The Cartographer Collection

7. Had A Little Help From My Friends

Calypso"s demeanor intrigued me. As the leader of the Explorer"s League he seemed more warlike than one would expect from an ordinary explorer. I wondered what position he had prior to joining the League.

warlike“So, do you need me to do something?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.

He took a seat at the end of the bed. “Well, Nathan, we have been watching you ever since you came aboard. We are pleased that you took great interest in everything we have taught you so far. The fact that you passed the test proves that you are ready to start your training, if you are ready to accept the responsibility.”

“That depends on the responsibility I suppose,” I replied sheepishly. “A cartographer makes me think of some kind of mapmaker. Do I need to design maps or something?”

Calypso laughed. “No, Nathan. The map has already been designed. You only need to catalogue.”

“Catalogue?” I repeated.

“The Cartographer"s primary responsibility is cataloguing data and maintaining its accuracy as you travel to new, uncharted regions.”

“Oh gee, that sounds exciting,” I replied sourly. “So I would basically be some sort of glorified administrative assistant.”

“No, not at all. As a matter of fact, the Cartographer does much more than plot waypoints and fill in blanks. They are also a member of the initial scout team sent to a planet"s surface upon its discovery. You will be on the front line of exploration and will work side by side with the team in identifying and collecting samples of alien indigenous life.”

My initial annoyance ebbed, giving way to renewed excitement. The chance to discover new worlds and new life was too much to pass up. “Well, that sounds much more exciting. I guess I will accept your offer.”

Calypso smiled, slapped his knees with the palms of his hands and stood up. His excitement doused the fire in his eyes. “Excellent, I will let Satou know that you have accepted!”

He turned for the door.

“Wait!” I called out, stopping him before he exited.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.

Calypso turned and his smile faded. “You will have to start training in order to fully understand the full scope of your responsibility. You will need to learn covert operations, hostile engagement, planetary topography and geologic retrieval.”

I slumped my shoulders in disappointment. There would be no way I could learn all of that quickly enough to appease my immediate curiosity. Maybe by the time I turned fifty I might have enough training to go on my first scouting mission. Calypso recognized my frustration and crossed his arms with a smile.

“I have faith you will succeed,” he offered. “Being the Cartographer is a very serious responsibility and you have passed the first test. The test was designed as the first in a series of increasingly difficult tasks. Although difficult, it will be rewarding in the end.”

“Especially for a human,” a gruff voice called from the hallway.

Natronix stood in the hall with his hands on his hips and a sour look on his face. He wore the look so often that I begun to think it came natural to him. Aside from his statement, he completely ignored me and turned to Calypso.

“Captain Jasper is ready to be debriefed.”

Calypso nodded and whispered over his shoulder. “Pay no mind to Natronix, his lack of faith in humanity does not represent mine.”

Calypso followed Natronix out the door. Before walking out of view, he tossed me a smug expression, increasing my dislike level. The door slid shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again. I plopped down at my desk and stared at the computer screen before pulling up a file titled planetary topography. The data loaded but before I could study the material, the doorbell rang.

planetary topography“Come in,” I sighed. For the first time since Satou abducted me, I wanted to enjoy my solitude. I needed peace and quiet so I could dive into the things I needed to learn, but it was as if my room had turned into Grand Central Station.

Satou came in, but this time someone—or rather something—accompanied him. I stood up and admired his new companion. Next to him stood a humanoid robot, except the torso sat perfectly on a set of wheels wrapped in tank treads instead of legs. Despite a lack of proper appendages, it moved swiftly and pivoted its torso while navigating its way into my room. One arm, humanoid in nature, rested perfectly on its lower half. Its left arm, however, ended in a pincer-like device.

“Um, hi Satou,” I muttered and gestured toward his new friend. “What is that thing?”

“I am not a thing, thank you very much,” it replied. The voice sounded creepily like Stephen Hawking.

I am not a thing, thank you very muchI fell back a step and almost tripped over my chair. Satou smiled before throwing his arm around the automaton.

“Nathan, I would like you to meet our resident cosmic expert, Gard.”

“Gard?” I echoed.

“My name is an acronym for Geological Automated Retrieval Device,” Gard replied.

My name is an acronym for Geological Automated Retrieval Device“Sometimes I like to tell him that his name is really an anagram for "drag", because his personality leaves a lot to be desired,” Satou quipped. Apparently Satou came equipped with a sense of humor.

Gard"s azure eye sockets flashed in quick bursts, like strobe lights. “I am sorry sir, but my highly complex programming does not allow me the same emotional luxuries as yourself.”

I am sorry sir, but my highly complex programming does not allow me the same emotional luxuries as yourselfI watched the exchange with interest and believed that Gard responded to Satou with a veiled insult. That made me chuckle, and I promised myself that I would try to investigate further into his “complex” programming.

Satou waved his hand dismissively and turned to me. “Like I said earlier, despite his bland personality and penchant for snobbery, you can probably tell by the acronym he is very useful when it comes to planetary scouting and extraction.”

“Extraction?” I repeated.

“Yes, Gard is responsible for storing geologic material from our surveys, obtaining and storing DNA samples and identifying potential hazards on the planet surface which might impact future operations.”

“Oh,” I said blankly, my eyes shifting to the robot. “I suppose that would come in handy, but what does this have to do with me?”

“Well, as the new Cartographer, he belongs to you,” Satou beamed. “This will be the first step in your training program.”

Gard rolled into my room and Satou turned to leave. Concerned, I followed him into the hallway.

“Wait, what do I do with him?”

Satou turned and locked eyes with me. “That, young Nathan, is your first test.”

He disappeared around the corner and left me on my own doorstep fighting an internal battle about what to do with the current inhabitant inside my room. I turned around and waited until the door slid shut behind me. Gard stared at me, his unblinking blue eyes burning a hole in my chest.

I locked eyes with him. After several uncomfortable moments passed in our impromptu staring contest, I addressed the elephant in the room.

“So what am I supposed to do with you?”

He rolled over to my desk and hovered over me. Although he stood no taller than five feet, with my low desk chair and his imposing disposition, he seemed to tower over me. His eyes maintained their stern gaze upon me, unblinking, and for a brief second, I was afraid he would start shooting laser beams from them.

“Well, Nathan Chambers of Earth, I don"t think you are supposed to "do" anything with me. It is I who is supposed to "do" something with you.”

Well, Nathan Chambers of Earth, I don"t think you are supposed to "do" anything with me. It is I who is supposed to "do" something with you