What Time Is It
The clock is ticking on Sara’s bed when “Malfunctioning”suddenly appears on the display.
This blinks off and on along with a buzzer sounding from the unit for a few minutes.
There was no response, so the machine goes into automatic re-animate mode. And flashes “Auto Awakening Engaged”.
The lights go on and one can hear air hissing in the room and inside of the Sara’s chamber.
This goes on for fifteen minutes or so and then just as suddenly as it had started the bonnet opens much the same as a door opening.
Sara draws a deep breath and then sits up coughing trying to get her breath. She falls back onto the bed.
Sara opens her eyes and finds she can’t see, everything is a blur, everything looks like looking through thick, thick pane of glass. She then tries to lie on her side and finds that she is very stiff and noticing that it is extremely difficult to move yet she is soon able to roll over.
She moves her hand and finds that too to be difficult. She reaches her eye with her hand and begins to rub, she then tries to utter some words and finds she cannot. She tries to swallow and finds no saliva in her throat.
She opens her eyes again and this time she can see out of the one a bit better and can make out that Alex’s unit is still closed. She feels alone for all she can see in the dimly lit room is a dusty haze and no other sign of life.
She decides to lie back and try to get herself together and does so for some time.
After awhile feeling stronger, she again tries moving and finds that this time it is a lot easier, seeing better now and tries to get out of her chamber.
She stumbles and almost falls once or twice yet finally finds herself standing next to her chamber, with its help. She moves toward Alex’s unit, to see if she can find out if she can wake him, finding his chamber operating, with no sign of opening, anytime soon.
Leaning on his chamber she manages to make her way to the front of the unit and finds its controls. She finds the emergency re-animate button and then presses it. Up pops a message on the screen, it asks, ‘Are You Sure You Want To Do This Action, Yes No’ She touches the yes side and the machine starts up and soon she can hear hissing coming from within his chamber.
A few minutes go by and she finds that she can almost stand on her own. Her eyes are getting clearer and she manages to notice the water purifier just below the jugs of water she had seen before going under.
The machine buzzes and the bonnet opens and reveals Alex still sleeping. Then suddenly his eyes open and he starts to cough and gasps for air. She tries to talk and is only able to whisper, “Alex, wake up.”
He tries to answer her but finds that he cannot talk, or see her.
Sara walks over to where she had seen the water purifier and looks for a way to get herself and Alex a drink.
She finds a small lever on the end of a nozzle and turns it. Out comes what appears to be liquid rust. She lets it run and it eventually it clears up. She presses her dry lips to it and begins to swallow.
It hurts at first, but she soon finds that as the water wets her throat it begins to get easier to swallow. The water tastes tinny but she is so thirsty she cares not. She also splashes water on her face and in her eyes. After she has had her fill, she then goes back to see how Alex is doing. She finds him lying on his side still trying to talk.
“Alex,” she notices it is much easier to talk now, “you’ve got to get up,” she says this as she reaches down and helps him out of the chamber.
She helps him stumble over to the water purifier and shows him where to drink. As he is filling his thrust she looks around. She finds that there are no lights on, outside of the chamber. She walks over to the door and attempts to open it. The door knob won’t turn. She looks beside the door next to the knob and notices a key pad.
“Alex do you know the password?”
Alex, now standing upright, looking at her he attempts to look at what it is she is looking at, but his eyes still won’t focus. “It’s really simple,” he whispers in a hoarse voice, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.”
Sara presses the keys and the door buzzes. The lights go on, on the other side of the door as she opens it. With ease the door knob turns and the door opens, air rushes past her, she steps out of the outer room and begins to cough in the stagnant air, she is now breathing.
She can hear the fans starting and can tell that the ventilation will clean the air. So she steps back into the chamber room and closes the door, in order to give the ventilation enough time to clean the air.
She looks at Alex and asks, “What is going on?”
Alex shakes his head and replies, “I wish I could give you an answer,” his voice a bit clearer now.
She goes and helps Alex so he can walk to the windows so that they can both look out and see if they can see something, or someone, anything to tell them what is going on.
Sara, “It looks old and dusty. Like there hasn’t been anyone in there for years.”
Alex now has enough strength to walk on his own and is now able to see better says, “I don’t like the looks of things. This isn’t right. I mean I did say to you that we’d wake up, but as for this, well …” he coughs.
They both stand looking for a time as their strength grows, so does their curiosity.
Sara, “The air purifier has been on for about 20 minutes, the air should be breathable.” She no sooner finishes saying this, opens the door and then steps out.
This time she doesn’t begin to cough, so she steps away from the door and toward the elevator. She arrives there and presses the button, nothing happens.
“Alex the elevators don’t work.”
He walks up to her and looks down and notices that the main switch is off. “I’ll go find the key and you take a break. You’re not looking so good.” He notices how white her skin is and she looks at him and says, “You don’t look like a bill of health yourself.”
Alex laughs as he enters the chamber room and walks out with his pass cards and keys. He walks over to the elevator and puts his key in and then turns it. The light, lights up on the up and down buttons.
Sara reaches over and presses the up button.
Soon one could hear the hum of the motors and something moving behind the elevator doors.
The doors swing open and the two of them step in. Sara presses the up button inside and the doors close as the elevator begins its ascent.
Third floor … Second Floor … then suddenly the elevator stops.
Alex presses the up button and the elevator goes down then opens on the second floor.
Sara sees what appears to be a large room full of offices, cubicles. Desks with their computer stations some of them with their blinking little lights still on, as though they were waiting for their owner to arrive soon.
Alex, “The stairs are this way,” he motions and starts to walk.
Sara follows him like a lost puppy, unsure of just where to go.
Alex opens the door marked staircase and steps through, Sara is right behind him. They walk up the one remaining flight to another door. It swings open on a floor in a wide open area.
They step through the doorway and gaze at the well lit room and see debris scattered all over the floor and dust over the debris and everything else.
Sara notices a figure sitting in the chair at the guards station, “Mike, is that you?” she hollers as she walks past Alex at a quick paces toward the desk. She arrives at the desk and reaches over to grab the guards shoulder and then turns him around to be greeted by a grizzle sight a skeleton were there should be the face of a man.
“Aaaaaaah!” she screams. She gathers herself enough to look at its ID and sees ‘MIKE’ in bold letters.
She falls to her knees, face in hands crying.
Alex reaches her and kneels down beside her, “Sara, you’ve got to pick yourself up and we’ll get through this.”
“Alex, what’s going on? What happened?”
“Those are two very good questions. All I can say right now is I don’t know for sure.”
“What is it that you’re not sure about?”
“Well, I think there must have been an earthquake or something, a big one by the looks of things. And we may have been buried and forgotten.” He says this looking in the direction of his car and sees that the ceiling has caved in on the parking lot, making that way in and out blocked for good.
“If that’s the case, what do we do?”
“There was more than just one hole cut into this mountain and I have a good idea where I can find out where it might be. I think the best way is to go back to that computer room and it may give us a schematic, or a layout of the place.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I’m not, but what other way do we have at this time?”
“I guess you’re right. I can’t stop thinking about Mike and his family. They must miss him,” she pauses for awhile and then asks, “Do those beds have how long we were asleep on them?”
“Better then that, they’ve got the current date and the date they placed us under. Why?”
“Are you sure this is only six months later?”
“I imagine they most likely set the timers, to make sure that they’d work.”
“I’ll go check there and you find out about the computers,” says Sara as she leaves for the elevator, seeing how they were on the second floor now.
Alex finds a terminal on and the monitor still working, he types in a request for a layout of the place and finds that, that information to be restricted. He wonders if his password would give him access. He types it in.
The computer buzzes for awhile and then a full drawing of the place appears on the screen. He then presses print screen on the keyboard and another machine not far from him starts to hum.
Alex walks over to the machine and notes that he has to wait for the machine to warm up. So he stands there and waits.
Sara gets to the chamber and walks over to the closest unit and notices the word malfunction blinking on her display. She scans the buttons with her eyes hoping to find a button that might help her to determine what button does what, namely the date.
She then notices a button partly faded due to the dust on it stating date. She presses it and then looks back at the display. Noting the number on the display it burns into her brain, she stubbles backward and sits down in the other unit.
Shaking off the feeling of shock she thinks she read it wrong or she pressed the wrong button, so she goes to the second chamber and looks at its display. On this unit she doesn’t have to press any buttons, it reads ‘2374.07.29’
She looks for the “set” button and presses it 2047.08.19
She then presses the button that says “time end” and another number appears ‘326.10.21apx’
She walks back over to the area she was just sitting in and sits back down.
A few minutes later Alex walks in with a smile on his face, but when he sees her face all white as if she had seen a ghost, all his happiness disappears. He asks her, “What is the matter?”
Sara turns and looks at him and says, Look at the display on this bed.
Alex looks and says “There has got to be something wrong with this, we couldn’t have gone back in time.”
Sara looks at him and says, “No stupid that isn’t the date,” after saying this she stands up and presses the date button.
Alex looks and says nothing, but goes almost completely white as he falls back on his behind.
He looks up at Sara now standing over him and asks, “How many years was that?”
Sara, “That was more than 326 years.”
Alex, “That’s why I had to print this out ten times; I had to find a good piece of paper. Even this isn’t all that good. Look at how dim it is,” he is still in shock as he says this and then comes out of it.
“Over 300 years. Sara, I didn’t know.”
“Alex, how could you. This wasn’t planned, of that I’m sure. It just happened and now we have to see if there is another way out. Does the map show a way out?”
“Yes, it shows two other ways aside from the parking lot.”
“Did you find your car?”
“No, it was buried under a ton of rock, but if we go up to the guard area and head to the left instead of the right, we should be able to get to a large storage area that has an opening outside.”
Sara, “Okay, then let’s see if we can go that way.”
They both head back to the elevator up to the second floor and then up the stairs into the guard area, they turn left and come to another door, locked. Alex finds out that his card or keys won’t work, after trying to open it.
Sara, “What’s the matter?”
“Doors locked.”
“Smash it in, or something.”
Alex looks at her and then thinks well it’s been over 300 years. So he takes a couple of steps back and throws himself at the door.
Alex bounces off just as if he were made of rubber, then falls to the floor holding his shoulder.
Alex, “Even after 300 years, it’s still got my respect.”
Sara, smiles as she sees him on the floor, in pain and yet is still able to say what he just said.
“If you’ve enjoyed the show, maybe you can now go over to the front desk and see if you can find a card or keys.”
Sara looks at the desk and starts to tear up.
Alex sees this and as he is getting up says, “I’ll look and you see if you can clean up the keypad so I can see the numbers and letters better.”
Sara, “Thank you, I’ll do that.”
Alex walks over to the desk and walks around behind it and starts to look around. He glances at the key ring hanging from the side of Mike’s pants on his belt. So he reaches over and grabs it. He then decides to start looking in his pockets for the cards.
He finds a card holder in his right pocket and pulls it out and sees three cards in it. He then stands up straight and looks at Sara. “Mike had them all along.”
Sara smiles, knowing that Alex was doing his best to make light of the whole thing, knowing how she felt for the guy.
Alex walks around the desk and heads back for the door. Upon getting there he starts trying the different cards, none of which works.
“The magnetic strips must be no longer any good, or the card lock has no power.”
Sara, “Try the keys.”
Alex doesn’t say anything just does what she asks and tries about four of the keys out of seventeen and then the fifth one turns the lock. “We’re in,” he exclaims as he opens the door into darkness.
Alex, “There must be a light switch here somewhere,” he says as he reaches further and further around the corner. Then finally, “Found them!”
Sara hears a number of clicks as Alex turn on the entire panel of switches.
The room slowly begins to light up. At first one can hardly tell the lights were even on, but slowly they begin glowing brighter and brighter, until finally one could start to make out different shapes.
At first, one can only see shadows of what appeared to be indiscernible objects. As the light gets brighter one could see that these objects were the machines that were going to be used on the new planet.
Once it was light enough in the room one could tell that a few lights were not going to work. For what reason one could only guess, they may have been burned out long ago, or over time they just stopped working. They could see the vehicles plainly now.
The closest one was a four wheel, it looks like a dune buggy, but it wasn’t going anywhere the rubber tires were so badly broken down all one had to do to remove them was pick it off. The rubber had rotted almost completely off of the rims.
The second vehicle was shaped like a van, it too had wheels falling off.
The best way to describe the third one was it looked more like an armoured motorhome, with three satellite dishes on its roof. Two of the dishes were rather big and on their backs and the third little one was more rectangular shaped and remained upright.
The top also had two machine gun tripods, with a black metal rod coming out were the guns belonged.
Alex gets a little closer and finds that this machine has no wheels, but rather tank like tracks, with the exception of the front, having two rubber looking tires. But they weren’t flat, or rotting. He gets up next to them and notices that they are not made of rubber, but rather a substance that closely resembles a kind of plastic. This was one of the substances that were replacing rare materials like rubber. Rubber and oil are, to name a few items, are hard to come by, so scientists had been experimenting with new composites to replace rubber. Alex believes this is what they’d come up with.
“I think this one is going to work,” says Alex as he looks for a way inside.
Sara walks along beside him and asks, “Work for what?”
“Work as a means of transportation.”
“To where?”
“Anywhere but here,” he answers somewhat grumpily.
“Is there something wrong with me?”
Alex looks at her bewildered and then realizes what and how he had just answered her so says, “There isn’t anything wrong with you. I just feel we might stand a better chance out there in this, rather than by walking.”
“I’m sorry for being so snappy; it’s just that we’ve missed it all. Mary getting married and finding a lifelong partner. You know, me getting married to the right guy.”
Alex looks at her with a heavy heart and says, “I’m sure you’ll find him and then the two of you can go far, far away from me.”
Sara, looks at him and then realizes what she had just said, “I meant that we could be alone and if we go away from here, how are we going to survive and how do you know that there isn’t someone coming to find us.”
Alex hears what she just said and is not quite sure as to what to say, without upsetting her so says nothing.
The two of them load the motor home, for lack of a better word, with everything they can find. The food in the chamber, the water purifier and packages marked seeds.
They find a small freezer that they move into the motor home. It’s marked ‘Frozen Embryo’s/Live Stock’.
Alex sits down in the captains’ chair at the front of the motor home and the front panel in front of him lights up and he hears a voice.
“Good afternoon sir. How may I help you today?”
Alex almost jumps out of his seat, “Who’s there?”
“This is the computer of this mobile exploration unit. How can I help you today sir?”
“This machine has artificial intelligence?”
“That is correct. How may I help you today sir?”
“Sweet,” exclaims Alex.
“I am not sure what it is you would like that is sweet, sir.”
Alex laughs and is looking around the dashboard when Sara walks up, “Who are you talking too?”
Alex looks at her with a big smile and says, “The motorhome.”
“Are you nuts? And I suppose it’s talking back too,” she replies in a huffy voice.
“As a matter of fact, say something machine.”
Alex waits and there is no response.
“Alex, grow up,” says Sara as she walks away, to get more supplies.
Alex looks on the dashboard and then says, “What are you?”
“I am an automated computer that can do most things a driver can do and more. I have sensors that allow me to scan up to eighty kilometers in any direction. I maintain life support and can be used in a battle, for defense.”
Alex, “What should I call you?”
“They called me M.I.C 101, short for mobile intelligent cruiser 101.”
“Why 101?”
“There were 10 different designs before this unit and the 1 is for being the first unit, of this design.”
Alex, “Can you scan, beyond the cave walls and tell me what is out there?”
“This units power supply is too low for anything else, but communications.”
“Tell me how to get you to full power.”
“In the rear compartment, outside, is a small compartment. Inside is a power cord that will plug into the wall outlet.”
Alex gets out of the chair and out of the motor home then he heads to the rear and finds a small door. He presses it and it then opens. He reaches inside and finds the cord that MIC 101 had just described and pulls it out.
He then looks for the plug on the wall that matches this unusual male end. He soon sees it and begins walking toward it, but is stopped short. He tugs it and looks inside and finds that all of the cord has unwound.
He places the cord down and walks back to the front of the motor home then stepping in asks, “Is there enough power in the vehicle to back up?”
“I am sorry, this unit’s power supply is too low, for anything aside from communications.”
Alex steps back down and then notices Sara coming in with another load of food stuffs. “Sara, could you put that down and give me a hand pushing this thing back toward the wall?”
Sara looks at the vehicle and then back at Alex, then she says, “You are nuts. How do you think that the two of us are going to be able to push that thing, on tracks, anywhere?”
Alex looks down at the tracks, having forgotten about them, “Sorry, your right. We can’t push it. But we have got to move it backward in order to power it up.”
Sara, “Maybe there is some pulley that could move it back for us, but I know we’re not going to be able to do it.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I’ll look over here if you look over there.”
“Okay.”
They both look around and Sara sees something then asks, “What’s this?”
Alex walks over to where she is standing and then turns his head to see a box marked “Hydrogen Cells”.
Alex smiles and says, “You struck the mother load Sara. Give me a hand and we’ll move this box on board.”
They both reach one end of the box and find, “Alex, this box must weigh a ton. I can’t move it.”
Alex finds his end to be just as bad, so he opens the box up and looks inside.
“Sara, we’re going to have to move these in one at a time,” he no sooner finished what he was saying and notices that Sara wasn’t there.
He hears a rattling sound coming from just ahead of him and notices Sara pushing a dolly.
“Where did you find that?”
“I noticed it just a few minutes ago when I was looking for a pulley. This will work, won’t it?”
Alex smiles and says, “Like a dream, just like a dream.”