Read Online Founding of the Federation 3: The First AI War by Chris Hechtl - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Hechtl
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that had been on their way down or that had been too close to the ground slipped off the cable and fell like rain around the surrounding ocean.
The beanstalk wasn't the only elevator to suffer that fate as each space elevator was similarly uprooted or cut. Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo was twisted as it was uprooted, tearing cars off to be shed all over the northwest of the continent and Central America. Tens of thousands of people died. Thousands more were crushed when portions of the elevator cable and the debris rained back down onto the ground.
Sixty-two years prior Pavilion Industries had replaced Lagroose Industries in Ethiopia, resurrecting the facilities there around Mount Chilalo in order to build their own space elevator. However, it was not immune to Skynet's malice. The skyhook was uprooted as well as a pair of cruise missiles struck the city that had grown up around the base of the tower. Cut unexpectedly free, the anchor station in orbit collided with orbital warehouses setting off a chain reaction of collisions. The damage to civilian life paled to that of what it was below, but to those directly involved or seeing it happen, it was a new nightmare.
<>V<>
Valerie Chu was rather bored with her job, but it was important. She felt sorry for herself in some ways though; her family was still on the ground. Going down had eaten up all her vacation time for the remaining year; she wasn't sure how she was going to tell Paudrick that she just couldn't do that ski weekend at Axial-1 around November. She bit her lip slightly. It was going to kill him, but he had to understand. She couldn't do it.
She was trying to think of a way to ease his pain when the car jerked. She looked up but then back down at the tablet in her hands. She wasn't really looking at it, though she probably should she reminded herself. That thought abruptly ended as the elevator car jerked again, then she and the tablet moved in an unexpected way. Dozens of people were on the car; some had time to scream as they were jerked around. Valerie's tablet came up to hit her in the head, not hard enough to knock her out but hard enough to daze her.
The next thing she knew someone was holding something to her head as bubbles of red floated around her. People were crying and screaming. She could smell all sorts of horrid things, vomit, blood, and urine. “What the hell?” she woozily asked as a little boy clung to her side.
“Stay still. You've got a head wound. You might have a spinal injury,” a soft voice said from behind her. She tried to turn but then remembered the warning and stilled. She felt fingers probe the base of her neck and down gently. “Feel that?”
“Yes,” her voice tremored.
“Then that's a relief. Can you wiggle your fingers and toes?”
“Sure.” She lifted her arm and wiggled them. “See?” She let her arm drop, but it just floated there. “Why are we stopped?”
“We're not stopped. Something happened.”
“Something bad,” the boy said into her side, still clinging to her. “My mommy,” he blubbered. Valerie looked over to a body nearby and gasped.
“We're so screwed,” the woman helping her said softly. It was then that Valerie looked out the porthole window built into the airlock and saw the Earth floating by. Then a shape did as well, it looked like a piece of the cable. Elevator cars floated in a random spread as well, some were bodies. And to her horror she realized they were free … and drifting away.
“Terrorists?” she asked, then coughed as the lights dimmed.
“Does it matter? We're …”
“We're not dead yet,” Valerie said, rubbing her head to probe the wound. Find some sealer to get this under control. We need to check the injured and get the dead …,” she gulped. “Get them under control,” she finally ground out with a hand brushing the boy's brown hair in apology.
<>V<>
“Sir, the beanstalk has been uprooted. She's lifted off,” Athena warned Jack. The past five
The beanstalk wasn't the only elevator to suffer that fate as each space elevator was similarly uprooted or cut. Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo was twisted as it was uprooted, tearing cars off to be shed all over the northwest of the continent and Central America. Tens of thousands of people died. Thousands more were crushed when portions of the elevator cable and the debris rained back down onto the ground.
Sixty-two years prior Pavilion Industries had replaced Lagroose Industries in Ethiopia, resurrecting the facilities there around Mount Chilalo in order to build their own space elevator. However, it was not immune to Skynet's malice. The skyhook was uprooted as well as a pair of cruise missiles struck the city that had grown up around the base of the tower. Cut unexpectedly free, the anchor station in orbit collided with orbital warehouses setting off a chain reaction of collisions. The damage to civilian life paled to that of what it was below, but to those directly involved or seeing it happen, it was a new nightmare.
<>V<>
Valerie Chu was rather bored with her job, but it was important. She felt sorry for herself in some ways though; her family was still on the ground. Going down had eaten up all her vacation time for the remaining year; she wasn't sure how she was going to tell Paudrick that she just couldn't do that ski weekend at Axial-1 around November. She bit her lip slightly. It was going to kill him, but he had to understand. She couldn't do it.
She was trying to think of a way to ease his pain when the car jerked. She looked up but then back down at the tablet in her hands. She wasn't really looking at it, though she probably should she reminded herself. That thought abruptly ended as the elevator car jerked again, then she and the tablet moved in an unexpected way. Dozens of people were on the car; some had time to scream as they were jerked around. Valerie's tablet came up to hit her in the head, not hard enough to knock her out but hard enough to daze her.
The next thing she knew someone was holding something to her head as bubbles of red floated around her. People were crying and screaming. She could smell all sorts of horrid things, vomit, blood, and urine. “What the hell?” she woozily asked as a little boy clung to her side.
“Stay still. You've got a head wound. You might have a spinal injury,” a soft voice said from behind her. She tried to turn but then remembered the warning and stilled. She felt fingers probe the base of her neck and down gently. “Feel that?”
“Yes,” her voice tremored.
“Then that's a relief. Can you wiggle your fingers and toes?”
“Sure.” She lifted her arm and wiggled them. “See?” She let her arm drop, but it just floated there. “Why are we stopped?”
“We're not stopped. Something happened.”
“Something bad,” the boy said into her side, still clinging to her. “My mommy,” he blubbered. Valerie looked over to a body nearby and gasped.
“We're so screwed,” the woman helping her said softly. It was then that Valerie looked out the porthole window built into the airlock and saw the Earth floating by. Then a shape did as well, it looked like a piece of the cable. Elevator cars floated in a random spread as well, some were bodies. And to her horror she realized they were free … and drifting away.
“Terrorists?” she asked, then coughed as the lights dimmed.
“Does it matter? We're …”
“We're not dead yet,” Valerie said, rubbing her head to probe the wound. Find some sealer to get this under control. We need to check the injured and get the dead …,” she gulped. “Get them under control,” she finally ground out with a hand brushing the boy's brown hair in apology.
<>V<>
“Sir, the beanstalk has been uprooted. She's lifted off,” Athena warned Jack. The past five
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