with an excavator.”
A miner kicked dirt. “Ank! You better be right. Fuck! Shit!”
Another one bellowed, “I can’t reach anybody with my tablet!”
An angry voice announced, “Mine’s only picking up a lot of distortion!”
Baaax yelled, “Keep digging! Forget the tablets!”
About forty minutes later I halted next to a wall, took the VADB arm extension off my pant leg, and strapped it to my wrist.
“What the hell is that?” Baaax glanced at the device.
“It’s used for climbing and drilling holes.”
“It’s small. How can you see in this poor light?”
“My mechanical left eye just switched to infrared.”
“I thought you were a human.”
I told him about myself.
“Interesting. Good luck. Right now, we need all the help we can get.” He kept shoveling. “Ank.”
The drill started boring.
On the opposite side of Baaax, a Qoowo miner spat on a rock. “All I’ve got is this lousy ass pickax!”
Behind the miner, another one shouted, “I can dig out WADI Three-Zero-Three in two hours!”
Baaax yelled back, “Don’t give up! Work as fast as you can!”
Just over hour later, while sweat poured down my forehead, I said, “Oxy.on,” activating my bottled oxygen. I inhaled the bottled air as my drill bored deeper.
Baaax sighed. “My oxygen tank is low. I’m going to run out of air soon. After that, I’m going to die.”
“We can share my oxygen.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell you after I use up mine.”
“No problem.”
All too soon, Baaax muttered, “I’m out of oxygen.”
I took the canister off my sleeve and gave it to him.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” I shoved my extension into piled up dirt. The device started rotating. As my adrenaline pumped harder the drill bit created a tiny opening. Dim light illuminated my face. I inhaled. “Fresh air is coming through a hole I just created.”
Baaax shouted, “Are you kidding me?”
“I am not.”
“I don’t believe it.” He looked inside the hole. “Holy shit! We made it.” He chuckled, happy to be alive, and gave me back the canister.
“What’s your name?” A miner coughed.
“Jason.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Six-Sixty-Four”
“No. What’s your real name? Nobody has a number for a last name.”
“Six-Sixty-Four. I’m a cloned human, a C.”
“Damn. Whoever the fuck you are, you saved our asses.”
“Glad to help.”
“Jason, are you going to take your wife back to Icir?” Baaax inquired politely.
“No. I don’t have enough money. Someday, if I make a lot of it, I’ll return and take her with me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
To my right, in front of Baaax, a boomer drill broke through piled-up dirt.
Baaax wiped sweat off his face. “Fi, the boomer will remove this dirt in an hour or so, then drive in here and help us clean up. It’s going to be expensive and time–consuming, but at least we’re alive.”
Fi stepped over a pile of dirt. “Baaax, I hope the tunnel doesn’t collapse on Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim.”
“Knowing Lyso and Raui, it might.”
“Do Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim know Lyso and Raui as well as we do?” Fi paused, scowling.
“I only received one email from Dr. Nees. The only thing he mentioned was the fact that they needed to know who was going to pick them up at the hangar.”
Not wanting the miners to hear their conversation, Fi whispered into Baaax’s ear, “It sounds like Boma can’t reach them because his tablet isn’t working. They need to know that Lyso and Raui want them to remove nineteen tons of Perovskite within four months.”
“In the last two days, I’ve sent Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim eighteen emails. But I haven’t received anything from them.”
Fi shook his head, disgusted. “What a mess.”
“A week ago, I told Lyso and Raui that we’re working too fast. The tunnels are more likely to collapse. They said I should go back to work and stop bothering them.”
Fi sighed. “It’s the same problem. After we leave, Dr. Nees
A miner kicked dirt. “Ank! You better be right. Fuck! Shit!”
Another one bellowed, “I can’t reach anybody with my tablet!”
An angry voice announced, “Mine’s only picking up a lot of distortion!”
Baaax yelled, “Keep digging! Forget the tablets!”
About forty minutes later I halted next to a wall, took the VADB arm extension off my pant leg, and strapped it to my wrist.
“What the hell is that?” Baaax glanced at the device.
“It’s used for climbing and drilling holes.”
“It’s small. How can you see in this poor light?”
“My mechanical left eye just switched to infrared.”
“I thought you were a human.”
I told him about myself.
“Interesting. Good luck. Right now, we need all the help we can get.” He kept shoveling. “Ank.”
The drill started boring.
On the opposite side of Baaax, a Qoowo miner spat on a rock. “All I’ve got is this lousy ass pickax!”
Behind the miner, another one shouted, “I can dig out WADI Three-Zero-Three in two hours!”
Baaax yelled back, “Don’t give up! Work as fast as you can!”
Just over hour later, while sweat poured down my forehead, I said, “Oxy.on,” activating my bottled oxygen. I inhaled the bottled air as my drill bored deeper.
Baaax sighed. “My oxygen tank is low. I’m going to run out of air soon. After that, I’m going to die.”
“We can share my oxygen.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell you after I use up mine.”
“No problem.”
All too soon, Baaax muttered, “I’m out of oxygen.”
I took the canister off my sleeve and gave it to him.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” I shoved my extension into piled up dirt. The device started rotating. As my adrenaline pumped harder the drill bit created a tiny opening. Dim light illuminated my face. I inhaled. “Fresh air is coming through a hole I just created.”
Baaax shouted, “Are you kidding me?”
“I am not.”
“I don’t believe it.” He looked inside the hole. “Holy shit! We made it.” He chuckled, happy to be alive, and gave me back the canister.
“What’s your name?” A miner coughed.
“Jason.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Six-Sixty-Four”
“No. What’s your real name? Nobody has a number for a last name.”
“Six-Sixty-Four. I’m a cloned human, a C.”
“Damn. Whoever the fuck you are, you saved our asses.”
“Glad to help.”
“Jason, are you going to take your wife back to Icir?” Baaax inquired politely.
“No. I don’t have enough money. Someday, if I make a lot of it, I’ll return and take her with me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
To my right, in front of Baaax, a boomer drill broke through piled-up dirt.
Baaax wiped sweat off his face. “Fi, the boomer will remove this dirt in an hour or so, then drive in here and help us clean up. It’s going to be expensive and time–consuming, but at least we’re alive.”
Fi stepped over a pile of dirt. “Baaax, I hope the tunnel doesn’t collapse on Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim.”
“Knowing Lyso and Raui, it might.”
“Do Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim know Lyso and Raui as well as we do?” Fi paused, scowling.
“I only received one email from Dr. Nees. The only thing he mentioned was the fact that they needed to know who was going to pick them up at the hangar.”
Not wanting the miners to hear their conversation, Fi whispered into Baaax’s ear, “It sounds like Boma can’t reach them because his tablet isn’t working. They need to know that Lyso and Raui want them to remove nineteen tons of Perovskite within four months.”
“In the last two days, I’ve sent Dr. Nees and Dr. Sim eighteen emails. But I haven’t received anything from them.”
Fi shook his head, disgusted. “What a mess.”
“A week ago, I told Lyso and Raui that we’re working too fast. The tunnels are more likely to collapse. They said I should go back to work and stop bothering them.”
Fi sighed. “It’s the same problem. After we leave, Dr. Nees
Similar Books
