Fourth Quadrant.
Planet Fountain (orbit).
VGV Motherboard.
Observation Deck.
The chute Ubik was in went up to the top of the ship, but it wasnt ant for use by average deckhands. You couldnt just pop up and have a look around when you felt like it.
The observation deck was the exclusive domain of the important and the eminent. Top brass and VIPs. And, of course, maintenance crews. They needed a discreet and quick way to get up there when things went wrong.
A lot of the repairs were automated drones and internal software systems that would go into action as soon as a fuse was tripped or a bug detected. But there were so jobs that drones could do better than any human, and so jobs drones couldnt do if you gave them fresh batteries, the latest update and an extra pair of arms.
A drone clean-up crew, for example, couldnt tell if a bathroom still inexplicably slled of vomit after being disinfected three tis. You could always build a specialised drone for that task, but why when you could send the lowliest mbers of the crew to do it for no extra cost?
It was the small, occasional jobs where humans excelled. They had an excellent range of abilities, most of which werent very prized or sought after, and easily improved on by machinery, but the human nose had yet to be eclipsed by olfactory technology. Certainly not for the sa price.
The chute was a narrow pipe wide enough so you could stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width and touch the sides. Which was what you needed to do to start moving once you entered. If you didnt, you would just float there, weightless. Once you touched the sides, even if you moved your feet away, inertia would carry you.
There was a special liquid between the walls that created less friction than a vacuum negative friction. It also absorbed montum and distributed it. It wasnt quite perpetual motion, there was a cheat to it that was a heavily protected secret, but it was good enough to provide energy-free travel around the ship.
Ubik kicked off the walls to increase his velocity. It wasnt advisable to do that during busy periods, people jumping in and out through the regular openings along the shaft, but Ubik wasnt anticipating much activity on the way to the leisure area. People were a bit too busy to be taking a break. He was, however, expecting Chukka and her people to eventually work out where hed gone.
It was convenient that Vendx had cleared the decks for him. It made it much easier to get around. It also helped that surveillance systems were of an inferior build on the lower decks. And the greatest help of all was how poorly trained the security teams were. The ideal Ubik trifecta.
Ubik was well aware of Vendxs training policy: hire in bulk, wait for the naturally gifted to make themselves known, give the rest heavily engineered equipnt that would do most jobs adequately.
With the number of employees they had, there were always going to be so people who only needed minimal training (the only kind available), and the Vendx manufactured equipnt was good enough for everyone else.
The constant system reboots going on around the ship were keeping him from being detected, but even if that werent the case, it was unlikely there would be any security in a chute like this one. There was no need.
If an employee entered a zone they werent authorised to be in, their pay would get docked. If they failed to et any of their contractually stipulated obligations, what they had to do, what they mustnt do, they would get docked.
People respected fiscal punishnt much more than ethical or moral ones. You could survive as a debtor, but you would do much better if you managed to stay in the black, even if it was just a toe over the line.
Vendx provided their staff with everything they needed. dicine, food, protection from the elents, and protection from boredom.
They were a complete and independent bio with their own internal economy. Lose a leg, get sick with a debilitating virus, go insane Vendx would fix you, no charge. Quicker they got you back on your feet, the quicker they got you back to work.
Family mber ill? No problem, all covered, just sign them up to be an employee (finders bonus for every person you bring in). Your kids are covered and have a guaranteed place with the firm (which theyre legally required to take up once theyre old enough).
There were so people who said the contract was no better than indentured servitude, that the conditions werent fair. Ubik didnt agree. Fairness was relative. Their conditions were a lot fairer than starving. Much more generous than leaving soone to bleed to death in the street because they didnt have the money to pay for treatnt. Ubik saw Vendx as a fine and upstanding corporation. Relatively.
Their employees couldnt afford to leave, but why would they want to? No one else was going to take them in.
The top of the chute was approaching. The coloured lights on the walls were flashing, warning him to get off. He stepped out of the portal, using his hands to push himself through.
The air felt different here. Cooler. Sweeter. Ubik was floating in the middle of a beautifully designed hallway. The way the walls were curved at the corners, the colour sche of red and gold, the carpet carpets in space! it created a feeling of opulence and comfort.
Why carpet when there was no gravity? It looked plush and thick, but it was no ordinary carpet. It was nanotechnology, designed to grip the shoes of designated people. If you were in the systems little black book, the nanites would recognise you, and hold you, one step at a ti. Artificial gravity via astroturf. One of Vendxs most extravagant products.
Ubiks na was not on the list. Even with his access to the ships computer, he couldnt give himself clearance that had to co from Head Office but he didnt need it. He clicked his heels and his boots planted themselves into the soft, luxuriant bed of nanites, crushing thousands with each step. A sha a very expensive sha but he wouldnt be able to talk the talk if he couldnt walk the walk.
The main part of the deck was deserted. There was a large open area with seating and bars and a fountain shooting holographic water into the air, but no people. Apart from two.
There were two guards floating either side of the doors to the executive simulation room. They were dressed in very fancy, brightly coloured outfits. They looked a bit like mascots for a sports team. Ubik knew people enjoyed going to see competitive gas with rules to keep things fair and honest, but he had never seen the point of it. If you want to win, the first thing you did was ignore any laws. Laws were what cheaters put in place once they had an advantage.
The guards didnt seem unduly surprised to see him. The ship was under martial restrictions and mass panic down below. That ant nothing here.
He walked up to them, his feet leaving miniature death and destruction in their wake.
Hello, he said with confidence. I was told youd be expecting .
Ah, yes, sir. Your na? The guard, fully-visored and in a battlesuit he probably couldnt get out of without assistance, was faking it. He had no idea who Ubik was or who might have sent here, but the kind of person who ca swanning in like they owned the place was not soone you wanted to annoy. He wasnt just a guard, he was a professional doorman.
Ogbollen Jedman III, said Ubik, hoping hed be able to rember the na later and wishing hed gone with sothing shorter. My father is the Grand Vizier of Fraiche City, youve probably heard of him.
Of course, sir, said the guard. Let just pull up your details and Ill be able to show you where to go. He opened a screen on his HUD, the lights playing across the inside of his visor.
My familys on the full tour. I got a bit bored, so they sent up here. Youve got a fancy sim-U, I was told. Better than the one in my room, apparently.
System busy, said a voice, much more urbane and suave than the computer voice in the lower decks. Please try again later.
Ah, said the guard. Apologies. It seems theres a heavy demand on resources at the mont. Should ease in a second.
It was unlikely to ease for several hours. Rebooting was the most resource-intensive process the ships computer underwent, and it was in a constant loop of them. Everything was backed up and slow to the point of static.
Should I call my father? He can clear this up. Hes with that Mayden chap. Wait, is that right? Mayden? Maybe it was Maven.
The two guards exchanged looks. One looked down at Ubiks feet and then back up at his colleague.
If the carpet accepted you, that ant you had clearance from on high.
The sim-U, was it? If thats all youre here for, just go in. Im sure they have your information uploaded.
Classic Vendx policy when in doubt, pass the problem onto soone else.
Its through here, is it? Ubik pointed at the door. It slid open.
Thats right, sir. Please go through and have a very pleasant experience.
Ubik walked in and the doors shut behind him. He was in a small cubicle and it was moving, although it was hard to tell in which direction.
The sides fell away, the roof with them, and he was in a huge glass do. The stars glittered and the planet was a blue and red marble off to one side.
The room contained a number of smaller glass dos covering luxury sim-U recliners. Not the stiff-backed chairs that most simulation machines were hooked up to, these were fully-supporting, no neck pain when you woke up in one of these.
Excuse ! Sir, excuse . This is a restricted area. A young man was floating towards him wearing a light suit with a simple design, white with silver trim, his helt deflated and hanging off the back of his collar like a hood. A second sim-U tech ca floating after him.
Bluffing wouldnt work here. They wouldnt set him up in a sim-U without proper approval, and there wasnt going to be any.
Hi, said Ubik. Id like a go in one of these, please.
The man looked confused. We arent operational today. Everythings been shut down because of the irregularity on Fountain.
Theres been a breach, said the other slightly older man. They say its a software anomaly.
Who said that? said the first man.
I heard it on chatter, just before it crashed.
It hasnt crashed, nothings crashed, its buffering.
The two of them seed more interested in the goings-on in the world of malfunctioning simulations than the stranger in their midst. They must have assud, if he was here, he had a reason to be.
Ubik looked up and around at the heavens. It was an impressive sight. And then you got into a bubble and experienced the fake version.
There was movent outside the do. Small objects rising in formation.
Id like you to open one of these up and link it to the Gorbol simulation machine, said Ubik.
What? No, no, we cant do that. There isnt even a direct connection.
Very inadvisable, even if there was.
Shouldnt be too hard, said Ubik. Its already connected to the machine on the third deck.
Dont be wait, who are you?
Im with them. Ubik pointed up. They followed his finger.
What are those things doing here?
What are they? Oh, theyre
Theyre interceptor drones, but why
They both looked down at Ubik again.
What did you say your na was?
Do you know why spaceships dont have windows? asked Ubik.
Of course, said the younger tech, who seed to be in charge. Cold laser weapons can fire through glass He looked back up at the drones and frowned. Interceptors arent equipped with cold lasers.
Ive made a few modifications, said Ubik.
The man looked unconvinced. He looked back up at the drones surrounding the do and squinted.
Ubik walked over to a table with a crystal vase containing a beautiful arrangent of fake flowers. He tried to pick the vase up, but it was stuck to the table for obvious reasons. Ubik still made a show of trying to pick it up.
I guess well have to do it here. He looked up at the do. Yes, should be fine. Could you both stand back?
The two n, who had been watching closely, moved away from the table, as did Ubik. They waited nothing happened. Ubik smiled and put his hands in his pockets, seemingly unconcerned.
There was a small whine you could hear just at the back of your ear, and then the vase exploded with a pop. Fake petals floated off in every direction.
Sorry about the ss, said Ubik.
Both n looked up at the drones. Hanzo, why dont you set up sim-U number three for this gentleman?
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