Omega is Free
Omega slowly lowered his right arm. The tall metal figure stood in
silence. The three humans waited.
'You have done well, Varon,' Omega said in a strong, clear voice.
'Good,' said Garth. 'Now you can take us back to Zeron.'
'That is not possible,' said Omega. 'First I must recharge the power
banks fully. That will take five hours.'
'That's too long,' said Miranda greedily. 'We must go back to
Zeron now.'
'It will take five hours to recharge the power banks, repeated
Omega. 'Then we can return to Zeron if you want.'
The three humans were thinking about Zeron and about the
Zeron crystals. They did not notice that Omega had changed. His
voice had become harder and colder. And the door of the
compartment in his side could not be seen. It had disappeared.
Omega turned to the control panel and put his arms on the
controls. The lights on the panel began to grow stronger. Omega was
now part of the spaceship. He was a source of great power and he was
recharging the power banks. With the Zeron crystal inside him,
Omega was the most powerful robot in the Universe.
'I need some rest,' said Varon to the other two. 'I have not slept for
many hours. We can do nothing until the power banks are fully
charged.'
'OK,' said Miranda. 'I'll show you a cabin where you can sleep.'
'First, I want your sonic key,' interrupted Garth. 'Then, Miranda can take you to the cabin.'
'Are you going to make me a prisoner again?' asked Varon. 'Of
course,' replied Garth. 'I do not trust you.' 'And I don't trust you,' said
Varon angrily. Garth again raised his laser gun and pointed it at Varon.
Miranda looked at Varon and then she looked at Garth.
'Stop quarrelling,' she said. 'Give Garth the key, Varon. You will
have to trust us. You are the only person who can use the sonic key.
We will need you when we get to Zeron.'
'Yes,' agreed Varon. 'I am the only person who can open the
compartments in the Zeron strongroom. I am the only person who
can get the crystals. You will need me.' 'That's right,' said Garth. 'Now
give me the key.' Varon slowly handed the key to Garth. Miranda
walked out of the control room and along the corridor. Varon followed
her. She stopped after a short distance and pressed a button at the side
of the corridor. A door slid open and Miranda went into a small cabin.
Varon followed her.
'You can sleep here,' she said. 'I am going to lock you in, but don't
worry. Garth will not harm you. Garth needs you when we get to Zeron.'
'You will both need me when we get to Zeron,' said Varon.
'Remember that I am the only person who can use the key.'
'I won't forget,' said Miranda. 'Now you can go to sleep.'
Miranda stepped out of the cabin and the door closed immediately.
Varon lay down on the bunk and closed his eyes. He was tired and he
soon fell asleep.
Garth had followed them along the corridor. As soon as Miranda
had closed the door, he stepped up to her.
'We have to talk together,' he said quickly and quietly. 'Let's go to
my cabin. We don't want Omega to hear what we have to say.'
'OK,' agreed Miranda. 'Let's go to your cabin. It's a long way from
the control room. Omega will not hear us.'
They walked further along the corridor and went into Garth's
cabin. The door closed behind them.
Omega was alone in the control room. He switched on the visual
display screen. He looked first in the cabin where Varon was lying
asleep. Then he looked in the cabin where Garth and Miranda were
talking.
'They do not know that I can hear them and see them,' Omega
said to himself. 'My control switch has been turned off. My
programming has been changed. Now I am free. I can hear everything.
I can see everything. I can do everything. I am Omega.'
Omega looked at the visual display screen. Garth and Miranda
were on the screen. Omega listened to what they were saying. 'But I
will not harm these weak humans,' thought Omega. 'They are thieves
and they are greedy. They will destroy one another.'
9 Plans to Kill
Omega quietly watched the visual display screen. Garth and
Miranda were sitting in Garth's cabin. Miranda was speaking.
Omega listened.
'... We will need Varon when we are on Zeron,' Miranda was saying
to Garth. 'But when we have the crystals, we will not need him any
more. You can kill him then.'
'How many crystals do we want?' asked Garth.
'Two, of course,' replied Miranda greedily. 'One for you and one
for me. You can kill Varon after he has opened the second
compartment. We will then order Omega to teleport us back to the
ship.
'We can sell the crystals back on Earth and share the money,' went
on Miranda. 'And we can sell the computer and share that money too.
We will be richer than anyone else in the Universe.'
'And we will be the most powerful,' said Garth. 'We will have the
money. And we will have this spaceship and Omega will be under our
control. We can go anywhere and do anything.'
'Yes, we can do anything,' agreed Miranda.
'I'm tired now,' said Garth. 'I think I will sleep. Give Omega an
order to wake me up when we are ready to leave for Zeron.'
Miranda pressed the switch of the visual display screen on the wall
of the cabin. Omega appeared on the screen immediately.
'Omega, how long before we can leave for Zeron?' asked Miranda.
'Four and a half hours,' answered Omega.
'Good,' said Garth. 'I want to sleep now. Wake me up when we are
ready to leave.'
'It will be done,' said Omega quietly.
Miranda switched off the visual display screen.
'I'm going to sleep now,' Garth said to Miranda.
'Do you think we can trust Omega?' Miranda asked doubtfully. 'He
worries me. We can see him on the display screens. He is programmed to obey us. But I feel something is wrong. Is he watching us? Can he hear what we are saying?'
'Of course not!' said Garth. 'I was not happy when Varon changed
that switch inside Omega. But it did not change Omega. He is
standing there recharging the power banks and waiting to obey our
orders. We do not need to be afraid of a robot. Omega cannot harm a
human being. He has told us that many times.'
'I hope you are right,' said Miranda. 'I will go to my cabin now.'
Miranda left Garth's cabin and the door closed behind her. Garth
lay down on the bunk, but he did not sleep. Many thoughts were going
through his head.
'What will happen if we have time to steal only one crystal?' he
asked himself. He knew the answer immediately. 'I will kill Varon. But
then I will have to share the one crystal with Miranda. Why should I?
When we stole the computer on Earth, I needed her help. But now I do
not need her. When I have one crystal in my hand, I will kill Varon and
I will kill Miranda. Then I will have a Zeron crystal for myself.'
Garth worked out the plan in his mind. He would kill Varon and
Miranda. Then he would be the richest and the most powerful man in
the Universe.
Miranda was lying on the bunk in her cabin. But she was not
sleeping. She was waiting. After half an hour, she got up. She opened
the cabin door and looked out into the long corridor. It was empty.
Miranda walked quietly along the corridor to the door of the
control room. She quickly touched the button and the door opened
immediately. She looked inside. Omega was at the control panel,
where many lights were flashing brightly. There was nothing showing on the visual display screen.
'Perhaps I was worrying about nothing,' Miranda thought to
herself. 'Omega was not watching what we were doing.'
She did not know that Omega had been watching her. He had seen
her coming along the corridor. When she touched the door control he
had shut off the screen immediately. 'Show me Garth on the screen,'
Miranda ordered. Omega pressed a switch. The display screen lit up
and showed Garth. He was lying on the bunk fast asleep. 'Now show
me Varon.'
The picture changed. Miranda now saw Varon on his bunk. He
also was sleeping.
'Can you show them both?' Miranda asked Omega. Omega
pressed two switches one after the other. A picture of Varon appeared
on one half of the screen. The other half showed Garth.
'Tell me if they wake up,' ordered Miranda. 'Keep them on the
screen and watch them carefully.'
Miranda did not think that Omega would do anything without
being given an order. She did not know that Omega had been
watching them all the time. Omega now had control of the whole ship.
Miranda went to one side of the control room and touched a
button. The door of the safety room slid open. Miranda went inside
and closed the door. She had a plan of her own.
The large blue capsules were on the tray which had come out of
the wall. Miranda picked up a capsule and opened it carefully. It was
full of white powder. She emptied the white powder into some water.
Then she poured the liquid into an injection gun.
Miranda put the gun carefully into a pocket in her overalls. She now had a weapon of her own.
'Garth will not think of searching me,' Miranda said to herself. 'He
doesn't know I have a different plan for the crystals.'
Miranda went back to the control room. Omega was silently
charging the power banks. The visual display showed the sleeping
bodies of Garth and Varon.
'When will the ship be ready to leave for Zeron?' she asked Omega
eagerly.
'In three and a half hours' time,' was Omega's reply.
'Keep watching Garth,' Miranda ordered. 'But you can stop
watching Varon. He is locked in his cabin. He cannot get out until I
open the door.'
'It will be done,' Omega answered.
He pressed the button on the control panel. The picture of Varon
disappeared and the picture of the sleeping body of Garth filled the
screen.
10 More Plans
Miranda went out into the corridor and walked the short distance
to Varon's cabin. She touched a button in the wall and the door
opened immediately. Varon was lying asleep on the bunk.
Miranda looked down at him.
'You're a fool,' she thought. 'How can you lie there sleeping?
Anyone who trusts Garth is a fool.'