lighting of the room, the creatures that had bonded together looked human. The body language, though somehow off, was still human in its interpretation.
'I want to talk to one of the ship's crew,' Max said.
'Talking with the ship's crew isn't necessary,' the Builder replied. 'You can interface with us.'
'Is someone coming to rescue you?' Max asked.
'The emergency beacon is in place.'
'Have you been in contact with someone?'
'That doesn't concern you.'
'You're hurting people I know,' Max said. 'You're hurting my town. That concerns me.'
The Builder regarded him. 'These are not your people, Max. We have seen you. We have scanned you. Your true species is unknown to our data banks, but we know you are not of earth stock.'
'These people out there,' Max said, 'they're going to come hunting for you.'
'Nonsense,' the Builder replied. 'We will simply scare them away. Our defensive position was programmed not to be overtly lethal. We rely on the primitive fears and superstitions of the mammal species and civilizations that live in this place. They fear the wrath of their dead ancestors. They will recognize this place as sacred and put it apart from the rest of the world.'
'That's not true anymore.'
The Builder regarded him.
'The civilization you first dealt with had a different way of looking at the world,' Max said. 'The early civilizations accepted the natural world and their place in it. People today investigate things like this. They seek to understand.' And they want to control things they don't understand or are different, he thought.
'No,' the Builder said. 'We have adopted the proper defensive mechanisms and approaches. We will protect the crew.'
'You need to talk to one of the crew,' Max argued. 'Do they know what's going on?'
'We are here to care for them and protect them,' the Builder said. 'We are not here to bother them while they are involved in their mission.'
Vague unease stirred within Max. 'Let me talk to one of the ship's crew.'
'Impossible,' the Builder replied.
'Why?'
'The ship's crew has important tasks to perform. They must not be disturbed. We are here to keep them safe and productive.'
Max made his voice harder, sensing that something was wrong but not knowing what. 'I insist.'
'Request denied,' the Builder replied.
'You brought me here for a reason,' Max pointed out.
'You must communicate with your friends for us,' the Builder said. 'They must be made to understand that they must leave this ship alone. The crew must not be disturbed. No one must interfere with our rescue. We will be taken back and assimilated into the One.'
'What One?'
'The One that is all of us,' the Builder said. 'The one we were separated from to go on this voyage with the crew.' The figure paused. 'We miss ourselves. We miss being… whole.'
'I want to see someone from the crew,' Max said.
'You can't. We exist to take care of the crew. We minister to their wants and needs. That makes us worthwhile. Without them we would be alone more than we are while outside the One.'
Max's mind worked furiously. He started to see the incongruities in the Builder's logic.
'You must tell the others to leave,' the creature said.
'You're afraid of Michael, aren't you?' Max asked. 'His power destroys you.'
'Your friend endangers this ship,' the Builder said. 'He endangers the ship's crew. That will not be tolerated.'
'You were in stasis until a few days ago,' Max said.
'We were conserving power,' the Builder agreed. 'Our energy converters had been damaged as well. We decided it would be better if we hibernated with the crew and awaited rescue.'
'Why did you leave hibernation?'
'Because we felt a ship near us,' the Builder said. 'We felt the power surge only a few days ago.'
The Granilith, Max realized. The power the vessel had used to return to the home world had been incredible.
'When the ship took off,' the Builder said, 'we were forced to wake. The ship was unknown to us and of alien origin. We knew it was possible that an enemy or potential enemy had found our emergency beacon. We can't rest until we are rescued now. The local communities must be repulsed in the manner in which we repulsed them before.'
'Let me talk to the ship's captain,' Max said.
'The person in charge of this ship is busy,' the Builder said. 'Tasks must be completed. Our rescue must be effected.'
Max stepped forward, quelling the immediate instinct to avoid a confrontation with the creature.
The Builder shimmered again, adding inches to its height. 'Stay back.' The rapid growth took away some from the humanness of its features.
'Take me to the ship's crew,' Max ordered.
The Builder shifted suddenly, and the movement was too quick to be human. The humanoid figure seemed to
flow from one spot to the next. He stood in front of a closed door that Max hadn't seen in the darkness before. A softly glowing handplate gleamed to one side of the door.
'You must stay back,' the Builder said. The creature knotted its hands into fists. 'If you come any closer, we will be forced to harm you. That is not what we wish. We wish you to be our messenger.'
'Take me to the ship's crew,' Max repeated, more forcefully.
'That's impossible.'
Turning, Max watched Michael step into the room, followed by Valenti, Isabel, Kyle, Liz, and Maria. All of them looked disheveled and worn, caked in dust.
Isabel stepped forward.
The Builder rippled again, flowing with predatory intent toward Isabel.
Michael held up his hands. Energy coiled around them. 'Don't,' Michael said. 'I'll fry you where you stand.'
The Builder moved back a step.
'What do you mean it's impossible to take me to the ship's crew?' Max asked.
'The ship's crew must be protected,' the Builder said. Screeching hysteria filled the words.
'There is no ship's crew,' Isabel said. 'River Dog uncovered the truth and showed me. These things…' She looked at Max.
'They call themselves the Builder,' Max said.
'The Builder has been hiding the crew's loss from themselves in order to keep from going mad.' Isabel approached the door the Builder had been protecting.
'That door is broken,' the Builder said. 'We have not yet gotten it repaired. There has been no need.'
Isabel waved her hand in front of the plate. The door irised open, all six steel plates retreating effortlessly into the bulkhead.
'No!' the Builder shouted, starting forward.
Michael shoved an energy bolt forward. The blue-white energy blast cut the Builder off at the knees in a series of electrical explosions.
Moving quickly, the Builder separated into halves, throwing their upper body away from their lower half, managing to save some of themselves. The upper half fell heavily to the dust- and debris-covered floor. Even as Max watched, more drones sped to the upper half of the Builders body, adding their masses to the hive organism. The Builder altered their body, growing legs again.
Isabel took Max by the elbow, pulling him into the next room. 'Here,' she said. 'It's time that all of them know the truth again.'
