We had much more pressing matters than my angst to attend to when we reached the open auditorium. Specifically, the cabin cruiser that was lodged into the ceremonial oak tree, which marked the exact center of Klothgars Wood.
The boat (for it should be noted that yes, this isn't a fancy term for a small space ship, this was an actual boat) was tilted at an acute angle, starboard side higher than port side. The bow faced southwest. There was a rope ladder hanging off the port side. The closest body of water that would carry a boat like this was three hundred miles to the north. This boat did not look like something that belonged in a Scrag port, however. This boat's scuffed hull was painted blue while the deck was white, spread with a brown tile that I assume was used to prevent slipping. Scrag Ships were only painted a uniform grey to prevent rust.
"Well, this is unorthodox." 35B said calmly as he held a button on the side of his goggles for three seconds. "Operator? This is Second Lieutenant 35B, patch me into High Commander 6-12-Theta. Yes, I'll hold." He pointed at me and Augustine, then pointed at the rope ladder. He wanted us to explore while he called this discovery in. Having nothing better to do, I obeyed my superior.
Augustine climbed the ladder first. I followed. I probably shouldn't have. I stopped climbing near the top to enjoy the view, something I probably wouldn't have done if Augustine's fat ass was behind me. When he got to the top, he looked behind to see my flushing face and my body shaking the rope ladder violently.
"What's wrong? Suddenly scared of heights?" He quipped.
"Something like that." I said softly. I looked down for just a second and was struck by a heavy vertigo. The ground seemed so far below, farther away than it did before. My shaking seemed to get worse. I was scared of the land I had known and walked my entire life. I started pondering if it would be really bad to jump back down and try again when I heard a clap above me. I looked up to see Augustine's charming smile and his hand reaching down to me.
"Just don't look down and everything will be fine." he said. Even with his permanently constricted eyes, that smile still had a calming power over me. I closed my eyes, breathed deeply (1, 2, 3) and exhaled (4, 5, 6) and took his hand into mine. "Okay, Open your eyes. Look at me Dominus. I promise, I won't let you go. Now put your left foot on the next rung, and your right foot on the rung after that. Don't think about anything else. Just focus on climbing closer to me."
I feel embarrassed to write my heart fluttered. I followed the instructions slowly, never breaking eye contact, even if every second staring into those constrained eyes were like a stab to the gut. When he pulled me up onto the boat, I was met with a reassuring hug, like the one he gave me when I first told him I was afraid my mother was dead. My façade almost cracked until i heard him say "See! it wasn't that hard." he patted my back as he said that. "You did it buddy, I'm proud of you.
"Thank you" my voice cracked. "Sorry, I just got really scared for a minute."
In the time it takes for lightning to flash across the sky, his face changed. It was like all the genuine passion and happiness was violently stomped out of him. leaving a firm, serious scowl. "Fear is temporary, the glory of serving High Command is forever." he droned. It was one of the many mantras of Alpha programming. He pulled away, affection gone the way of his smile. "We should search the ship." His tone was dry, and surprisingly pained.
The deck has a length of 45 feet and a width of 21. The fog was less dense higher off the ground, which made it easier to measure. I realized i could barely hear 35B, which meant he probably couldn't hear us as he described the "improperly parked cabin cruiser." There wasn't much to see on the deck, so Augustine and I decided to enter the cockpit.
And this, my leather-bound papyrus confidant, is when things started to get weird.
Despite the glass allowing us to view the inside of a ten by ten by ten foot compartment with stairs to the deck below on the starboard side, opening the door proved this to be nothing more than an illusion that defied the laws of spatial reality. The cockpit was the size of a flag-starship bridge (approximately 100 by 70 feet). And the ceiling? It doesn't exist. Above us was a replica of the universe in miniature. Star systems and constellations, some familiar and some I never knew existed floated above my head, accompanied by holographic icons previewing explanatory text that scrolled so fast they were incomprehensible. Despite the spatial discrepancy, the windows matched what we saw outside... sort of. It is difficult to describe. Augustine walked around the cockpit. There was no delay in his actions, but his form was smeared and blurry when observed through the glass. I couldn't comprehend him walking around the cockpit unless i was looking at one of the many screens.
Oh yes, how could I forget, the layout was similar to a flag-starship as well. The Training Center gave us a brief overview of all the branches of the military. One of the few things we were allowed to choose for ourselves when we graduated from bravo squad to alpha squad was which branch we wanted to specialize in. Education from that point on would focus on that branch of the military. So naturally, i was only slightly familiar with the layout of a star fighter bridge. Fortunately, Augustine decided to specialize in the Astronavy. He immediately recognized the six station layout, five circling the captains chair.
"It's so uncanny" he said as he paced the ramp that orbited the captains station, which branched off into their own stations. "It's the exact same compass order; Navigation at North-East, Engineering at South East, Weapons at South-West, medical at North-West, and comms at True North. All positioned so the captain can have a clear view out the window. But the spatial reality warping defeats the purpose of this structure, so why have it?"
"Maybe the enemy has developed teleportation technology." My statement sounded more like a question, and Augustine responded to it as such.
"No. If they could just teleport anywhere they wanted, why not directly into the base?"
"Maybe we'll find more answers if we explore the lower decks."
"Or more questions."
"Isn't that part of the fun of exploration?" I asked as I made my way to the starboard spiral staircase.
"Dominus?" i heard behind me. "Dominus where are you go-"
one step down.
"Dominus this is against proto-"
two steps down
"Dominus, get back here!"
three steps down. I felt mischievous, being a little gremlin in the Scragian war machine.
"Dominus, with second lieutenant 35B preoccupied-"
another step down. i was a little head poking out of the floor.
"that makes me your acting superior, and I will not tolerate and insubordi-"
"Are you afraid?" I asked. Augustine's mouth clamped shut. My understanding of Alpha programming is limited, but I had a hunch a lot of it had roots in emotional manipulation, and could be easily subverted if pressure was applied at the right places. He shifted in place, his expression was one of inner discomfort. Alpha programming seemed to eliminate ones ability to hold a poker face. It's only a step in a much longer process of complete brainwashing. I hated what i was doing, but I wasn't going to take any risks. 'Besides' a more cynical part of me thought 'its not the same man anymore'. I pushed that thought down. I didn't want my individuality to be replaced with pragmatic cruelty. This was only a necessity to avoid further complications. Thats how I justify it to myself.
"Fear... is temporary-" Augustine eventually responded.
"But the glory of serving high command is forever, right?" I finished.
He nodded as he followed me down to the first deck.
We only completely explored two decks, as it became clear the ships capacity for space was infinite after just the two. the first deck was the mess hall. Our measurements are not worth noting here. It was large enough to feed twice the capacity of the current Astronavy flagship. Augustine was unnerved by the implications.
"What if someone finds us?" he asked.
"Augestine, if this ship was actively staffed right now, wouldn't we have run into someone by now?"
"I suppose..." he said, his voice a small grumble.
The next deck was my favorite. We exited the staircase to find ourselves in a small booth, with a small plaque reading "The Recreational Center". We opened the door to find ourselves in a pristine empty urban street, with towers of steel and glass arching above us cloaked by flashing neon signs of smiling alien people doing inane things like holding red cylinders covered in unintelligible white script. The pink moonless sky showed no signs of an illusionary nature. I turned to Augustine, who shared my wonderstruck befuddlement.
"This is..." I started.
"Awesome!" Augustine shouted, jumping joyously in a circle, continuing to spin round and around in a circle. "I mean, this is incredible! I've never seen anything like this before Dominus." He turned to me and my jaw dropped. His eyes were no longer constricted.
"Augustine?" I tried to keep my voice steady. "Are you okay?"
"I- yeah i think so? why wouldn't i be? I'm with my best friend in the whole wide world!" He gave me a hug, and I returned it. That's what he used to call me before he underwent programming.
"I've missed you so much." I whispered.
"I know." he said.
As we explored, he explained to me that the alpha programming essentially put a backseat driver in his head, and tried to slowly, subtly steer him to making the 'optimal, most Orthodox choices that will lead to success as a military unit.'
"So what changed?" I asked as we walked up the stairs of the tallest building we could find to get an idea of how large this meteoplois was.
"I don't know." He responded. "but it started as soon as we got onto this boat." It was like the voice from the nanobots was getting fuzzy."
"Like Radio Interference?"
"Yes! Exactly like that. And it kept getting stronger as we got further into the ship, Until finally, we got to deck two and i realized... it was gone. The voice was gone and I was free."
We reached the top of the building shortly after he said that. The view was unbelievable. The pink sky was an illusion after all, but it was a beautiful illusion that slowly curved around the city like a dome of canvas. It suggested depth, and that was all that was needed. The roof of the building was a communal area, with chairs, tables and multiple facilities spread around a gazebo. I was drawn to a glowing box with a touch screen I couldn't read, hooked up to what looked like audio equipment around the rooftop. In the corner of the screen was a symbol that I recognized that meant 'random'.
"I think this thing plays music." I said. Augustine was on the other side investigating what looked like a stove.
"Do you want to risk it?"
"I'd much rather be captured by these guys then go back to the barracks."
"Me too." Augestine shared my mischievous grin. I tapped the icon and a bouncy, naive melody started to play through the stereos. Augustine and I, goofballs that we are, circled around to the gazebo. A strange voice began to sing in a language neither of us could understand, yet both of us could feel what it was saying. It was saying that this place was home. We found a place we could dance and be ourselves. And we did exactly that.
As we ascended the spiral staircase, hand in hand, nothing in my life had ever felt more perfect. We arrived at the bridge, intending to commandeer the vessel only to see the man 35B had shown in the photos standing at the cockpit door.