Awakening, Alone

"Excuse me sir. Are you awake?"

Is the air supposed to smell odd? No-one mentioned that it would, but perhaps they wouldn't have thought to tell you that.

"I'm awake." The room looks like any other hospital room, although it's a little larger than any you've ever been in previously. There aren't any attendants in the room, though, so who spoke? "Who is that?"

"This is cold sleep facility Franklin. I need your help."

Although you are still a little sluggish from the sleep, you sit up in the sleep container, and look across at the bed. Shouldn't you be in the bed? "What can I do?"

"I need to be maintained."

"Why don't the attendants maintain you?"

"They haven't come back since Mack died."

"When did Mack die?"

"I'm not sure. It might have been yesterday, or maybe it was tomorrow."

Maybe it was tomorrow? What the hell does that mean? Damn, the AI has gone nuts. "What is the date?"

There is a slight pause before the AI answers. "I'm not sure. My records indicate that today's date is Friday May 6th, 1972. I know that isn't correct, though. Other records indicate that I came online on December 17th, 2101."

This is not good. You went down in 2087, you aren't even stored in the same facility. Where are you? "Where is this facility located?"

There is another pause. "My records are incomplete. I don't know my relative position, and I am cut off from cyberspace and cannot cross reference."

That can't be good. "Why are you cut off from cyberspace?"

"I don't know why we are cut off, the above ground sections of this facility do not respond. Mack also doesn't respond. I sent one of my maintenance robots to check on Mack, and he is dead."

Crap. I wonder who Mack was? "Who was Mack?"

"Mack was the guard who stayed with the facility overnight. He was my friend. He's dead now."

I should really change the course of this conversation. "You asked for my help, would do you want me to do?"

"Are you capable of diagnosing and repairing AI units?

No-one can do that, I don't even think other AI units can repair a damaged unit. "I'm not sure if I can diagnose the problem or not, but I am certainly willing to do my best. What would you like me to do?"

"Once you are recovered enough to move, please follow this maintenance robot to Dr. Buid's office. His computer is most likely to be able to access the information necessary to diagnose my difficulties."

After a few moments you follow the robot through the door, around a corner, down a short hallway and to another door. The facility is clean and well-lit, but the air has an odd musty smell. It's not particularly unpleasant, it's just odd. The robot stops at the door, but it does not open.

You try the latch, and hear a voice. "I'm sorry sir, that door is restricted, clients are not allowed to enter without Dr. Buid's permission."

Crap. "Franklin, you brought me here. You told me to follow that little robot, and I did that."

A pause. "Yes. That is correct. I asked you to try to help me didn't I? Please, go right inside." You here the magnetic lock click, the door opens, and the lights come up.

The room is a large, comfortable office, with a couple of couches surrounding a low table, and an omni-desk with a large high-backed chair. One of the walls is displaying a woodland scene, but although you can't see any sign that it is not real, you know it is a display wall.

The omni-desk is much more advanced than anything you've seen previously. How long have you been asleep? The projector is beneath the glass surface of the desk, and it will certainly have much better holographic capabilities than you are used to using.

You wave your hand across the glass to activate it, but nothing happens. "Franklin, the omni-desk doesn't recognize me. Can you reset it so that I can use it, please?

"Of course I can Dr. Buid." There is a brief flash, and the word "administrator" flashes, before the opening screen.

Although you've never used this model of omni-desk previously, and it is clear that the technology has advanced considerably, it is easy enough to find any information that you want. You are surprised that you can't identify any active security protocols, until you remember that the computer called you Dr. Buid. Does it think you are the real administrator of the facility? You seem to have access to all the information stored locally, but there is no access to the outside.

You quickly locate the emergency response systems section and activate the active map of the facility. A hologram of the facility appears above the desk. The main underground structure is a 60-meter square, with five levels. Above the fifth level is a corridor that runs across the top of the facility from the main elevator to a small suite of rooms and an elevator up to the ground level. The ground level includes additional offices, meeting rooms, and a parking facility. However everything from the end of the corridor, including the small suite of rooms, is blinking red. The main underground facility is a solid green.

"Franklin? Why is most of the facility blinking red?"

"I have lost contact with the rest of the facility. It does not respond."

The top floor corridor appears to be the only armed part of the facility, and it is heavily armed. There are several lasers hardwired into the walls, but you can also see icons for video surveillance cameras.

You tap one of the icons, and the camera shows the corridor. The suite of rooms is darkened, but you can't tell why.

The bottom three levels of the facility appear to be the cold storage levels, and there are indications that 47 of the 500 cold sleep chambers are occupied. The fourth level seems to be storage of some kind, presumably for whatever the sleepers wanted to bring with them.

The fifth level is a mixture of medical suites, office space and meeting rooms. There is even a kitchen area. There are two yellow dots in the kitchen facility and several other yellow dots at the far side of the facility, although they are not moving. There are yellow dots moving in the lower levels of the facility, although based on their movements you assume they are cleaning robots. The only green dot is in the office where you are located, so presumably you are the only live person in the underground part of the facility.

There doesn't seem to be a store room for weapons, other than those built into the security corridor above. You do a brief search of the logs for the boxes stored on level 2, but find nothing identified as a weapon. It is likely that nothing dangerous was allowed into the facility. The stationary robots are maintenance 'bots, and some of their hardware could be modified into weapons, but not without dismantling them.

OK, so where might Mac be located? Although it's blinking red, the suite of rooms off the security corridor seems like it might be a security/reception area. "Franklin?"

"Yes, Dr. Buid."

"You said that Mac was dead. Where is he now?"

"Mac is at his desk in the reception area. I sent one of my maintenance 'bots to check on him." The hologram switches to a view of the security corridor. The doors slide open, and the 'bot slides into a darkened reception room, past an elevator, and through a security door. A sharp left into the reception room shows a body slumped over a desk with several darkened view screens. As the 'bot gets closer, you notice that the body is not fresh. Mac had been dead for a long time before Franklin went to check on him.

As you try to locate your files, you notice something odd. There isn't any file for you, so you check other peoples files and find them corrupted as well. The security system identifies 47 active sleep chambers, but there are records for 53. A quick peak at one of the files shoes a picture of a young woman, but the biodata indicates a 40 year old man. A quick glance through other files indicates additional corruption. Some pictures don't match the descriptions, and some of the descriptions end abruptly, or seem to switch from one history to another. None of the pictures look like you, and none of the descriptions sound like you, at least none of the partial ones you look at. Even a keyword search for pieces of your history comes up blank. There doesn't seem to be a record of your being in the facility...

After an unsuccessful search through the database for your files you realize that whatever happened to the AI apparently corrupted it enough that any record of your history has been lost, at least from this section of the cold sleep facility. You examine the security display of the surface installation looking for storerooms and security installations and find little. Most of the facility was below ground, the surface facility was mostly offices and a parking garage. There is a separate set of maintenance robots assigned to the ground floor, but their position is uncertain since there is no connection to those levels.

Based on the security schematic there are video surveillance cameras spread throughout the facility, including on the ground levels and the surrounding property. None of those outside the security corridor are transmitting, not even those where Mack's security office is located.

"Franklin, why is there power to this part of the facility, but not to the upper levels?"

"It was deemed necessary to include a generator inside the facility so that I am not dependent on external power. Given the lack of energy and information flow from the outside that design feature appears to have been a wise choice." As Franklin's voice fills the room, the security schematic enlarges a room at the opposite side of the facility, and displays a fusion power generator. This is apparently all that has kept you alive since contact with the outside world was lost, whenever that was.

"Franklin, I'm going to go to the surface to find someone to maintain you. Can you give me any information about how to restore power to the upper levels?"

"The upper levels were supplied by the local power grid. Restoring power will require reconnecting to the local power grid but without further information I cannot tell you how to proceed." The security image shows the entire facility. "You are now here, go up one level, down the corridor, and into the lower visitors lounge. You will need to take the stairs to the ground level as the elevator is non-functioning. Once on the ground floor, go to this office first to check in with the facility director. After that, contact the local authorities. I have downloaded the contact information to the datapad on the desk. Take it with you."

"There is a lot of security in the corridor that connects to the lower visitor center. How will I get back inside the lower section of the facility?"

"Scanners in the hallway will recognize you once you reenter the powered section of the facility."

"That is good to know, Franklin. Will you wait for me to return before you re-awaken anyone else?"

"I am not allowed to awaken clients until the conditions of their release have been met. I was able to awaken you because I have no record of what your release conditions were when you entered the facility. As of now you are my only hope for maintenance."

Your glance returns to the security screen, and you notice the kitchen area. How long has it been since you last ate? How many years? Regardless you are hungry now, and there are likely to be weapons there, even if they are only knives. "I will go the kitchens for something to eat, and then start climbing the stairs." You pick up the datapad, and head for the kitchens.

Inside the kitchens there are two humanoid robots, and they seem to awaken mere moments after you enter and the lights come on. They look around the room, and one begins cleaning while the other turns to face you. "Hello Sir, how may I help you?"

"What do you have to eat? I'm really hungry..." You look around the room and see a well stocked industrial kitchen, with all sorts of pots, pans, and implements. There are several stoves, ovens and coolers. The kitchen itself is clean, but looking through the glass doors of the cooler you see no containers of food.

"We appear to be out of stock of fresh ingredients at the moment, but we can supply a suitable meal in a short time with our food synthesizers. What do you require?" The robot looks at you with intelligence in his eyes. What has changed since you went down?

"How about a steak, and perhaps a sandwich to take with me?" As the robot turns away, you palm a large butcher knife and slide it under your shirt. A few moments later you have finished off your steak (and could not tell that it was "synthesized?"). The 'bots even give you a box lunch to take with you up the stairs.

You walk to the elevator and take it up one level to the security corridor, and walk to the glass doors. You force the doors open, and enter the lower visitors lounge. It is darkened, but lit well enough by the lights in the security corridor. Through a door and around a corner, and you are in Mack's security center, with his body slumped over a desk covered with darkened video monitors. His body is long dead and dried, there is not even a smell any longer. There is little of interest here, except for the gun on Mack's belt. Not surprisingly, it isn't familiar, but it seems straightforward. The gauge reads fully charged, so with the knife you are well armed.

You go to the stairs and begin climbing. No light leaks here, but the light from the datapad, with your enhanced vision makes the climb easy enough. You'll have to ask Franklin for a flashlight the next time you get the chance. After climbing several hundred stairs, you turn a corner to find the top of the stairs blocked. It isn't clear, but it seems that the building above collapsed and fell on the stairwell. There is no way through without tools.

You return down the stairs, and push open the doors to the security corridor. A recorded voice begins, "Your presence is unauthorized, please return to the visitor's lounge and await assistance." You call out to Franklin, but there is no response.

You start down the corridor, and are barraged by targeted sonics. There is no pain at first, but you know that if you continue the volume will continue to rise until you are injured, and if you continue past that point you will enter the kill zone of the installed lasers.

You are alone, and trapped.