understanding, so if we encounter anyone else, I can translate for you.
Barcus finished his breakfast as Em gave him this update.
“I have had the BUGs exploring The Abbey in great detail. I believe that it will be perfect for our long-term needs. Oh, and I have discovered something new about The Abbey.”
“Anything unusual?” Barcus sipped his coffee, trying to focus.
“Yes, actually. The outer wall is too perfect to be made by hand. I believe it is actually a Colony Redoubt structure. The outer wall is exactly 91.44 meters in diameter and doesn't vary even a centimeter except where the wall was destroyed.”
“What does that mean? I vaguely remember something about Colony Redoubts from elementary school.”
“Early Colony ships were equipped with large machines called Makers - single function AI Bots that built Redoubts. One of the standard Redoubt Designs was 100 yards in diameter. We will know more when we get there. The BUGs can only go so many places.”
“Didn't Makers use local materials, like sand and water and fibers to make foamcrete buildings? That and the volcano were the most popular science fair projects. I made a Maker myself.”
Em's shoulders were shaking as if she were laughing.
“What?” Barcus said over a mouthful of toast.
“Elementary school? You built a Maker?”
“Never mind that. What else did you find out about The Abbey?”
Em shook her head and sat on a rock. A translucent ghost in the full sun.
“It has not been occupied for decades. The road that once led to it was reclaimed by the forest. It's about a week away from the nearest populated town or village, and no one goes there ever. Not even Trackers or hunters.”
“Trackers? Hunters?”
“They are the only ones, as far as I can tell, that wander and use abandoned villages or other places.”
***
Barcus finished his coffee, cleaned up after his meal and headed out. It took them a few more days to reach the ruins because they went slowly so as to leave less of a trail.
The suit had rendezvoused with them the day before they reached the Abbey. It was noticeably cooler there. The elevation was higher. The leaves were in full autumn glory.
They made their initial approach to The Abbey from the side where the wall was destroyed. Then, they circumnavigated the fortress. The walls were bleached white upward for the first ten meters. Above that there was gray cut block for another two meters and then battlements above that. As they continued around, they found there was a huge main gate and tower with a bridge on the north end. There wasn't a moat there, just a deep ditch with a sharp rocky bottom. Water might flow there in the rainy season, but it was currently dry. The portcullis and huge doors were closed. If the gates had been opened, two carts could cross the bridge at the same time, four horses abreast. It quietly amused Barcus that he used that as his mental measurement.
“This bridge seems also to be an aqueduct,” Em said, indicating on the HUD the path the aqueduct followed from the north for just over one kilometer to a mountain river. It was running even now in what Em believed the driest part of the year. “The intake is about 90 meters higher than we are at this point, supplying water to The Abbey year round. Clever.” She indicated the bridge on the HUD.
“We need to test the wood decking before we use it. The door works have also been destroyed from the inside. They must have been trying to keep someone out.”
“Shitload of good it did them,” Barcus said as they rounded the last turn again to the broken wall and rubble.
The stony ditch had prevented some but not all of the forest from encroaching. It continued almost all the way around. A few small, brave trees tried to find purchase there.
The spider climbed the rubble easily. The wall had been breached about halfway up. Barcus had Em pause at the top so he could have a look. The wall itself was about two and a half meters thick. At the
Barcus finished his breakfast as Em gave him this update.
“I have had the BUGs exploring The Abbey in great detail. I believe that it will be perfect for our long-term needs. Oh, and I have discovered something new about The Abbey.”
“Anything unusual?” Barcus sipped his coffee, trying to focus.
“Yes, actually. The outer wall is too perfect to be made by hand. I believe it is actually a Colony Redoubt structure. The outer wall is exactly 91.44 meters in diameter and doesn't vary even a centimeter except where the wall was destroyed.”
“What does that mean? I vaguely remember something about Colony Redoubts from elementary school.”
“Early Colony ships were equipped with large machines called Makers - single function AI Bots that built Redoubts. One of the standard Redoubt Designs was 100 yards in diameter. We will know more when we get there. The BUGs can only go so many places.”
“Didn't Makers use local materials, like sand and water and fibers to make foamcrete buildings? That and the volcano were the most popular science fair projects. I made a Maker myself.”
Em's shoulders were shaking as if she were laughing.
“What?” Barcus said over a mouthful of toast.
“Elementary school? You built a Maker?”
“Never mind that. What else did you find out about The Abbey?”
Em shook her head and sat on a rock. A translucent ghost in the full sun.
“It has not been occupied for decades. The road that once led to it was reclaimed by the forest. It's about a week away from the nearest populated town or village, and no one goes there ever. Not even Trackers or hunters.”
“Trackers? Hunters?”
“They are the only ones, as far as I can tell, that wander and use abandoned villages or other places.”
***
Barcus finished his coffee, cleaned up after his meal and headed out. It took them a few more days to reach the ruins because they went slowly so as to leave less of a trail.
The suit had rendezvoused with them the day before they reached the Abbey. It was noticeably cooler there. The elevation was higher. The leaves were in full autumn glory.
They made their initial approach to The Abbey from the side where the wall was destroyed. Then, they circumnavigated the fortress. The walls were bleached white upward for the first ten meters. Above that there was gray cut block for another two meters and then battlements above that. As they continued around, they found there was a huge main gate and tower with a bridge on the north end. There wasn't a moat there, just a deep ditch with a sharp rocky bottom. Water might flow there in the rainy season, but it was currently dry. The portcullis and huge doors were closed. If the gates had been opened, two carts could cross the bridge at the same time, four horses abreast. It quietly amused Barcus that he used that as his mental measurement.
“This bridge seems also to be an aqueduct,” Em said, indicating on the HUD the path the aqueduct followed from the north for just over one kilometer to a mountain river. It was running even now in what Em believed the driest part of the year. “The intake is about 90 meters higher than we are at this point, supplying water to The Abbey year round. Clever.” She indicated the bridge on the HUD.
“We need to test the wood decking before we use it. The door works have also been destroyed from the inside. They must have been trying to keep someone out.”
“Shitload of good it did them,” Barcus said as they rounded the last turn again to the broken wall and rubble.
The stony ditch had prevented some but not all of the forest from encroaching. It continued almost all the way around. A few small, brave trees tried to find purchase there.
The spider climbed the rubble easily. The wall had been breached about halfway up. Barcus had Em pause at the top so he could have a look. The wall itself was about two and a half meters thick. At the
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