Chapter No.19.

Later that evening when Ryan and Myra were enjoying supper at the small table in the corridor near the food synthesizer, Myra decided it was time to reveal something that she knew Ryan was unaware of.

"Did you know that there's a secret room hidden off the lab?"

Ryan's eyes ballooned briefly before he replied. "Interesting. What's in it?"

"I believe it's a central command system."

"I find that hard to believe."

Myra stood up. "Come, and I'll show you."

Ryan followed Myra into the lab and then to a wall that appeared to be unblemished. She held her hand to the wall and a door appeared. She opened it and gestured, her face beaming with a superior grin. Ryan scanned the room and then looked at her. "I don't believe this. There's no way the androids put this here." He went to a chair in front of a computer system, running his hand over the command input station. "This has Hu Chi's signature written all over it."

Myra tilted her head. "Hu Chi?"

"He's the father of android technology. He came up with the positronic brain system."

"What happened to him?"

"No one knows. He just disappeared from the public eye. I wonder if he came here."

Ryan activated the system and began inputting commands. After a few minutes, he turned to Myra. "This is an android central command system. Androids can operate on their own, but a system like this can implement a universal command. We could shut them down with this."

"I don't think that our Major Domo would like that," Myra said in a comical tone. She looked back at the entrance to the room. "Speak of the devil . . . "

Alma entered the room and came over to where Ryan was sitting. "Up rather late, you two?"

"How did this system get here?" Ryan asked her.

She stared at him for a moment before replying, "It was here before I came here."

Ryan turned to Myra. "This means that Space Command knew about this planet for some time and sent Hu Chi here to establish an android base."

"What for?" Myra asked.

"That's a good question. Maybe they were creating a more permanent getaway, or they were preparing for a war with a foreign Space Operation."

"Could that be the reason for the damage we're seeing on the broken androids?"

Ryan turned to Alma. "Do you know anything about how these androids got damaged?"

"They were damaged in the Great Cleansing."

Ryan rubbed his jaw. "Let's talk about that. What exactly happened in that Great Cleansing?"

"We are Rec models. The Standard models rebelled."

Ryan turned to Myra. "That's what I thought. It makes sense . . . well, in a sardonic machine logic sense."

"Just like with humans," Myra said. "Differences always breed conflict."

Ryan turned to Alma. "Do you know what happened to the guy who put all of this here?"

"No."

Ryan stood up. "Well, I think we had better get some shuteye before we have to go back to work."

Alma left and Ryan and Myra went back to their rooms, but not before Myra did something that surprised Ryan. She kissed him and gave him a big smile. He assumed that she was rewarding him for saving her. He really had no intentions of pursuing a relationship at this time. They were treading on a thin wire above the abyss, and they had to remain concentrated on the task of saving the androids from any attack.

He had his suspicions about octopus-like aliens taking over Earth, but the robotic alien attack idea was still on the table. The reality is that fragile life forms like humans would never be able to travel the insanely long distances through death dealing space to other solar systems. The best space explorers were AI robotic units, and this would be true for other intelligent DNA-based life in the universe.

The next day, while they were working on a broken android, Chara came into the lab.

"Alma told me that you were in the command station room. Do you know how to operate it?"

"Yes, but only if you authorize it," Ryan said without any signs of concern.

"The answers to your questions lie in that system."

"That system was the work of Hu Chi. Do you know what happened to him?"

"He ended his own life."

Ryan glanced over at Myra before turning back to Chara. "Do you know the purpose for this base?"

"It is for defense?"

"From whom?"

"I don't know."

Ryan smiled briefly before he got serious. "You are stating the truth. If we're going to prepare to repulse an attack, we must determine who the enemy is and their capability." He paused before he asked another question. "What do you know about the Great Cleansing?"

"The standard model units rebelled and were defeated by the recreational units."

"I assume that all of the standard models have been dismantled."

"Yes."

Ryan paused for several minutes before asking the next question. "Will you allow us to go through the command system to see if we can find a way to repulse an attack?"

"Yes, Ryan."

Ryan assumed that her quick response meant that she trusted him. That was huge achievement, one that would change Myra and his lives.

Myra and he went into the command system room and began working on trying to fathom how it works and what they could do with it. Surprisingly, neither Alma nor Chara stayed to observe what they were doing. Was this another indication that they trusted them, or was it because they realized that what Myra and he were doing was their best chance at avoiding being destroyed?

After some time searching for clues, Ryan came up with a possible idea. "This system would allow us to reboot all of the androids. I don't think it would do any damage, but it could clear any plans to fight among themselves."

"If we are going to do that, we should get their permission," Myra reacted.

"I agree"

"What sort of attack do you think is coming?" She asked.

"I don't think it'll be a Space Command attack. My guess is that it would be an alien invasion, perhaps by robotic aliens."

"I wonder if that's what is approaching this planet?" Myra said while looking at a screen that displayed a view of the sky above their location.

Ryan looked over at what she was looking at. "What the hell is that?"

"It looks like a spacecraft, a really big spacecraft."

Ryan blew out a disgusted breath. 'Shit!"

Myra didn't react to his comment. Her eyes were glued to the object approaching the planet.