Free Creations by William Mitchell

run it as a crewed facility for the first replications, then let it self-replicate later on.”
    “What? The mining operations, the chemical extractors, the fabricators? You thought you could just flick a switch andsuddenly it would work on its own?”
    “Yes, Niall designed it that way himself.”
    Oliver snorted contemptuously. “In that case this Niall character was either very intelligent or very deluded. And I think I know which.”
    Safi looked at him icily. It was almost as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Again Victor stepped in.
    “Safi, thank you for showing us that, I’m sure your experiences will be very useful to us in our work here.” He sounded as if he was trying to reassure her: maybe not something she’d appreciate, Max thought. Then Victor turned to the others. “Let’s all take a break now shall we, we can carry on later.”
    Then he reached over to the screen and paused the clip, which had been running continuously as they’d talked. It was now showing the inside of the Anchorville airlock, as the crew reentered and began to remove their suits. The chamber looked crowded with all of them in there, especially the two at the head of the group, the tall, crew-cut man at the front and the woman standing next to him. His head was almost touching the ceiling as he looked into the camera, a broad smile on his face and the name badge, “Niall West”, fixed to his chest. She looked young, fresh faced and attractive, with her long fair hair spilling down the back of her pressure suit now that her helmet had been removed. Her name badge wasn’t visible, but as she stood there next to her team leader, smiling up at him warmly, she wasn’t hard to recognise.
    * * *
    “Hi, Max! I thought I’d start the unpacking without you. Hope you don’t mind.”
    Gillian had come to the door to meet him when he got back. The house was a single storey villa, with a living area leading out to a terrace, and a kitchen in a large alcove. The shelves andrefrigerator were already stocked up when they’d arrived. As a home it was comfortable, but nothing special. They’d only been able to bring a few cases of possessions with them, but she’d found places for everything and already it felt more like a home.
    “Looks like someone’s woken up since this morning,” he said, squeezing her tight. “So what have you been doing today?”
    “I got up just after you left and went off to do some exploring. Did a few pictures too. No one here to sell them to, but what the hell. In fact there’s not much of anything round here is there? Oh, and I met Tess down on the beach, we must have walked at least a mile without seeing another person. Did you know she’s a journalist? A pretty successful one too. I’d wondered why her name was familiar.”
    She was talking fast, gabbling even, as if brimming over with excitement. She’d pinned a lot of hopes on their arrival there, like it was a kind of salvation for the ambitions that had been so mercilessly thwarted over the last few years.
    I hope she’s not in for a disappointment, Max thought. It’s a long way to fall. “Yeah, Tessa Whelan. You’re right, I’ve heard of her. Is she going to carry on working while she’s out here?”
    “I don’t think so. Sounds like the job was getting too much for her and coming out here with Ross was a good excuse to get away from it.”
    “Good, I’m glad you’re not the only ESOS widow.” That had been one of his fears, that despite her eagerness to come here, being yanked out of her normal existence would leave her feeling isolated.
    “So, how did whatever-it-is go today? Are you making any progress?”
    “I don’t know, it was an interesting start. Oliver Rudd caused us a few problems. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to carry on that way.”
    “Oliver? He hardly said two words to us on the way down. What did he do?”
    “Tried to start an argument, basically. Seems like something touched a nerve. I