90 - As Long As It's Eatable

Eshmaeel struggled to open his eyes and finally, finally made them open. He'd been hearing voices after he drank what the labmaster had given him, but could not be sure of their reality. He found himself lying in a padded box with one open side and the labmaster's brother standing there looking at him. There was a steady vibration under his back and when he tried to move he found his hands and feet were still somehow attached to the padding. At least they wouldn't move for him. He was out of the endarkened cage but he was not free. He turned his head away from the Xanadu man, closed his eyes and called “Davood!” There was no answer. “If you've killed my brother, I'll cut your throat,” he said quietly. “Or rip it out with my teeth if I have to.”

There was a gasp. Honestly, how could a man grown not understand simple things like revenge? “I've not killed anybody! He's unconscious so he doesn't attack me or get in the way once he realizes I'm taking him away from his artificially precious Prime!” Eshmaeel snapped his head around fast enough that one of the small muscles in his neck hurt. “Taking HIM away from Prime? Taking us away from Prime?”

The man had a sour look on his face as he answered. “I am reliably informed that I am doing nothing but being rescued from Prime myself, though I am certain my brother never thought I would not be the primary driver of this little expedition.”

“You aren't? I mean you're being taken away too? And me, then.” His eyes darted around, looking for the person rescuing them. The Xanadu... or ex-Xanadu man, if he was to be believed... raised his voice.

“Mom, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to ... Ishmael? Is that it?”

“Eshmaeel,” he snapped, even as a mellow woman's voice said,

“Hello, young man. I am the M.O.M.M.1 currently in driving control of this vehicle, under advisement of Terence Arthur Cameron. I shall be endeavouring to take this emergency vehicle past the perimeter of Xanadu code-space, where Terence will be able to access his own code. Are you comfortable? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“Um...he called you Mom. Isn't that the Xanadu word for mother?”

“In my case, it is a name.”

“All right. I'm lying down and nothing hurts if that's what you're asking, though I need to... um... relieve myself.” His bladder was uncomfortably full.

“I could engage the injured protocols --” Terry cut in. “-- it means that if you mess yourself the machine will clean up but it's not terribly comfortable.”

“Terence,being biological like you, must perforce be correct about the comfort level.”

“Um...if I promise not to try and kill you, is there a place I can...”

“Yes!” He indicated a suddenly lit outline of a door at the back of the... Mom?

“I swear I will not try to kill you. Mom, I couldn't take you over if I wanted to, could I?” It didn't seem likely. What would the old man do? He had no name for the spymaster. Wasn't even sure he was a he or that he was old, but it was what he'd seen. Stay calm, keep asking questions. 

“No, you could not. I shall be waking your brother after you, to do similar ablutions. He needs to eliminate as well, even in half-stasis as he is.” Eshmaeel eased himself out of the box bed and over to the outlined door.

“I'll just use this quickly then.”

“Should you need instruction, just ask. I shall reply privately.”

“Thank you.”

Terence even looked relieved. “That would be far too much information for my taste. After your brother is seen to, can we talk?”

“I have nothing to do but talk,Xanadu man.”

“Not a Xanadu citizen anymore. My brother has made it look like I died in the horrid laboratory fire he just set. It's Terry.”

Eshmaeel just nodded. The facilities were so tiny the door actually touched him after he closed it, but he'd learned to use their fancy built up holes while he was in the cage. Having water to clean his hands with afterwards was still nerve wracking, even if he wasn't thirsty. Mom got Davood up, like a sleepwalker, she said. He couldn't help but think of the vehicle's driver brain as female. She sounded female. “We can't keep him like that forever,” he said after they'd gotten Davood lying down again.

“No, but I'm hoping that your coders, your programmers, will be able to undo what Gerald's people did to him.”

“I'm not just going to tell you where we are!”

“I'm asking you, please tell me, so we can all go there.”

“I can't trust you!” He found himself pressed against the closed door of the cloaca. He couldn't see any other doors and the window in the front showed a glittery tunnel. “How do I know this isn't just another hallucination you're making me have so I tell you where I'm from?”

Terry sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “Point. But isn't this a little elaborate a ruse just to get that information that Gerald... oh. Wait... Gerald will have gotten that information from your brother just by asking. It'll be in this bag...” He looked down at a rigid leather bag. Then he pushed it toward Eshmaeel. “Here. The only surviving copy of what your brother told my brother, or his people. Look. I don't care where your people are, I'm just hoping that bringing you two back will land me a place there... for a while, I guess. As a guest, not an enemy.” He shrugged. “After we're out of the tunnel and off Xanadu, why don't you talk to Mom in the loo....” he jerked a thumb at the cloaca door, indicating the only private spot in the machine when Eshmaeel obviously didn't understand. “In there... and tell her where to go. You don't need to tell me anything.”

Eshmaeel picked up the bag and tucked it under his arm.“I'll do that. Somebody asked if I were hungry or thirsty? I'm starving.” 

“Hmmm, so am I. Though printed food isn't my favourite.” 

What is he babbling about? Printed food? I don't care, as long as its eatable.