00078

Klank! Klank!

The pounding made a lot of noise. Fortunately, the noise from the nearby rockets landing and taking off at the rocketport covered the banging, so that nobody working on the farms on the other side of the chasm noticed this racket.

Below, in the cave situated halfway down in one of the walls of Abyss Gorge, the loud pounding on the cliff wall penetrated, cutting through Albert Zoeniga's head like a baseball bat. He put up with it, though, because X-9 performed the job for Albert's benefit, in order to make it easier- and safer- for Albert, when he had to, to climb up the cliff to go into town on errands, like fetching food or supplies.

This morning the robot X-9 decided to drive pitons into the cliff rock with his bare metal fists. Every time Albert Zoeniga had tried to climb the dangerous vertical rocky path, whether going up or coming down, he lost a year off his life from fright alone, and besides that, he always had near mishaps, which made X-9 come up with the idea to put in the mountain climber spikes.

Where the robot got the pitons, or if he had made them from scrap metal taken from some recycling pile, the young man had no idea, but he appreciated X-9's thoughtfulness. If this is how Seymour's Syndrome affected robots, he could wish the disease on more of them, since the majority of robots were, basically, pretty dumb. It almost seemed Seymour's Disease made them smarter.

Abyss Gorge lay out of town and out of public notice, right near the fringe of the rocketport. Across the cheap, delapidated bridge, on the other side, were the farms, but not much traffic went by there over the rickety bridge. Mostly, this was a good spot to be if one wanted to be unnoticed, especially if it were a spot deep down in the gorge itself, inside this hidden cave. And this cave is where Albert Zoeniga’s patient lay upon a makeshift cot.

Mrs. Nina McCleer's recovery progressed little by little. From time to time during the long days, she awoke, more or less, into a half-stupor. But at least it was enough to follow simple commands, such as "Eat this" or "Drink that". And when Albert was be away, on one of his errands in Sparkle City, X-9 was in charge of Mrs. McCleer- and the robot complained how awkward and inappropriate it was for him to be ordering her, a human, around, and for her to be following his commands

Oh, but- thought Albert Zoeniga- the robot seemed to not mind a bit always giving Albert instructions on what to do and how, instructions that seemed to border on commands.

Albert surmised the trauma which Nina McCleer had experienced had taken its toll on Mrs. McCleer's body, of course, but more so it affected her mind. It would take days for her to find her way back from the near catatonia resulting from the shock, but she improved more each day.

The loud banging and hammering must have pushed her mind the rest of the way back to awareness. She sat up, snapping her eyes open, gasping. Mrs. McCleer glanced about, bewildered.

"Uuh! What- Where- Where am I?!"

A small lamp illumined a tiny portion of the cave, and the early dawn gave a teensy bit more light at the entrance. Not much clues for somebody just waking up and trying to figure out her surroundings.

"Mrs. McCleer! You're awake! Praise the Lord! We feared for you for several days already." Albert Zoeniga grinned welcomingly at her.

She wrinkled her brow, turning her gaze toward him. It seemed she tried to focus harder as she stared. "Al? Brother Albert? What happened? How-"

"Don't get yourself too excited yet, Ma'm," cautioned X-9, having finished his task with the pitons and now returning to the cave. "You must still rest, considering your ordeal."

"X-9? You are here, too? Who else is here? And- where is here?" She puzzled over the matter.

Albert Zoeniga sighed. "Sadly, only we are here. X-9 carried you here after the explosion, to hide you from the Security Agents. We are in a cave in Abyss Gorge."

She frowned, searching her memories.

“The explosion!" she suddenly shouted, as it dawned on her what Albert Zoeniga was talking about. "That was terrible! You had gone outside our new temporary hide-out to talk to the Security Agents, so that we could get away while you distracted them.- Most of us were there in that old building- the whole supposedly illegal house church which Xavier wanted to shut down! But the Agents had the building well surrounded already. Security Leader Clyden usually wasn't so organized, so he must have been very serious about catching us by that point. They sent in tear gas grenades, and, BLAM! Some of the high grade fuel ore samples left in the place must have exploded! There was a blinding hot flash. After that, I don't know anything. I guess I was knocked out or something. How can I still be alive? What happened, after that?"

X-9 told her how he had shielded her with his robot body, since he feared the accident might happen.

"That's right, I remember that now, X-9. You saved me! That explains why you look so rough! Wow! Thanks, X-9, you risked your life for me!"

"I am a robot. It's what we do, Mrs. McCleer."

"What about the rest of us?” she asked Albert Zoeniga. “How are the other members of our church? Did they- Please tell me they aren't-"

Albert Zoeniga hung his head, thinking of his bride, and of the others. "They are... forever beyond harm, now, Sis Nina..."

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Tears began to pour down her face. She again closed her mouth and lay back down. "All of them?... all of them?"

Albert nodded, getting a lump in his throat as he relived that awful day in his head. He pulled the blanket back up over her shoulders. She quietly cried, as he told her, "You rest now, Mrs. McCleer. We'll talk again later."

The next day, as Nina McCleer regained more of her strength, she wondered what Earth had said about the disaster with the church people caught in the blast and blowing up. Surely, that must have at least angered the callous and pragmatic Earth Leaders enough to decide to do something because of this, one of Gov. Xavier Bright's many sins.

Albert Zoeniga  sounded resigned to seeing wrongs left unpunished in this life. He told her, "Some tourists from Earth saw it and complained, and even some of Hope's citizens dared to criticize the matter, and the news carried it for a few days. The Incident, they call it. Earth didn't like it, but it did not upset the Leaders enough to do something about it. The Governor must have smooth-talked them, and he probably told them it was an unavoidable accident. Maybe it was, I don't know. When the public lost interest in the matter, the news moved on to other stories, and the whole thing seems to be mostly forgotten by the general public. Things are pretty much the way they were before; back to business as usual. I guess after awhile they get jaded to somebody who does whatever he wants, anyway, in the long run."

The recovering patient drank a coffee. "That figures... Now tell me, how it is that the Security Agents do not have you in their custody, since you were surely grabbed by them that night when you went outside to distract them."

"I walked away in the chaos that followed after the building blew up, just as X-9 managed to sneak you out of the ruins also during the confusion. Later, he found me, and asked me to help him take care of you."

Nina McCleer put the coffee on the large flat rock that served as her table. "I feel so terrible. I talked the underground church into protesting against Xavier, bringing down this calamity upon them. And you, Al, you had just married Jane-! Oh, she was a wonderful young woman. Oh, Albert, I'm so sorry!"

"Mrs. McCleer, stop, stop that right now!" He raised his hand, waving it to signal for her to halt her self-guilt trip. "I know you never expected that to happen, and, even the Governor and Security Leader Clyden probably didn’t plan such a tragedy. But our protests- somebody had to call out Gov. Bright for what he was doing to our loved ones, kidnapping them and making them miners. Somebody had to demand accountability from Xavier Bright. We took a vote on it, remember? We voted to keep his misdeeds in the public eye, to keep telling the Earth what was going on here on this planet. We chose to do it together.”

"I know what you are saying is true, Albert," said Nina McCleer, "but try telling that to my heart. I am very sorry over the whole thing, just the same. And did anything good come out of it? Has there been any word over what happened to our missing, kidnapped loved ones? Was any sort of investigation from Earth launched?..."

X-9 interrupted, bringing her some bread and cheese. "Please eat, Ma'm. You still have a long way to go, before any doctor would give you a good health rating."

"Yes, thank you, X-9." She ate the tiny meal, lost in deep, silent musings. Slowly, a look of resolve set in her face, but she said nothing about it.

Albert Zoeniga watched her expression for awhile. Finally, he commented. "Mrs. McCleer, you're planning something, aren't you?"

"Maybe. But let's not talk about it. I feel I did enough damage already. I don't want to drag you into any more trouble, Bro. Al."

"Really? That's very thoughtful of you, but X-9 and I didn't take care of you, only to have you do something dangerous without us there to watch your back. Isn't that so, X-9?"

"I-"

Before the robot could contradict him, Albert Zoeniga cut him off and continued. "There, see? X-9 agrees. So, what are you planning?"

She sighed. "It's such a far-fetched idea, but I don't know what else I can do. And I can't do nothing.”

“The idea, Mrs. McCleer, let's hear it," Albert Zoeniga pressed.

"Okay. I- want to find a way to get inside the mines somehow, to see if George is there, like we all suspect...ed. If I can find him, and get proof, like a picture, Earth would have to pay attention, and investigate all these disappearances. Maybe others from the church who had been taken over time can be found there in the mines and rescued, as well. I know it's probably doomed to failure, and if I try such a thing, I could end up there as a miner, too. But I must try. I know you would do the same, if you believed Jane was there."

"You bet I would."

X-9 asked, "But then what? I mean, you should know, but if you do find him, and he is rescued, he still will not know you, Mrs. McCleer."

Nina almost spilled her coffee. "Why do you say that, X-9? Is my face that scarred from the explosion? And, even if it is, he is my husband. Of course he will still know me. I guess you just don't understand how that can be between two people in love, because you are a robot."

X-9 asked, "But is it enough to counteract the effects of the ID Wipe?"

"An ID What?" Albert Zoeniga inquired, puzzled but very interested. He didn't think that sounded good.

The robot said, "During the transformation from a man into a miner', the prisoner's personal identity is wiped from his mind."

This time, Nina McCleer dropped her cup. "What are you saying, X-9? Can that be so? That's- awful! You mean, George might not even remember me?!"

"If Mr. McCleer is indeed there, then, no, he won't," the robot answered.

Nina paled. "I- I can't bear the thought that he would not recognize me or remember me! Oh, how can Xavier be so cruel? I never knew he could be so evil!" She buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly, feeling defeated.

Albert Zoeniga feared she might suffer a relapse. "Can it not be reversed? Both the mind thing, and the physical transformation, as well?”

“Maybe you can find the answer to that question at the Research and Development Lab, since many of those working there probably are the ones who helped further develop those techniques to transform a man into a miner, both body and mind. Surely someone there can tell how to reverse the process. After all, what about when a miner's sentence is up- How is he returned to normal?"

"Did you ever see a miner who had served his time, and was released and returned to normal?" asked Albert Zoeniga, having his doubts.

“Now that you mention it, no."

Nina McCleer looked up at them again from her rough bed. "X-9, how do you know all this? And, where is this Research and Development Lab? If I can get there, I might stand a chance to do something for George, and for all the others at the mines, too, who do not belong there. I may have an inside contact at the R and D facility."

"An inside contact?!" This news surprised Albert immensely.

"Yes," she told them. "An old college professor of mine. I had heard from George, even though I am not supposed to hear this kind of confidential thing, that she indeed works there. And she owes me a favor.. Big time."

"Will she remember she owes you a favor?" inquired Albert.

"Oh, I think she remembers, and, while she is practically pathological in her attitude, she does like to keep a promise- And she promised to help me, years ago, if I ever asked. And now, I am going to ask!"

X-9 said, "The Lab is located in the frigid polar regions to the north. I once heard Gov. Bright and Security Leader Clyden mention the location while talking about the Research and Development Lab. Much is discussed in front of robots, Ma'm. Since I was Gov. Bright's robot, he knew I would be loyal, and I posed no security threat. After all, I am only a robot. There is little need for discretion in front of a robot. What can a robot do?”

"A robot who saved Mrs. McCleer's life," said Albert Zoeniga.

"And also who is going to take me to that secret lab," added Nina.

"Mrs. McCleer, the way there can be very dangerous, and the climate is not good for a human,” the robot stated. “You have not fully recovered. But if we were to go, it would understandably have to be unknown to the authorities, since you had been part of that church group. And I do not think we could borrow an aircar, and so, it would have to be a trip on land. A long, hard trip."

"Yes, so I better get started as soon as possible," she answered. "You must help me, X-9. If you can get me into that R and D Lab place, I can collect on that favor I am owed, and, even if she cannot tell me how to revert my husband back to himself, Dr. Kitchen can at least help me think of a way to find out if he is at the mines, and to set things right."

X-9 said, "Ma'm, we can try. You must continue to rest for now, however, and I will gather the things we shall need for such a long and cold trip. Mr. Zoeniga can assist me."

"Uh, yeah," he agreed. "Okay, I'm in. Don't give me that look, Mrs. McCleer. You know I can be just as stubborn as you, and I won't take No for an answer. I am going with you. End of discussion."

She smiled. "Okay, I guess I am too weak as of yet to argue with you. Thanks, you guys. And stop calling me Mrs. McCleer.”

"Okay, Sis Nina," said Albert Zoeniga.

"Okay, Mrs. McCleer," agreed X-9.”

(c) drk 2012