Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Accident.
Sleep was one of Vic's favorite pastimes. He could fall asleep anywhere and anytime, but waking up was always a major problem for him. Perhaps it was in his DNA, with a predominance of people who lived in the coziest and safest places on planet Earth. Even, as he believed, multi-ton fire weapons that he read about in the corridors of the electronic library, which used gunpowder and were not equipped with shock absorption or noise reduction systems, would wake him up if they were being fired nearby.
To ensure his awakening, in addition to the already used sound alarm clock, which shouted at ninety-five decibels, to his great regret, not allowed by the medical team leaders of the ship, as well as a switch to turn off this mess in the form of a series of algebraic, not mathematical problems, Vic recently ordered and installed a physical alarm clock to wake up his body. It made his face meet the floor, rather than lying in bed.
Time on the ship was approaching the morning part of the cycle. Suddenly, as usual for Vic, the waking time came, and his body flew out of bed. In sync with the alarm, he panicked and rolled over like a cat, getting up in battle readiness.
Upon not detecting any danger, Vic cursed and walked over to the spheroid-shaped alarm clock. The surface of the clock was completely covered in buttons, the functions of which changed every cycle, so solving the notorious algebraic problems required orientation with such a creative input device.
A minute later, the noise subsided. When he reached the bathroom, Vic began to wash up. He looked quite neat even after a deep sleep. His moderately long chestnut hair, which ended at the tips of his ears, was combed back. And in his large green emerald eyes, the last dream he had seen was still visible.
His body was athletic, which was necessary on the ship where the crew's physical fitness was strictly regulated. For example, there was a mandatory requirement for "participation of any 'awake' person in professional sports competitions," which ranged from individual to team sports.
Kira, for example, played basketball with increased gravity and changes to the ball. If blue lighting was additionally turned on during the game, it would seem as if the game was being played underwater. The team with more players breaking their limits would have the upper hand.
After washing up, Vik proceeded to breakfast. Although he had spent some time preparing breakfast the night before, he prefers to chop the salad just before the meal. After turning off the boiling kettle, which he had set before going to the bathroom, he poured water into a cup with pre-prepared instant coffee.
On a spacecraft, it was possible to easily acquire coffee of different types, roasts, and grinds, since there were agricultural stations and departments in the working areas. But no matter how much Vik tried to learn, his freshly brewed coffee always fell short of the instant portions.
Breakfast went as usual, and after some time, following the planned wake-up time, rhythmic metal knocks could be heard in the apartment. Without hesitation, Vik turned on the communicator.
Outside the door, a surveillance camera protruded above it, around the lens of which there was a purple glow. The visitor outside the door immediately noticed that their knock had been successful and had caught the attention of the tenant.
"Good morning!" exclaimed Kira, addressing the camera directly. "Open up, or else I'll fix these weighters on your neck!" As she made this statement, she bared her wrist, indicating a row of bracelets, clearly electric devices, with non-working indicators.
Finishing his coffee and watching the holographic data of the bracelets on his communicator, Vik learned that they were electronic weights that only worked in the training areas. In these areas, changes in gravity affected only these bracelets, giving the athlete a sense of changing gravity in the area they were in.
"And you stay healthy too. But what if I don't open it? Will you keep pecking at it like a woodpecker looking for food in the bark?" he asked with a smirk, realizing that his phrases were sometimes needlessly elongated.
"What woodpecker?"
"There was a bird of that kind on Earth. You go into the forest and hear a sound, and it's your woodpecker friend?"
"That's why I said I'll put those weights on your neck, and I'll poke your head like your woodpecker to eat your brain. Open up, come on!" Kira said with a sly smile.
Well, what can you do? Vik needed to open the door, otherwise he remembered all too well how he angered her with his teasing, and she responded to him with one-word phrases for the entire month-long cycle. He still remembers that feeling of a dry throat in his attempts to break her concentration, only the mischievous twinkle in her eye gave away her struggle at that moment.
There was a sound of the door opening. Vik had just finished his coffee and was going to wash the dishes.
"Isn't it too early?" he asked the lady who walked into the kitchen.
"Well, it's just a charge, and yesterday Phil told me that he made some kind of thing, said she'll like it. And he advised us to come to work early and check it out in the morning so we don't waste time after work."
"I wonder what he's cooked up there," Vik commented on the news with undisguised interest.
Phil Winder was their mentor and boss in the mechanics and electrical installation department. He had only come out of hibernation three years ago, and before that, mentorship was also carried out only through robots.
As a man, he was large, standing over two meters tall and weighing a hundred kilos. Despite his large palms and fingers, which might seem to hinder his work, they did not hinder his precision, which was truly remarkable.
Their acquaintances, Vik and Kira, had often heard that, in addition to his exceptional professionalism, he was only twenty years old at the time of the expedition. He had a very influential older stepbrother who piloted the only combat mech at the time, and, most importantly, held a position in the organization of the UNION.
This organization was a stronghold of science, security, and unity for all of humanity. But Phil's brother disappeared without a trace in the battle just before the "Red Sunset." According to the ship's log, Phil was devastated by grief and remained in a trance for almost three hundred years.
Only in the last two decades has he begun to come out of it, and seven years ago, Vik was assigned to him, as was Kira, a year before him. And three years ago, citing the fact that "You can't even assemble a circuit without human pressure," Phil decided to come out of suspended animation.
"He was looking at some kind of exo-scheme he had at least two menstrual cycles ago," Kira recalled as she sat down on a chair.
"Or maybe some ancient device he decided to assemble to demonstrate it live," Vik replied with a probability. "Who knows, we'll see."
After wiping the last washed plate with a towel, Vik went to change clothes.
"Oh, I'm coming with you!" Kira exclaimed and followed him, jumping off her chair.
But the hatch closed in front of her.
"Haha, what are you doing?" she asked with undisguised disappointment in front of the door. "Okay, I'll wait outside."
After a while, the two colleagues were walking towards the training grounds. They were built in residential areas, so there was no planned exit into space. Due to the earlier training time, the area was almost empty.
At this time of the day cycle, you could only come across a couple of people, the main flow of exercisers would only flood in a couple of hours later. After charging up, the colleagues decided to play basketball. After several unsuccessful rounds, Vik decided to give up and end the game. Still, if he, like Kira, paid more attention to basketball rather than the tennis game he had chosen and enjoyed, he could have lasted a little longer against one of the laureates of the championship two years ago.
"Oh, I was just starting to warm up," Kira said.
"Well, I've already overheated, so we could move on to keep it interesting," Vik replied.
"You're not made of sugar, you won't melt," Kira teased. "Let's go shower and head to work."
Vik didn't dwell on the sugar comparisons, and the time was already approaching the agreed-upon deadline.
An unexpected unpleasant situation occurred in the shower. The communicator system, whose structural features were implemented by implanting its divided parts into the user's wrists, malfunctioned during operation. The malfunction was manifested in particular by uncontrolled discharge of electricity through Vik's left arm.
He had heard about communicator malfunctions during the first century of space flight, when physiological implants were developed and introduced en masse. But nowadays, device malfunctions are rare, and yet this happened.
At the moment of the malfunction, his hand went into spasms, and the nerve endings, having received a greater charge than from a neural impulse, started dancing after being numb. The hand decided to live its own life. At the same time, Vik tried to give commands to his hand, but he only felt a dull, aching pain.
The problem was resolved as unexpectedly as it began. The malfunction simply stopped. Vik stretched his wrist and did not detect any abnormalities. Everything was fine, just like a minute ago.
Rubbing his forehead, bruised by his own hand, Vik walked out of the locker room.
"Who hit you?" A puzzled voice was heard. "And how could this happen?"
"Good morning, Richter," Vik replied, recognizing the familiar voice. "My hand decided to part ways with me."
An unexpected unpleasant situation occurred inside him. The communicator system, whose structural features were implemented by implanting its parts into the user's wrists, malfunctioned during use. The malfunction was specifically in the form of an uncontrolled discharge of electricity through Vic's left arm.
He had heard of communicator malfunctions during the first century of space flight when physiological implants were being developed and introduced en masse. But you couldn't encounter a device malfunction now, and yet here it was.
During the malfunction, his hand spasmed, and the nerve endings, having received a greater charge than a neural impulse, started dancing after the numbness set in. His hand decided to live its own life. At that time, Vic was trying to command his hand, but he only felt dull throbbing pain.
The problem was solved just as unexpectedly as it began. The malfunction simply stopped. Vic stretched his wrist and did not notice any deviations. Everything was fine, just like a minute ago.
Rubbing his forehead bruised by his own hand, Vic left the locker room.
"Who hit you?" A puzzled voice was heard. "And how exactly did it happen?"
"Good morning, Richter," Vic replied recognizing the familiar voice. "My hand decided to walk away from me."
"What?" Richter was baffled. "A malfunction in the communicator and it went through your whole arm? At least the 'backup implants' didn't activate."
"Yeah, it's strange. There was a malfunction, and the backup system didn't even scream its head off."
The guys had to contact the security system and report both the malfunction and the failed "Organism Security System" procedure. This system monitored the physiological data of passengers and, in case of noticing even the slightest deviations, called the security and medical personnel to the scene.
At the early stages of its operation, the system was overly sensitive. It was funny to read the criticism of this program in the ship's journal from people whose proximity according to information was considered a threat to the lives of these individuals.
More than two hundred years have passed since then, and by this time, the system has been tested. Information about this incident was very interesting to law enforcement personnel. According to their data, everything was fine with Vic, as telegraphed to the OS center. No forgery or malfunction was found in the system itself, although the communicator data recorded changes in the victim's physical indicators.
"What's the meeting about?" asked Kira, approaching after changing. "Did someone die?"
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time and circumstance," Richter replied, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Are you a witness to the incident?" inquired the law enforcement representative.
"What else..." Kira began, but stopped herself when she saw Vika. "Did someone attack you?"
"No," he reassured her. "My comm link malfunctioned in my right hand, and my hand punished me for it." He joked, "And the emergency override system didn't work in that situation, so they reported it..."
Kira's surprise overshadowed all her other emotions. The news of the malfunction was one thing, but the failure of the emergency override system filled her with fear.
"I ask that you try not to spread information about this EAS malfunction. Our team will take measures to find the root of the problem, and we will make every effort to eliminate this error," the security officer interrupted their conversation.
"Okay," they all agreed in unison.
After collecting data, the employees went their separate ways. Richter, whom Vika had known since he was five years old, said his goodbyes and went to train. The news of the incident had stunned him, and his pale face showed no sign of color, which contrasted with his red hair and gave him a somewhat surreal appearance.
On their way to the workshop, Vika and Kira decided to stop by the technical support center. After examining the implant, they concluded that the device was physically normal, and no defects were found in the hardware.
The technician only allowed one possibility: since the communication implants were charged externally, namely through wireless energy transfer, there may have been a surge in the charging potential. Despite the structural features of the charging element, there was a leak to the outside, but there were no traces of such a situation.
"At least a slightest sign of a short circuit on the device would have been visible, otherwise it's some kind of fiction."
"But you see, these medical scans show small muscle ruptures that in practice resemble only the aftermath of electric shock." Vik presented one of the facts proving the event had occurred, and added. "As well as traces on the shoulder electrobarrier. "
Electrobarriers are implants located at the junction points of limbs. They are designed to block the electric charge in the area affected by the current, in order to keep most of the organism safe.
Since the expedition was traveling on a spaceship, which in turn uses a lot of electricity, safety measures are certainly necessary in case of crew members being affected by electric shock.
"That's right." The technician agreed. "Everything indicates the fact of the incident, but there's no trace on the comm link."
Failing to get a clear answer from his colleague, they went to work. They worked in an industrial area, at number four. Opening the door, they walked inside.
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