Animus Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-4): Initiate, Co-Op, Death Match, Advance

by Joshua Anderle

  “Well, I don’t see a point to it myself. Ain’t got anyone in mind,” Kaiden said as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Can’t really say I got a preference, honestly.”

  “Your lack of imagination is disturbing, Kaiden my boy.” Laurie huffed, clasped his hands behind his head, and leaned back. “This EI will be your partner for the rest of your stay here, and on top of that, will be following you into battle. Are there no dulcet tones you wish to hear in your times of relaxation, no brave words you wish to hear when charging through hell? Perhaps I could offer some suggestions?”

  “Hell no, thanks.” Kaiden grimaced. He didn’t want to make too many assumptions, but with Laurie choosing his new little mind-mate, he might have to deal with his EI doing a cheerleading chant in the middle of a battle zone just so he could play with his new toy at Kaiden’s expense.

  “Well then, is there truly no one you can think of that you would like to accompany you?” Laurie inquired.

  “I can’t say off-hand. The only person I ever worked with or took orders from was Jake,” Kaiden said thoughtlessly.

  Laurie raised an eyebrow as Kaiden grasped the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He probably shouldn’t have let that slip.

  “Who might that be? A friend? A sibling? You could start there and find something similar.”

  “Jake Havik? Also, hell no. Jake was…he was a mentor, I guess, but he was a pain in the ass. I mean, I guess…he was a good guy, but damn if he wasn’t a grumpy bastard too.” Kaiden growled his irritation and cracked his knuckles. “Would always boss me around, put me through all sorts of damned torture while training me. He was a constant smartass…”

  Kaiden trailed off. He could feel a coldness coursing through his stomach as he recalled the last couple of weeks and his constant reminiscing. For all the anger he had toward Jake, maybe he didn’t feel so indifferent. He should, but…

  He sighed as he crossed his arms again. “I mean, he was a bastard, but he did look out for me and the others, I suppose. Wasn’t so rotten. Could have a smaller stick up his ass, though. To be honest, I would like to have him around again.”

  “Understood, forming personality around profile Jacob Thomas Havik from the database.”

  “Oh, dear God, no,” Kaiden whispered as he could feel his pulse quicken and a cold sweat break out.

  “Well, that worked out wonderfully. You see, it wasn’t so—”

  “Turn it off. Make it stop,” Kaiden said, running over to Laurie. “Ain’t no way I’m gonna have that idiot in my head 24/7. He was bad enough when I saw him irregularly.”

  Laurie’s avatar put up his hands. “Don’t be so theatrical. The EI isn’t a séance. It is only constructing a personality using descriptions and historical files from a government profile. You’re being melodramatic.” The professor looked thoughtful. “Besides, it isn’t like you had a plan B, and I thought you were ready to go.”

  “I thought you said that this was against the rules.”

  “I said it wasn’t normally what that function was used for, but I’m always interested in something different,” Laurie answered with a sparkle in his eye. “Besides, you would probably be in more trouble than I would. I’m the head designer, but you’re merely an initiate who was playing around with things you shouldn’t have been.”

  “That you gave me access too.” Kaiden countered.

  Kaiden could see the professor’s avatar start to fade. “I’m going to finish up and prepare for your return. Get to know your EI a little more and tell him to deactivate the link in a few minutes.” This last instruction hung in the silence, the final accompaniment to the only part of him left—his devious smile.

  “I hate you! You dandy bastard!” he screamed at the disappearing avatar.

  “You signed the form,” the professor reminded him.

  Goddamn semantics. With that, the avatar completely disappeared, and Kaiden turned back to the EI.

  “Complete,” it said, still in that monotone voice.

  “Ya don’t sound any different. Guess it didn’t work?” he asked, relief returning to him. slowly

  “You didn’t give me time to sync, jackass,” Chief retorted. Its voice now had a noticeable drawl like Kaiden’s with a synthetic veneer on top of it.

  “Oh…fuck me.” Kaiden sighed. He hadn’t made it through one sentence before he wanted the basic tone and personality back.

  “How do you think I feel? Couldn’t even be bothered to set me up right. You gotta fuckin’ slumber party to get to, or did I interrupt your nap? Come on man, you had one job.”

  Kaiden’s fists clenched. “I didn’t give you the go-ahead to choose this personality. You just decided to go solo and made that stupid decision without me. Change it.”

  “No can do, jackass. Because of the safety measures, I would have to be wiped clean and start from scratch, so now I’m stuck like this and with you until professor Frakenposh out there can do something about it.” It punctuated that sentiment with something that sounded like a growl.

  EIs could growl?

  Kaiden eyed the construct. “Sounds like that sucks for you more than me. You’re stuck with that half-assed accent. Did you load it up from some two-bit western world amusement park?”

  “Nah, I just listened to you and looked up southern dipshit, and this is what came up.” Kaiden could see the little orb that he called its eye actually furrow like it was trying to stare daggers at him.

  “Oh, I’m going to waste your beachball-looking ass the second I got a chance,” Kaiden threatened.

  “Yeah, sure, do that. I’m in your head now, buddy. Even if you wanna try taking a screwdriver to the dome yourself, you’re gonna do more damage to yourself than me. Well, maybe you might miss your brain. There’s so much room in your skull that it might actually be quite comfy in here.”

  “Ya know what, the sweet silence of death may actually be preferable to having to continue listening to a Christmas ornament’s snappy comebacks.”

  “Damn, man, you have problems,” Chief grunted, its eye widening again.

  “Everything is prepared, Initiate Jericho. Have you and your new EI become fast friends?” Laurie asked, his voice now echoing in Kaiden’s mind again.

  “Again, hell no! Are you sure I can’t smoke this thing?” he pleaded.

  “Not currently. The installation is too fresh, and this is your first time using an EI of this capability so there could be a good chance of brain damage and the potential that it could corrupt future use of the synapse function,” the professor stated flatly. There goes my last hope.

  “Sucks to be you, KJ,” Chief added with amusement.

  “In addition, considering the EI is loaded into the neural gear itself, the trauma that it could possibly endure if removed so suddenly without proper precaution could fry the chip and therefore delete the EI.”

  “Dammit all,” Chief snapped. “What the hell did you use to make me? Recycled toothpicks and aluminum wrap?”

  “Seriously, Prof, ain’t this supposed to be the next stage of technological advancement or something? I thought this was supposed to be hot shit?”

  “It seems I might literally be.”

  “It’s experimental. I explained that it’s new and not thoroughly tested, but it does work as intended despite that. The fact that someone might want to remove it due to idiocy and negligence was not a consideration,” Laurie chastised in a kind of I-told-you-so tone that pushed all Kaiden’s irritation buttons. “Now, if you would come back to reality, we can have one final inspection, and you can be on your way.”

  “Sweet Jesus…he said deactivate the link, puffball,” Kaiden chided when the EI made no response.

  “Didn’t wanna have to listen to ya babble on anymore anyway.”

  “You’re in my head now, smartass.”

  “And I bet this basic bitch doesn’t even have cable,” it remarked, getting one last jab before disappearing.

  Kaiden’s vision began to blur, and he could see his body fad
ing. Despite the growing inferno in his chest at the realization that he was now stuck with this thing for the foreseeable future, he couldn’t help but smile regardless.

  “Little bastard is almost like Jake.” He chuckled into the descending darkness.

  Chapter Six

  Kaiden gasped for air, his eyes snapping open though it took a moment or two to focus fully. He sat up and looked down at his hands, pressing them against each other and then to his chest, checking to see that his body had come back in one piece.

  “Don’t be so silly, Kaiden my boy,” the familiar sing-song tone of Laurie admonished. “Your physical body wasn’t in the system. It’s perfectly fine.”

  “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t make any improvements while I was under.” Kaiden grunted his annoyance.

  “Wasn’t in the contract.”

  He turned to see Laurie descending a staircase on the far side of the room. He looked around to see that they were in a domed suite, the walls a solid gray that seemed cold and sterile, a sharp contrast to the emotions roiling within him.

  He lifted a hand to the back of his head and could feel minute lines around the base of his skull. “Do ya got a mirror?”

  The professor moved to his side, reached over him, and brought down an overhead screen. “Take a look.”

  The monitor showed Kaiden the surgical work clearly. After a quick study, he had to admit, he was impressed. He could barely make out the incision lines detailing the professor’s work. Two crossed lines formed a neat ‘X.’ Give his hair enough time to grow out a little, and one probably wouldn’t be able to see it before too long.

  “Nice stitchwork, Prof.,” he said, probably giving the professor his first real compliment since their acquaintance.

  “Much obliged, but it is not really stitchwork. Cooling lasers were used to bond the skin back together.” The professor motioned upward with his arms, and two long robotic devices descended from the ceiling. “Although these two were the ones who did all the real work—precision surgical droids. I call them Nightingale and Blackwell.”

  “Uh, nice to meet ya,” Kaiden said with a curt nod. The droids seemed to nod back before ascending back into their compartments. “Lasers, huh? I gotta say, whatever you did, I don’t really feel any pain. You work cleaner than I would have thought.”

  The professor smiled at this and revealed a small vial of cloudy liquid. “It’s a personal favorite blend of mine—not particularly legal, but if you can keep a secret, I can too.”

  “Just keep the good stuff flowin’ and you got my word,” Kaiden proposed as he hopped off the operating table.

  “Before you go, activate your EI. We need to make sure that the integration was a success.”

  “Oh, good, there go my few moments of peace.” Kaiden sighed. “Hey, Chief, you online?”

  “Yeah, making room and decorating in here,” it said in a sarcastic tone.

  “It’s fine,” Kaiden grumbled. “Can’t see it but I can hear it.”

  “Ah, on that note…” Laurie reached under the table and brought a case out. “Have a look, dear boy.”

  Kaiden opened the case to see a pair of shades. They were circular and with clear lenses and a translucent frame. He put them on cautiously, not entirely sure what he expected but almost certain he wouldn’t like it, whatever it was. When he saw nothing different, he looked at the doctor with a puzzled expression.

  “Normally, an EI is inserted directly into their frame or gear, but since your EI is connected to a neural link, I found a neat little workaround to this particular complication,” Laurie explained. He walked over to Kaiden and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Chief, I believe it was, please be a friend and cast into the oculars Initiate Jericho is wearing.”

  Kaiden saw a light flicker in his lenses, then he could see Chief pop up in the corner of his right lens.

  “Howdy, ya bastard,” it said, its shell assuming a muted blue color.

  “Your EI can be cast to any device that can be loaded with an EI and which has an open link,” Laurie stated. “But the further away you are, the more the capabilities and power it has are reduced. It needs a strong connection with the neural gear to function at its peak.”

  “Uh, interesting…” Kaiden said, trailing off. “Sorry, I was just kind of shocked at how it obeyed a command without fuss.”

  “Don’t let the personality confuse you. An EI is programmed to listen to its user. It wouldn’t do much good in intense situations to argue constantly with it, now would it?” Laurie noted with a definite edge of humor in his tone.

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t remind you when you mess up, and since you and I are all buddy-buddy now, let’s keep that to a minimum, huh?” Chief’s color changed to a hot red when it nagged.

  “You got a mute function?”

  “That would interrupt our potential bonding,” it snarked in response. “But alright, you’ll be back.”

  Kaiden took the lenses off and folded them up. He removed a smaller container from the case and placed them inside, then slid it into his pocket. “Well, thanks, Prof. Do I have to come back for check-ups or will I just be seeing you around?”

  “Oh, I will be checking up on you,” the professor assured him. “For now, however, simply follow orders and be sure to make the most of this new opportunity. I’m excited to see how it all goes.”

  “That’s nice and foreboding.” Kaiden looked around. “You got my jacket?”

  “Of course.” Laurie pointed to a chair where the jacket was folded up neatly. “I took the liberty of finishing all other particulars required, so the rest of the night is yours. Be sure to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be your job evaluation.”

  “Appreciate it.” Kaiden thanked him with a wave of the hand, but as he turned to exit the theater, he called back, “Before I come back looking like a fool, how do I get out of here?”

  “Out the doors and to the left, there is an elevator. Take it down to the ground floor, and there will be a map to the exit. You will find the temporary dorms for SCs on the map as well, and Kaiden—”

  He looked back as he stepped out the doors. The professor smiled, and the droids, once again in view, seemed to be waving at him. “Remember, only you can decide whether your time here is spent in vain or in joy. Keep being you, dear boy, and I think you’ll find it a delight.”

  Kaiden gave him a hesitant nod as the doors closed behind him. He doubted that he would make any personal requests of him in the near future.

  He traced the lines on the back of his head with his forefinger as he headed for the elevator. Damn shame he had this epiphany hours too late.

  Kaiden walked across the moonlit grounds of the academy, taking in the sights of the buildings around him. They were an impressive sight from a distance, but up close, they really made the whole experience feel real.

  He stopped at a crossing and looked over to the center of the island. The main Academy building towered in the distance, alight against the darkness of the night with the spire swirling with white, blue, and purple stripes.

  A little awed, he took a moment to take it all in and perhaps let everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours really set in. He had gone from no plan to a potential bouncer job, then to beating up some rich punks—his personal favorite—and a chance to attend this prestigious academy. He’d taken a chance, met aliens, and signed a contract that would put him millions of credits in debt.

  Then, in some bizarre twist he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around, he’d found out he had some special mutation that allowed him to have some swanky crackerjack stuck in his brain. Now, he gazed over the island he would call home for the next few years, still half-questioning whether he hadn’t somehow dreamt it all.

  He shook his head and smiled, wondering how the others back in Fresno were getting on. There weren’t many left, but he did pray that they had found some kind of solace. He’d started to feel a bit more at peace himself, even among all the crazies he had met so
far.

  Still, he had to admit they were his kind of crazy, at least.

  He continued walking in the direction of his lodging for the evening. As he crossed the courtyard, he could hear several agitated voices coming from near a fountain on his left. He looked over to see five figures gathered around, with four of them seemingly ganging up on the fifth, their voices raised as if in accusation.

  Kaiden recalled the fight at the bar and began to wonder if he would need to make a repeat performance.

  He began to walk over, removing his hands from his pockets and cracking his knuckles.

  “That it? Got nothing to say? I don’t want to start nothing. I just think it’s suspicious,” one of them said. Kaiden noted the speaker, a guy with blond crew-cut hair talking to the fifth figure.

  “If you didn’t want to start anything, you should have kept your thoughts to yourself, Initiate Finnigan,” the apparent victim said, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of anger simmering below her control. “I will repeat myself this once. I have nothing to say to you, and your accusations either stem from paranoia or envy or perhaps a mixture of both.”

  Kaiden moved to the edge of the group, his arms folded as he tried to keep himself somewhat hidden as he scanned them. Two men and two women, all wearing the academy uniform with blue rings on the jackets, stood in a circle.

  The fifth was a girl with long black hair and pale skin, curved eyes, and lips now pursed together in annoyance. Her arms were crossed in front of her, and if she was at all worried about the others possibly abusing her, she certainly didn’t show it.

  “Maybe you don’t realize…” The man trailed off as his gaze darted over to Kaiden. “Who are you?”

  “Someone looking for some nightly entertainment,” Kaiden responded in a lowered voice. “You seem to be looking to release some energy yourself. I could oblige.”