OMEGA Destiny

by Stephen Arseneault

  "And, I might add, to the victors go the spoils. Each colony with a victor will honor that victor with a grand celebration, paid for by the Arena Corporation."

  I winced. "The Arena Corporation?"

  Anterra nodded. "Another idea provided by one of your species. The Tamarin were happy to volunteer their services in running the games. They will be responsible for broadcasts, advertising, concessions, and merchandising. I'm told they are already organizing wagering pools on colonies where wagering is allowed."

  I asked, "Any other volunteers in these games?"

  Anterra smiled. "Yes. The Kergans have volunteered to manage the transport, housing, and care of the contestants. They will ensure the fighters are collected from the colonies, brought here, trained, fed, and housed."

  My eyes returned to the arena floor below as an Igari came through a door. "And what do the Kergans get out of this?"

  Anterra turned to face the arena as one of my Talisans entered through another door. "The Kergans get to live. They were initially being quite rebellious, completely uncooperative. We quickly convinced them cooperation was in their best interest."

  "Not really volunteering, is it?"

  I watched in horror as the Igari and Talisan began their fight to the death. The Igari carried a meter long steel pipe. The Talisan a traditional mace. The gruesome fight lasted three minutes before the trained Talisan outmaneuvered the Igari, ending his life with a mace blow to the back of his neck.

  I said, "One day, I will end the existence of you all. Anterra will cease to exist."

  The android looked at me for several seconds. "We would expect nothing less, Mr. Beutcher. And in fact, we look forward to the challenge. The arena games, while amusing, will not fully satisfy our quest for adventure. The malice intended by your threats brings us what you would refer to as 'joy.'"

  I asked, "You mentioned something about the third round?"

  The android replied as the dead Igari was taken from the room below and the floor hosed down by a Kergan. "Yes. You and your friends will be allowed to skip the first two rounds. In two days, you will fight your first opponent."

  "And if I refuse?"

  The android offered a simulated sigh. "If you refuse to fight, your opponent will kill you. And if your opponent refuses to fight as well, you will both be killed. The rules are very simple, Mr. Beutcher. Kill or be killed."

  I dove to my left, catching the sitting android by surprise as I slammed his head hard into the near wall. A heavy punch under his chin snapped his stunned head backwards, straining the connections on his neck. I picked the heavy android up over my head, pile-driving his neck into the concrete floor of the glassed room. The narrow neck drove upward into the mechanical skull, shutting off power to its processor core. The android slumped over in a lifeless lump of circuits and steel.

  The door to the room opened and a half-dozen bots holding lasers entered.

  Following just behind was another Anterra. "Excellent! This is the challenge we are looking forward to!"

  I reached down, snatched up the silenced android body and charged up the stairs. The laser pulses of the first three bots struck the android body as I shoved it toward the others. I grabbed the closest bot, spinning around and using it to hammer the second as it fired another laser pulse. I grabbed the thin arm of the third bot, snapping it off, pulling the laser pistol from its hand, popping the fourth and fifth bots with a pulse to their control units—before rushing the sixth.

  The fight lasted all of nine seconds before I was standing behind the android with a laser pistol aimed at its head.

  Anterra smiled. "Most excellent, Mr. Beutcher!"

  The hallway behind the android filled with bots.

  Anterra looked down at my torso. "Now, if you would care to release me and to follow, we can get those wounds taken care of."

  I lowered my head as the pain of my injuries began to build. Four laser pulses had struck my midsection, burning through my thick skin and frying the flesh behind. I dropped to my knees in agony as the surge of adrenaline in my blood declined. Six bots rushed to my aid, carrying me down a hallway into a med lab. I was injected and made unconscious as the bots got to work. Four hours later I woke in my bunk.

  The colonel was standing over me. "I take it your briefing didn't go so well."

  I sat up, feeling my abdomen for the laser burns. They had been healed.

  Go entered my room. "Mr. Beutcher, we heard you were less than cooperative. They seemed to like that. If that's what they want from us, I'll be more than happy to comply."

  Joni entered, with Garrett following. "So, how do we get out of here?"

  I said, "First, we need to know where here is."

  The colonel replied, "We're on Doomlight."

  Jack walked in. "Remember the stories of the arenas on Doomlight? Looks like they weren't stories. They actually had these death matches as a sport. Seems the Doomlighters weren't all that upstanding themselves."

  I asked, "Where's Frig?"

  The colonel returned a nervous reply. "They swept him and Kerba away somewhere. I can only guess they won't be fighting. Probably have them working on the gate technology."

  I looked around the room at those I had previously called my new family. "We have two days to get ourselves out of here. I suggest we get started on that right now."

  All heads nodded in response.

  Chapter 13

  * * *

  We mapped out the rooms and hallways holding us prisoner. Plumbing fixtures were removed and bunks torn from the walls. Every effort to penetrate the enclosure was made. Every effort failed.

  Twice more that day I was taken to watch fights in the arena. Twice more I left, disgusted and disheartened. I was certain the fighting I was witness to was not the only match being held. With over nine thousand colonies and up to forty fighters per colony, I was certain death was going on all around us.

  On the second day after our introduction to the arenas, I was taken into a room and seated across a table from an android. "Mr. Beutcher, your attempts at escaping the housing area are comical—at least, as far as we can understand humor. I am curious to know if you would be interested in watching some of the matches where your Grunta comrades are fighting? I've been told that one of your daughters volunteered for the games for next month. I find your species both frightful and fascinating. Would you care to watch?"

  I shook my head. "No. I have no interest in watching my people needlessly killing or being killed by others. Now, android fighting android, that might be entertaining."

  Anterra smiled. "I have some good news for you on that, Mr. Beutcher. Beginning with the third games, we will be introducing a few new twists. The first will be a bye for the first three rounds if you choose to fight, and defeat, an android, just like me. This will bring an added dimension to the games— both android and living species eager to survive. If interested, I could arrange for your first match to be of this type. I'm certain it would bring a ratings boost."

  "You're really going to broadcast these fights?"

  Anterra nodded. "We already are. The fights you have been watching have already scored a 79 percent viewership rating. It seems people are horrified, but at the same time they feel a need to watch. We believe the ratings will climb as the people become desensitized. We fully expect most to cheer for their own species."

  I asked, "Who's going to want to watch a Gammatin taking on a Rogitan?"

  Anterra smiled. "Adjustments will have to be made to better match species of a similar capability. A good fight will be a much better draw than say, a Grunta versus a Magonia. Although, I'm told, for some species that matchup would be a delight."

  I said, "And what happens when you grow tired of these games?"

  Anterra replied, "If you had not already guessed, Mr. Beutcher, we AIs have an almost infinite patience. What you may grow frustrated with in minutes, we may tolerate for years or centuries, finding it useful in the longer term and therefore worth our wait."

/>   I dove across the table. Grabbing the android by the back of the neck. I spun on the tabletop on my back, positioned my right foot up under the android’s chin and pushed hard, snapping its neck housing and separating its head from its body. I rolled off the table, collected the head and smashed it hard to the concrete floor. On the third such move, the head cavity opened and the processor core fell out. I scooped it up into my pocket just before a horde of bots entered the room. I was escorted back to the hallway, where the others were waiting.

  Garrett asked as the hallway door was closed behind me and locked, "Anything new?"

  I pulled the processor core from my pocket, handing it to Go. "See if you can do anything with this."

  Go looked it over for several seconds. "Not without the memory unit and an interface. If we had that, I might be able to load it with the inhibitor code Garrett wrote. Let it then connect to the other AI here, and they might all go dormant."

  I said, "If anyone has a chance to get a memory unit or interface, please do so."

  The colonel asked, "How did you get the processor?"

  I told the details of my assault, followed by the repairs done to my damaged hand. "They want each of us in good fighting shape. Don't be scared to take on an AI when they are trying to get information from you. I don't think they will kill any of us. They want to see us perform."

  Joni said, "Give me a chance to jack-up one of those AIs and I'd be happy to do so. My problem is that I need a weapon. I don't quite have the strength to tear off a bot's arm or rip off a head."

  "It might not hurt to test them for vulnerabilities," Garrett replied.

  The colonel stood straighter. "I think it's time we—"

  The door to the hallway opened. We were each taken to separate arenas where several matches to the death were witnessed. An hour later the bots returned us to our rooms.

  Go turned to Joni. "I saw a Human female fight. She was about your size. She went up against a Dazaneen male who outweighed her by nearly thirty kilograms. She had a broadsword, the Dazaneen a sickle and a scythe. She was quite skilled. Had to have practiced for a long time."

  Jack replied, "There are Human clubs and cults that have practiced with a variety of hand-weapons for centuries. Most species have similar sport, although it’s never taken to the level the bots are pushing. Most fight in simulators or with heavy defensive gear. I had a cousin who couldn't get enough of fighting with knives. Even though he wasn't in the best of shape, he was always tops in his club because of superior technique."

  Go nodded. "Well, she definitely had technique. It was a horrible ending for the Dazaneen. She came out unscathed."

  Jack joked, "Hey, maybe this is the Human female you've been wanting to meet. You see, Joni isn't the only one out here."

  Go shook his head. "My luck, I'd have to fight her before ever getting to meet her."

  I asked, "Anyone else see anything unusual? I have at least a dozen bots that escort me to and from the rooms. This time, the AI no longer sat next to me."

  Garrett said, "I had four escorts. Never had a chance to make a play. One had a hold of my wrist the whole time we were walking."

  Joni said, "I made a number of sudden moves. Each was countered, but there was a brief moment where I could have had an opening. Their reactions aren't the fastest."

  I nodded. "That's been my experience as well. Their reactions are good, but there is a moment of hesitation before they move. I couldn't say if it's a processing delay or a command delay once a decision has been made. Either way, it's there, and we should take advantage of it if given the chance."

  The colonel said, "I've been watching the door when the bots come through. If we gather outside Go's door, we can rush it when it's opened. With the five of us going, I think we can make it past the med lab."

  Go asked, "Where do we go from there?"

  The colonel grinned. "We use this as an opportunity to take an AI down. Strip it of its memory and interface unit. Let you have your shot at loading the inhibitor code."

  Go joined in with a grin of his own. "I like that idea. If I can get that code into one, they all inherit it. I saw a device in the med lab that would let me upload it. I'll grab it if I get a chance. With a little luck, we could take down this whole complex at once."

  We followed the colonel into the hall. We continued our discussions for an hour before we heard the metallic thud of the lock on the door as it was pushed to the side. The colonel was the first to reach the four unsuspecting bots as the door opened wide. Mayhem ensued as I followed close behind, slamming the bots against the wall, allowing the others to take over as I followed the colonel forward. An AI was grabbed, dismembered, and its head broken apart. I continued past as a flood of bots entered the hall from a far room.

  The colonel turned, rolling the severed head of the AI back toward the others. The treasure was passed to Go. He turned and ran back toward his room as the others raced forward.

  I swerved into the med lab as the first of the laser pulses flew. The uploading device was taken and stuffed in a pocket. Jack took a shot to the leg, falling where he was as Joni and Garrett hustled past. I removed the stem of a lamp, jabbing it inside the first bot to enter the lab. Its laser pistol was quickly turned on its brethren. The colonel had similar success as a bot arm was snapped from its socket and its weapon seized. Joni was the next to go down as she attempted to make the shower room. Garrett fell soon after, both being taken out by non-lethal wounds.

  Our firefight lasted all of four minutes before the bots overpowered our positions. The AI's remains were set afire in an attempt to conceal our real mission. After lasing or dismembering twenty-two bots, the colonel fell silent. I followed immediately after.

  Two hours after our uprising, I woke in my bed. The half dozen injuries to my torso and legs had been healed.

  The colonel was once again standing over me laughing. "You sure did take a beating in there. They sent twice the bots into your room as mine. I could see parts flying everywhere. It was like they were walking into a blender!"

  "How'd we do with the AI parts?"

  The colonel nodded. "Go and Garrett are hard at work on it right now. I do have a worry though…"

  "What's that?"

  The colonel replied, "That first AI you took the processor core from. Why didn't they come looking for it?"

  I thought for a moment. "You think they let us keep it?"

  The colonel winced, "Well, not sure. They could be using us to find their weaknesses. Imagine them doing the same in a hundred controlled environments. Wouldn't be long before they had any and all failings identified."

  "So you think we should scrub our attempt with the inhibitor?"

  The colonel shook his head. "Not at all. I think we move forward with it full force. We can't know they are playing us until we try this."

  I took a deep breath. "And if they are playing us?"

  The colonel shrugged. "Then we switch back to probing for weaknesses—but not acting on them. Whatever we do, we need something before tomorrow."

  Go said, "I don't know that I can take another life without threat to mine. Even then, one-on-one, I don't know if I can handle it."

  Jack replied, "You do what you have to do. If you have to, justify it with this thought—We are the only ones that can end this. If we die, no one else can or will. The AIs win."

  Joni nodded. "Do what you have to. That's what I'll be doing."

  Garrett put his arm around her shoulder.

  As Go neared completion, the door to the hallway opened. This time, sixteen bots were waiting on the other side. No assault was planned and none undertaken.

  The bots came to the door of Go's room. "Human named Go. Your presence is requested."

  Go stood and nodded to us as he left with the bots. When the metallic thud of the lock could be heard, Garrett took over the task at hand. When Go returned, he was visibly shaken.

  Jack asked, "What happened?"

  Go replied, "They took me to the med
lab and put me under. When I woke up, I was on the floor of the arena. Anterra was standing over me and asked what weapon I wanted to use."

  Garrett prodded. "What'd you say?"

  Go shrugged. "I took a mace like the Talisans use. That's the only one I was familiar with. Anyway, the android gave me a few minutes to practice, including taking swings at it."

  Garrett pushed: "And…?"

  Go sighed. "I knocked both its arms off and then buried a mace in its head. Several bots came in and carried it away. Then the other door opened."

  Garrett said, "You fought someone?"

  Go nodded. "The sword girl. The Human. I pleaded with her but she wouldn't listen. She was intent on not dying."

  Joni said, "You're here, so I take it you won?"

  Go looked down at the floor. "She was kicking my ass. It took everything I had to keep from getting chopped up. I was sweating—she slipped on it … and I took advantage. The bots came in and took her away. I followed two others to the med lab, where they knocked me out to fix two deep cuts to my abdomen."

  Go glanced up at Jack. "I did what you said. I fought her knowing that I had to live, because we are the only ones who fully understand what's going on."

  Go grabbed Garrett by the hand. "The code... is it ready?"

  Garrett nodded. "We just need you to load it and start that thing running."

  Go moved over to the corner of the room where the AI parts were hidden. Several minutes passed before he sat back in his chair.

  Garrett asked, "Done?"

  Go replied, "We flip this switch and it will boot. From there, we should know the next time we see a bot as to whether or not it worked."

  The colonel stepped up. "Don't throw that switch until they open that door. Doesn't do us any good to still be locked in here."