damsels are located in one of these areas. I’ve lodged a repair order for the satellites and I moved a spare to get me some live recordings of the rescue area.”

“OK, that gets more data for later. In the meantime, let’s see what we can find. I want you to create a list of every type of living thing on Chaos. Once that’s done you can filter out the following: plants that don’t pull up roots and move; water creatures that can’t breathe the air; anything less than a dog in size; any known domesticated animal that’s seen in a town, farm, or city every day; anything that has only two limbs other than wings unless the wings have hands on them; and anything that’s a herbivore for all of its life. That should cut out a lot of the chaff. We can look for the wheat in what’s left.”

“You don’t want much, do you! Go practice with your sword. This will take some time to get sorted.” I spend the rest of the afternoon in sword fights with the others. The evening meal is a nice set of selections from the menu Jeeves provides.

As we finish the meal Mac says, “Al, it’s taken some time and work, but I’ve got that list sorted for you. There’s five hundred and twenty-seven items on it. I’ve listed them from the biggest to the smallest. The list is on the centre computer console for you to view. I scanned it and I couldn’t spot anything useful to our search. What are you looking for?”