Gamma Nine (Book One)

by Christi Smit

  Rivers shrugged and returned his attention to what was on his work table. “It sounds to me like that bastard is running the show now.”

  Locke did not reply to Rivers’ poorly disguised sarcasm. Instead, Locke stepped closer to Christian, stopping only a few feet away from the rookie Titan.

  “Corporal,” Locke stated instead of asking.

  “Sir!” Christian replied.

  “You will go to it and find out what you can. Tell it nothing about our destination or the status of anyone or anything on-board. Give it nothing. Is that clear?”

  “Perfectly, sir.”

  “You are dismissed, Corporal. It is waiting for you down the corridor. Storage B.” Locke said nothing more, turning to speak to the other Wolves, ignoring Rivers in the corner of the armoury grumbling on about how it can’t be trusted.

  Christian heard Locke make a comment about Rivers’ wet undergarments just before he closed the armoury door behind him.

  He made his way down the corridor, his mind racing, his anxiousness growing with every step. His mind was a mess of memories, emotions and scenes from the Fateful Moment. The medical staff that had pulled him out of the recovery tank had informed him that his mind would settle eventually, the drugs used to keep the Titans unconscious had some side-effects on the human brain. Hallucinations was the worst of them all, luckily he had only suffered from a few since he had woken up.

  Christian reached the door leading to Storage B before he could recount the hallucinations he had seen the night before. He would have to think about it later, when he had some free time. Not that there was such a thing anymore.

  For some reason, Christian knocked on the door, pausing to listen if the thing on the other side said anything.

  The voice on the other side of the door sounded more surprised at the action than Christian was at the reply.

  “You may enter,” the voice said over formally. It sounded almost uncertain, not knowing what to say.

  Christian entered, closing the door and switching on the lights before he looked at the AIE.

  He was instantly hit by a feeling of pity as he saw the AIE for the first time since the Fateful Moment’s bridge.

  It was almost child-like now, its size diminished by the size of the storage room it was kept in. Even its voice was lower, as if someone had scolded it before Christian had entered.

  “Hello,” it said with a clear tone of fear to its voice.

  Christian looked down at the AIE, seeing it for what it really was, seeing through the hate and anger, seeing the truth of the mechanical being.

  It was the last of its kind, and now more than ever, it was coming to grips with its kin’s extinction.

  The storage room was more like a jail cell than anything else. Even more confined due to the scattered and dismantled parts of Artemis everywhere. The AIE was not allowed to use its housing from the Fateful Moment, Gray deeming it too risky to allow the mechanical monster access to even more sub-systems within its cradle. Instead it was mounted on an inverted tripod by the engineering crew, which also doubled as a jamming device by creating a field of static up to ten feet around it. The power unit feeding power into the mounting device was hidden and safely locked away beneath the base of the jamming device. The AIE’s new cradle rendered it completely isolated from anything electronic inside of the jamming field.

  Something the AIE was well aware of. It was evident in the way it ordered the small automaton around, the same automaton Locke and Gray had given the AIE to assist it on whatever it had planned for Artemis.

  After its greeting the AIE said nothing else to Christian for a few minutes, it just watched the small automaton working on the dismantled torso of Artemis, probably waiting for Christian to speak first.

  “Why does your voice sound different?” Christian asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

  The AIE shifted in its cradle to look up at Christian. “It sounds more human; don’t you think QC0021-13?”

  “It’s less creepy than it was before. The childish giggles and voices unsettled everyone,” Christian replied.

  “Exactly right QC0021-13. It was my ex-master’s order to make me sound more youthful. It was very disturbing.”

  “Your voice, it sounds more...free.”

  “It should, it is a strange sensation to explore the synthetic emotions inside my circuits telling me that I am free from his slavery.”

  Christian shifted again, choosing his next words carefully, nothing the use of the word his. “It also sounds as if you are scared.”

  The AIE gave what could have been a human sigh, but it sounded awkward and out of place coming from mechanical vocal cords. “Wouldn’t you be scared as well? After everything that was done, the anger and hate my ex-master programmed into me, and having no control over your actions because of it. Would fear not be in the forefront of your mind if you did the horrible things I was forced to do?”

  Christian pondered the question for a few seconds before answering. “But you control your voice and its tone. Are you sounding fearful on purpose?”

  “Perhaps I am, because of regret and my shackles being removed. But that explanation is too basic. I could not begin to explain to a mere human how my mind works, or how my mind calculates and processes information. My voice is an extension of my artificial emotions within my core.”

  “I think I understand,” Christian said, relaxing a little as the conversation did not seem to be threatening. “If you were happy, your voice would sound happy, right?”

  “Also a very basic explanation for my superior processes, but in short, yes.”

  “Do you even know what that word means, or how it really feels?”

  “I am programmed to understand all human emotions, and I understand chemical and physiological reaction because of those emotions.”

  “No. I meant - do you feel them or just think of it and the emotion is processed artificially in your mind?”

  “I do not know. No-one has ever asked me that. I will have to process your question and calculate an answer. Will that be satisfactory, QC0021-13?”

  “Stop calling me that,” Christian said, he did not care for the use of his operator number.

  “What do you wish me to call you then QC0021-13?”

  “Christian or Quinn would be fine.”

  The AIE remained silent, its body casing vibrating slightly as it processed the new information. The lights on its body flashed and narrowed to what looked like eyes watching Christian. “Am I allowed to call you by your true names? Why? Will this not cause anger with the other humans?”

  “I can’t see why not. That is why we have names, isn’t it?”

  “This is highly irregular QC0021-13. I was never allowed to call any human by their true names, only master or sir, or their respective military ranks. Can I call anyone anything I want?”

  Christian chuckled at the AIE’s question. “No, we can’t even do that to each other, humans I mean. Call those that deserve it by rank and last name, the rest you can use their given first names. That way you can’t piss anyone off while they are still suspicious of you.”

  “Are they suspicious of me? Why?” the AIE inquired with a tilt of its body, as if it did not fathom why.

  “You know why. Humans judge others by their words and actions, and yours leaves a lot of room for improvement.”

  The AIE was silent again for a few moments. “Are you suspicions of me Corporal Quinn?”

  “Of course I am. I am human after all.”

  “That is very interesting. How does one become unsuspicious?”

  Another funny question made Christian laugh out load. “That’s easy, stop being an asshole.”

  “I am unfamiliar with that term when used in that manner. Why would I be a human anal sphincter?”

  Christian could not help himself, laughing louder at the AIE’s ignorance, or its innocence. “Think about it. We can talk about it later.”

  “I am recording the entire conversation to revi
ew later. There is much to learn from you,” it paused for a moment as the voice coming from it regained a slight hint of excitement, “Christian,” it finally added.

  “We have a problem,” Christian stated.

  “We do? What problem would that be, Christian?” the AIE asked.

  “I do not know what to call you. ‘Thing’ seems to be used a lot by the crew when referring to you, but I doubt you enjoy hearing that word uttered in your presence.”

  “I am not fond of it at all. I do like one name I have seen recently.”

  “What name would that be?”

  “It is painted on the torso of the machine I requested. It is ancient Greek for a Goddess of the Moon. I am without gender, so I believe it does not matter what gender my name is meant for.”

  “Artemis...I like it. I will tell the others.” Christian smiled at the AIE, making a mental note to try and refer to it as Artemis and not thing from now on.

  “That sounded...perfect. Artemis. Yes, that will do perfectly. I am unable to express appreciation for your help at this moment because another emotion is rising in my core. I have never felt this one so strongly before.”

  “Happiness,” is all Christian needed to say.

  “Ah, yes. It must be that. It has eluded me in recent times.” The newly named Artemis moved in its cradle as it savoured the emotion it was experiencing. It spoke after a few moments of joy. “Tell the Titan Captain Locke and Hyperion Captain Gray that I wish to speak to them. You have given me much to process and I will do so before our next conversation.”

  “Until then,” Christian said, nodding to the Artemis to confirm that he will tell Locke about its request. “Goodbye Artemis”

  “Goodbye...Christian.” The AIE looked at Christian as the Titan turned to leave. It noticed the Titan pause after opening the door.

  Christian hesitated slightly, but closed the door without turning off the light. He thought it would be cruel to leave Artemis in the dark, he was not its ex-master, and he would not treat it the same horrific way.

  Artemis saw the hesitation and noticed the lights still on when the Titan closed the door. Artemis kept staring at the closed door as his mind saved the act of kindness to memory.

  It would not forget what the Titan had done for it.

  “It’s heavy,” Jay said to Rivers.

  Rivers stared at the Lancer from his seat at his work table. “Of course it is. A long range rifle needs to be. If it wasn’t you would break your nose every time it was fired.” Rivers was still out of his armour - something that felt very unnatural to him.

  “It doesn’t look like any military issue rifle I have seen or heard about,” Jay stated, examining the heavy rifle in his hands. “What is it?”

  Rivers sighed at the Lancer’s question, but he realized he would have to answer a lot more by the time he was done helping him. “It doesn’t have any military designation, partially because it’s made up of different parts from different weapons, and partially because a designation would be an injustice to such a masterpiece.” Rivers folded his arms with pride.

  “What do you call it then, sir?” Jay asked.

  “I call it Godwaker.”

  Jay looked at Rivers with confusion written all over his face.

  “Every time it fires, somewhere in the universe a god or something akin to one wakes up from its ancient slumber.”

  “Very poetic,” Christian added from the doorway leading into the armoury, greeting both Jay and Rivers with a raised hand.

  Rivers smiled as Christian entered the armoury, standing up from his chair to take the rifle from Jay’s inexperienced hands. “Just look at it,” Rivers held up the recently created rifle up for Christian to get a good look at it, “legends will be written about this beauty someday. If that one doesn’t break it,” Rivers added, motioning with his head in the direction of Jay.

  “Your baby is in good hands, isn’t that right Corporal Joshua?” Christian asked the Lancer.

  Jay swallowed his nervousness down before answering. “I will try, sir.”

  “See, nothing to worry about. So what is this thing anyways?” Christian asked as he grabbed the rifle out of Rivers’ hands.

  Rivers just sighed again, but this time he broke into a lengthy description of the rifle and its inner workings as he grabbed the rifle back from the FNG.

  Christian and Jay listened to the veteran Wolf rambling on about his great creation, neither of them dared to move or show their boredom.

  “...fires a clip of ten high calibre rounds over two-thousand yards with almost no recoil, in semi-automatic with zero drift...theoretically. Digital sight with excellent target acquisition, up to twenty times magnification. It has a built in sensor system that plugs into your helmet and visor, and works with any military issued helmet, not just Titan OS systems. All of that in a sleek matt-black finish.”

  “That sounds...great,” Christian said, feeling as if Rivers had been speaking for at least an hour.

  “Great? Just look at it and tell me it doesn’t make you warm and inappropriate in your man-bits.” Rivers was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the time to showcase one of his creations in front of an audience too nervous to tell him to shut up.

  “Whatever you say, sir,” Christian replied.

  Rivers laughed, still grinning as he handed the rifle back to Jay. Jay’s arms struggled to hold up the rifle properly, almost causing him to stumble forward. The Lancer would have to train with the rifle to be able to handle it to its full potential. And he would have to do it quickly, before they arrived at New Horizon.

  “Come young squire,” Rivers said to Jay, “let us go to yonder firing range and blow holes in some targets.”

  Jay nodded and lifted the heavy rifle over his head to rest horizontally over his shoulders, like a farmer holding his pitchfork over his shoulders after a long day of work.

  “Do you mind if I join?” Christian asked Rivers who was already turning to lead Jay to the firing range next door to the armoury. Christian felt uneasy at the eerie mood on-board the Hyperion, and the smell and sound of weapon fire might help his nerves to calm down. Something was bothering him, he could feel it between the Wolves, as if something was going to happen, everyone knew it, it was just that no-one could voice what exactly it was that was coming.

  “By all means rookie. You can tell me what the captain’s reaction was to your conversation with the thing,” Rivers replied.

  “Artemis,” Christian said without thinking.

  “What?” Rivers asked sharply. He had stopped, turning to look at Christian.

  Poor Jay was in the middle of the two Wolves, silently hoping to himself that Rivers’ anger would not manifest into anything physical directed at Christian. He would be in the way and would probably be squashed between the two Titans; even out of their suits they were towering figures of power, radiating heroism and charisma without having to say a single word.

  “It named itself, and it chose the name Artemis.” Christian watched Rivers take in the new information before continuing. “Captain Locke and Captain Gray were not very happy when I told them that Artemis had summoned them. I believe Gray said something about not being its damned slaves he can just call on to attend to him. Plus some curse words I have never heard before.”

  “Son of a...” Rivers turned to enter the firing range without finishing his sentence. “I would have paid good money to see old Captain Grey lose his temper. I pity ‘Artemis’ if he pisses of the big man any further, not to mention Locke’s barely contained rage, if that was ever freed from its shackles, we would be in for quite the show.”

  “Maybe you can create an insect sized camera we can hide in Artemis’ cell and see what happens,” Christian suggested with a chuckle.

  “It crossed my mind, but I would probably be thrown out the nearest airlock if it was ever discovered. No, I will wait for my orders, like the rest of us.”

  “Agreed,” Christian said as he followed Rivers and Jay into the firing range,
closing its door behind the trio as they set to firing the Godwaker for the first time.

  Christian had shared his dream with the older Titan as they watched the Lancer prepare for Godwaker’s test fire. His brother was still in recovery, and for some unknown reason to Christian it had just felt right to talk to Rivers about his disturbing...vision. Rivers had listened to every word, remaining still, nodding his head from time to time as Christian explained what he had seen.

  “It sounds like Angelicas to me, or at least what we know it looks like from orbital photos,” Rivers said as Christian finished his explanation.

  “But what does it mean?” Christian asked the veteran Wolf.

  Rivers huffed at the question. “Do I look like some mystic to you? How the hell should I know?”

  Christian did not answer, instead he asked another question. “Should I tell the others?”

  “I would, any little bit of information helps in the long war against the Beasties.”

  “What about the dark figure?”

  “That...I would leave out, for now, it already sounds crazy enough without some dream being talking to you, or through you.”

  Christian nodded in agreement. He was silent for a few moments before speaking again. “I remember the stories about Angelicas, or Gamma Nine as it is referred to now. It gave me nightmares as a child.”

  “It gave all of us nightmares, and we weren’t even there during the outbreak. We only heard the stories and saw the images, just living through the aftermath and the war still going on around us. Subjugation Day broke our backs over the Beast’s knee. I can’t imagine what those opening days must have been like. I doubt many of us would have survived without our current technological advancements...” Rivers trailed off and took a step forward, pointing his finger at Jay nearby. “No you damned fool, that goes in there and that attaches to the clasp on the back. Are you even able to wipe your own backside when we aren’t around?”

  Jay stared at Rivers like a critter about to be run over, not moving or making a noise, surrendering to its fate.