The Expendables: The Wargames of Zelos

Book 0: EXPENDABLES

by Edmund Cooper

Genres: Science Fiction; Sci-fi Action & Adventure; Post-Apocalyptic sci-fi; Space Opera

Synopsis

Zelos seemed an ideal planet for colonization. Possessing one large continent and numerous archipelagos, it had a climate and vegetation comfortably like that of Earth. Captain James Conrad and his crew of Expendables started on their initial reconnaissance of the planet. For the first time they found human beings already in residence. But this was a society remote from anything they had ever before experienced. For the Emperor of this strange world controlled his domain through the great annual War Games. Only the fittest could survive - and only they were allowed to procreate. Through this 'death control' the population was limited to twenty thousand. There was only one way the Expendables could get permission to establish a colony on Zelos. Risking their own lives, they must compete in the dreaded War Games. And, somehow, they must win.

Release date: December 14, 2012

Publisher: Gateway

Print pages: 320

Sample

To: Secretary General, United Nations.

From: Director, Extra-Solar Planets Evaluating and Normalizing Department.

Subject: Resumé of ExPEND operations.

Date: 6th November 2077 S.E.T.

Para 1. The construction of the F.T.L. vessel Golden Hinde has now been completed. Proving jumps to the vicinities of Alpha Centauri, Sirius and Procyon will take place throughout the first eight months of 2078 S.E.T. Upon successful completion of the programme, command of the vessel will be given to Captain Yuri Litvinov, late of the United Nations Space Service. His team will include the veteran Expendables Fidel Batista (ref. File One, Appendix Two, ExPEND Report, December ‘73), Chantana Le Gros (same ref.), and Ruth Zonis (ref. File Two, Appendix Two, ExPEND Report, March ‘76). His mission will be to prove the second planet of Alpha Tauri (Aldebaran), designated as Janus.

Para 2. Meanwhile, after refit and approved modification, the Santa Maria has now proceeded to investigate the colonization potential of the fifth planet of Alpha Piscis Australis (Fomalhaut), distance 24 light-years. This planet is now designated as Zelos.

Para 3. Telemetry carried out by robot probe indicated that Zelos has an E-type biosphere based on normal oxygen and carbon cycles. The planet is smaller than Earth, but the marginally reduced G field should present no problem. No signs of radio emission, technological development or abnormal radioactivity have been registered. It is therefore reasonable to assume the absence of an advanced culture. If Zelos can be proved suitable for colonization, computer estimates indicate that it could ultimately support one thousand million human beings.

Para 4. The team of Expendables assigned to the Zelos project is led by Commander James Conrad who, as you know, has already distinguished himself in the proving of the planets Kratos and Tantalus. I append to this memorandum further details concerning Commander Conrad and the present complement of the Santa Maria. I am most optimistic about the outcome of this present project. A man who can successfully meet the challenge of the Death Worms of Kratos and the Rings of Tantalus, should experience little difficulty in proving Zelos—a planet which does not appear to have any special complications.

Para 5. The colony already established on Kratos continues to expand. Latest information indicates that the population of Jamestown is in the region of 6,000 with approximately 750 being indigenously born. Iron and copper are being mined and an oil well is on stream. A small refinery is already operating. Another town is under construction.

Para 6. On Tantalus, the population of Kheladelphia is approaching 2,700. However, this figure includes approximately 250 scientists of various disciplines and nationalities who were transmitted to Tantalus by your authorization to investigate the remains of the ring system. Upon completion of their studies they will, of course, be returned to Earth. Preliminary reports indicate that the defunct colony of aliens had a highly sophisticated culture and were technologically and scientifically well ahead of our own culture. It is not yet known from what part of the galaxy they came; but the surviving fragments of their star maps suggest that their planet of origin must be several hundred light-years away. I understand that the investigations of the ring system have already revealed several revolutionary technological developments which may find application in the Solar System.

Para 7. It is anticipated that, within 10 years, both Kratos and Tantalus will be exporting to Terra via matter-transmission substantial quantities of elements now rare or very difficult to obtain in this system. Surveys indicate that there is an abundance of gold and platinum on Kratos and that Tantalus has a rich diamond-bearing region. Mining operations for the aforementioned do not yet have local priority, the immediate task being that of making the colonists self-sustaining. But it is already clear that in the foreseeable future there will be a considerable return on investment in the ExPEND projects. This fact alone will be of use in neutralizing/silencing the remaining critics of the programme.

APPENDIX I

Complement of Santa Maria re proving of Planet Five, Alpha Piscis Australis (Fomalhaut), aforementioned planet now designated as Zelos.

Conrad, James. Age 42. Commander Expendables, Team Three. Nationality, British. Ex-commander United Nations Space Service, formerly captain. Distinguished Space Service Cross and bar. Resigned from U.N.S.S. after being reduced to rank of commander and forfeiting ten years seniority as a result of court-martial. Court-martial findings (presided over by Admiral Kotuzov): guilty as charged in wilfully and repeatedly disobeying orders of commander officer when permission to attempt rescue of crew of S.S. Einstein in decaying solar orbit was denied; not guilty of putting at risk safety of S.S. Gagarin which he then commanded; guilty of bringing about the deaths of three of his crew members and one engineer officer in aforementioned attempted rescue. Conrad himself was badly injured in the incident. One arm was severed by a mooring cable and one eye was burned out by solar radiation. Now has prosthetic right arm and infra-red eye implanted in vacant right socket. The artificial eye is normally covered by a silver patch. Awarded Grand Cross of Gagarin for services rendered on Kratos.

Smith, Indira. Age 34. Second in command, Expendables, Team Three. Nationality, Indian. Ex-Surgeon Lieutenant, Terran Disaster Corps. Resigned commission following torture and severe injuries inflicted by terrorists in Brazil. Now has prosthetic legs. Awarded Distinguished Space Service Cross for services rendered on Kratos.

Kwango, Kurt. Age 37. Ecologist, Expendables, Team Three. Nationality, Nigerian. Previously convicted criminal with history of violence. Behaviour since recruitment by ExPEND irreproachable. Granted free pardon for crimes committed. Awarded U.N. Gold Medallion for services rendered on Kratos and the Polaris Star for services rendered on Tantalus.

Mencken, Hal Joseph. Age 32. Engineer, felon. Nationality, American. Convicted by Canadian court for murder in Montreal. Volunteer Expendable. Released from prison under U.N. Mandate 31-B-9-72 and placed in custody of ExPEND for indefinite period.

Dolfuss, Hildegarde. Age 29. Bio-chemist, felon. Nationality, Austrian. Convicted by British court of inflicting grievous bodily harm and of dangerous driving resulting in the death of two people. Volunteer Expendable. Released from prison under U.N. Mandate 31-B-9-72 and placed in custody of ExPEND for indefinite period.

Gautier, Jean-Pierre. Age 30. Weapons and explosives expert, felon. Nationality, French. Convicted by Monegasque court of theft at Monte Carlo. Volunteer Expendable. Released from prison under U.N. Mandate 31-B-9-72 and placed in custody of ExPEND for indefinite period.

Ustinov, Jane. Age 27. Marinologist, felon. Nationality, South African. Convicted by U.S. court of kidnapping and blackmail in New York. Released from prison under U.N. Mandate 31-B-9-72 and placed in custody of ExPEND for indefinite period.

APPENDIX II

Though the science of robotics has advanced considerably since Commander Conrad set out to prove the planet Kratos, he decided—against the advice of the experts—to take six models of the S.P.9 series for the Zelos project.

In particular, he insisted on the presence of S.P.9/1, designated as Matthew. This robot is now technically obsolete, a more flexible model having been developed. However, Commander Conrad chose to ignore the advice of the experts, his argument roughly being that the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know.

As you are aware, the S.P.10 series has already been tested exhaustively in adverse conditions on Terra, Luna and Mars. These robots are undoubtedly superior in performance and flexibility to the previous series. One significant difference is that the S.P.10/1 is capable of making independent value-judgements and acting upon such judgements. For example: if the commander of a proving expedition and a team member were in a dangerous situation where only one of them could be saved, a Self Programming Ten robot would save the commander, regardless of the order or orders it received.

This function Commander Conrad views with great distrust, maintaining that only a human being has the right to make such decisions. Psychiatric investigation has revealed that Commander Conrad has mildly paranoid tendencies. The report indicates that his hostility to S.P.10 robots is directly related to fear of having his authority usurped or challenged.

Because of his record re Kratos and Tantalus, I deem it necessary to humour him on this occasion. But, as you know, substantial funds and resources have been devoted to the development and perfection of the S.P.10 series. I therefore propose to assign six S.P.10 models to Captain Litvinov for the proving of Janus. When the Santa Maria and the Golden Hinde return upon completion of their missions an evaluation of robotic performance will be carried out. Despite his record, Commander Conrad cannot be allowed to obstruct progress.

CONRAD opened his eyes and groaned. He didn’t like what he saw. He couldn’t make any sense out of it. The colours and the shapes were all one horrible mess. His mind recoiled from the effort of trying to interpret the visual data. He groaned once more and tried to move his arms. They would not respond.

Something was placed over one eye. He knew what it was. A silver patch. He remembered that much. Now he was able to focus, to interpret what he could see.

There was a robot bending over him. It had the word Matthew painted on its chest plate. Now Conrad knew what was happening. He was coming out of the big cold. It had happened before. He ought to be used to the trauma, but he wasn’t.

Matthew massaged his chest with thermal gloves. Conrad was immensely grateful for the radiant heat.

‘Sir,’ said Matthew, ‘are you in a condition to receive data?’

Conrad thought about that. It took some time and effort. Still, memory was returning. There was always a temporary amnesia after suspended animation, but it seemed as if he was developing some kind of tolerance. When Matthew had resuscitated him in the Kratos orbit, it had been pretty rough for a time. Tantalus had been better; and this time orientation was taking place quite rapidly. He had already remembered about the patch, his own name and fragments of his history. He knew that he was a spaceman, that he was in the resuscitation chamber of a star-ship called the Santa Maria and that Matthew, the metal monster, was an old friend.

It was a pity that human beings—in the conscious condition—could not survive faster-than-light drive without going crazy. It was fortunate that robots could. They weren’t programmed to go crazy. They were programmed to reject nightmares, visions, phantasms and all the gremlins that seemed to proliferate in sub-space. Robots didn’t feel or imagine or create. They only thought. Electronically. Maybe they were lucky. Maybe not.

The word Zelos floated into Conrad’s mind. He didn’t know what it meant, but it was a trigger mechanism. ‘Yes, I am in a condition to receive data.’

‘Decision noted. Sir, you are James Conrad, commander of the faster-than-light vessel Santa Maria. The vessel is now in stable orbit round the planet Alpha Piscis Australis Five, designated as Zelos by the Extra-Solar Planets Evaluating and Normalizing Department of the United Nations. Your mission is to prove Zelos for human colonization. Your personnel consists of six human beings and six self-programming robots. I am S.P.9/1 designated as Matthew for your convenience. Do you read me?’

‘I read you.’ It was all coming back fast now, remarkably fast. Experimentally, Conrad tried to move his arms once more. He managed to move one of them—the prosthetic arm. He should have known that would be the one to respond first. ‘How long will it be before I am operational?’

‘Your reactions are very good, Commander. Revised estimate is forty minutes S.E.T. plus or minus five per cent.’ Indefatigably, Matthew continued with the thermal massage.

‘Make it faster. I hate this place.’

‘Query, sir. Is the situation designated as an emergency?’

‘No; damn you!’ snapped Conrad irritably.

‘Then, Commander, I must proceed normally. I am not empowered to put your life at risk.’

Conrad stared at the walls of the resuscitation chamber and at the battery of radiant heat lamps that beamed energy to the key areas of his body. He felt much-needed heat rising up also from the fluidized bed on the intensive care bench where he lay. Soon his still half-frozen body would be able to move without too much pain. But what would take the chill out of his soul? Nothing the clever boys back on Terra could devise. Maybe there was a limit to the number of times you could freeze people without making them flip. No doubt, the problem had been researched. ExPEND was, at least, thorough. And, anyway, the trauma of resuscitation was better than the trauma of F.T.L. drive.

Conrad’s intense hatred of resuscitation procedure somehow gave strength to his mind and body. He hated lying naked, defenceless, while some bloody machine executed a programme that would make him human again. The hatred produced anger, and anger boosted the flow of adrenalin.

With his prosthetic arm, he pushed the robot’s gloved hands away. Then, somehow, suppressing a groan as messages of pain from all the stiff muscles overloaded his central nervous system, he managed to sit up.

‘I want a large brandy. Have one sent up quick!’

‘Sir, I am not empowered at this stage——’

‘Shut up and execute!’

‘Query: is the situation now designated as an emergency?’

‘Yes, blast your miserable circuits, it is!’

‘Decision noted,’ said Matthew gravely. ‘Execution proceeds. Mark has been assigned. The brandy, designated as Hennessey XO, amount four fluid ounces, will be available in approximately two point two five minutes. Is that satisfactory?’

‘It’s tolerable,’ conceded Conrad grudgingly.

‘Sir,’ said Matthew with a faint, metallic note of protest. ‘This is a most unusual procedure and not to be generally recommended for the resuscitation programme.’

‘Life,’ retorted Conrad, ‘is a most unusual procedure.

But what the hell would you know about that? Now get on with the thermal massage and beat that forty-minute estimate. That is an order.’

‘Decision noted. Execution proceeds.’

Later, as Conrad was sipping the brandy and enjoying the luxurious feeling of warmth flowing back into his limbs, Matthew said surprisingly: ‘Commander, in this situation, I am empowered to point out that you are a real mean bastard.’

Conrad looked at him, amazed. Then he did some rapid thinking. Finally, he said: ‘Who had that interesting mandate inserted into your programme?’

‘Mr. Kwango, Commander. It was inserted during my second proving trial on Terra. His rationale was that during a period of stress, the statement would have a beneficial effect upon you. Resuscitation procedure is defined as a period of stress. Does the statement have a beneficial effect?’

Suddenly, Conrad began to laugh. Kwango, the black joker, had struck again. Suddenly, he felt at home.

‘Yes, Matthew, the statement has a beneficial effect. How long before I can put on my clothes, eat a decent meal and get sensible?’

‘Approximately seventeen minutes, Commander. Your responses are very good.’

Conrad finished his brandy and leaned back. He didn’t feel cold any more. ‘Then keep up the go. . .