by B. V. Larson
“But now?”
“Now I realize I have no proof those brains came from criminals—no proof of anything the government told me. Over a thousand brains are needed to optimally support Vic 5.5, the current model here on Victory. The battle damage killed more than five hundred of them, so we’re processing the injured for replacements… mostly of the enemy. Your people, I mean.”
“And you’re supposed to take perfectly sane, rational POWs like me and turn them into cyber-zombies for this AI?”
“Yes. But I won’t do it.”
“You can’t stop it, though. I mean, I don’t even have a body. How can you save anyone?”
Mara sighed. “You—your head and spinal cord—have to be put into a life support module and brainlinked to the AI. I can’t avoid that. What I can do—what I will do—is to fake the operation on your neural clusters. I’m a mental, a brainiac, remember? People usually think that just means I’m really good at my specialty—which I am, better than my ossified boss in fact—but it also means I’m highly competent at anything I choose to learn. As soon as I realized we junior doctors were being pushed toward unethical actions, I started an in-depth study of all our medical machinery and software, educating myself on cyber-security and hacking. I expected this day to come. I can hide what I’m doing.”
“So I’m going to be linked to Vic?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. At least you’ll be alive, and you’ll have your free will. I hope you’ll survive the experience and we can regenerate your body later. Maybe you—and the others I falsely alter—can influence Vic for the better. He doesn’t seem like a bad AI, but right now his only sense of ethics derives from programming, which means his controllers can get him to do anything. He needs to develop his own sense of right and wrong, based on human morality. The only way he’ll get that is if you and others like you teach it to him.”
“Sneak it into him, you mean? I’ll be an organic Trojan program.” Carla continued to pace. “I guess, just like those criminals, I only have one real option. Thanks for being honest with me. But what about my baby? Your nephew or niece?”
“I’ll reprogram the transfer orders. I’ll keep her in cryo, or if I can’t, I’ll divert her to a surrogate family on a safe world. It’s the best I can do. If you survive what’s to come, maybe you can find her someday.”
“Her?”
“Yes. Your daughter.”
“My baby girl.” Tears burst from Carla’s face and she collapsed, sobbing, to hug Mara. “Gods and monsters, this is so wrong!”
Mara stroked Carla’s short black hair. “I know. You’ve been fighting for what you believe is right your whole life. Now it’s my turn to start taking risks. I promise your daughter will stay out of a laboratory.”
“Thank you, Mara.” Then Carla blanched with a thought. What if all this was fake? What if there was no Mara Straker? What if Mara had died just as Derek always believed, and now Carla was being manipulated in VR?
No. That path of doubts could only end in madness. She had to believe. She did believe. She had to have hope, otherwise nothing mattered. She couldn’t give in to despair. She had to fight on.
Chapter 30
Trinity, Starfish Nebula
Trinity made the transit to the Starfish Nebula in record time. Out of the way and off the galactic plane, the ordinary-looking nebula was an uninteresting place to empires at war.
If only they knew… for the impenetrable nebula held a teeming economy of millions of Ruxins filling nine large asteroid habitats hidden deep within the glowing gas. Regular, but tightly controlled, traffic between the habs and the homeworld had provided consumer goods and genetic balance, and already another eight worldlets were being hollowed out by industrious young neuters.
The human habitat of Freiheit also prospered with the Ruxin trade and with the selected introduction of highly educated colonists from the New Republic. Abundant solar power from the proto-star it orbited meant scarcity had eased. The small mechsuit factory was expanding, intended to be the hab’s main industry, and, Freiheit’s native hard-rock miners were drilling and exploiting a nearby, larger asteroid, which would eventually be made into a new habitat.
Trinity stopped off first at Freiheit. She sent Marisa Nolan to see Frank Murdock, the reclusive human brainiac who made his home and his laboratory at one end of the hab, within the Base Control Center, or BCC.
“Just what’s this all…” Murdock ran his fingers compulsively through his stringy blonde hair as he caught sight of Nolan, and then wiped them on his smeared coverall.
Nolan swept into Murdock’s messy laboratory as if entering a party. Though not in party dress, she’d donned the skintight one-piece that had so discomfited Straker, and then added a skirt, a few artistic touches, and a bit of makeup. Now, she walked slowly over to the brainiac. “Hello.”
“Hel-lo, gorgeous.” Murdock smiled, revealing stained and gapped teeth. His sour breath hit her in the face like a garbage pail left too long in the sun. “I’m Frank Murdock.”
She reminded herself that all these physical defects were fixable. All he needed was some womanly attention and a stint in Trinity’s combination regeneration-rejuvenation tank. Afterward, if she couldn’t convince him, she’d seduce him. Or both.
“I’m Marisa Nolan.” Moving toward an air vent relieved her of the smell and sent her own subtle perfume wafting his way. “I know all about you, Frank. I can’t believe your talents are being wasted in this…” she brushed backhanded at the air, as if trying to wave away something disgusting. “…this provincial backwater.”
“I like it here. I’m in charge of all the machinery. Nobody bothers me except to give me technical problems. Nobody’s going to stab me in the back out here.”
“Yes, I heard about what happened with you and that whore, Tachina. It’s her loss.”
Murdock did a double take. “Wait a minute. I know your name. You can’t be Marisa Nolan. She’s old and decrepit. You’re…”
“Young and beautiful? You might have heard how I melded with the AI Indy and with Zaxby to form Trinity. We developed a rejuvenation technique that will not only make you young again, but fix any physical problems. Hair loss, for example?”
Murdock’s mouth worked as he rubbed his head. “I—I was looking into a scalp regen.” He couldn’t seem to keep from running his eyes over her, top to bottom.
“No matter. It’s your mind I crave, though…” she took a step toward him, “…I guarantee, your body will be a close second.” Ugh. Once she got him in the rejuvenation tank, she resolved to turn him into an Adonis and make him her boy-toy.
Or perhaps not. She’d fix his hair and his teeth and spotty skin, but it wouldn’t do to make him too handsome. He might start thinking he was too good for her, looking elsewhere for companionship. She had to keep him fixated on her—for a while, anyway.
“I know I could use some physical improvements… Tachina helped me some, but—”
“Forget that bitch. You’ll have me. You just have to leave all your lame little toys behind and join us. We’re working on some real technical problems out there in the wider world, with machinery beyond your wildest dreams. Even alien tech.”
“Alien tech?” She could see Murdock try to hide his stark enthusiasm. “It would be nice to take a break from these small-minded people.”
“Oh, you’ll never have to worry about the small-minded anymore.” She lifted her hair to reveal the tiny augmented datalink plugged into her brainlink. “This aug keeps me linked to Indy and Zaxby. Together, we’re Trinity. You could join us.”
“I don’t think Quadrinity would be much of a name.”
“That doesn’t matter. Trinity has a nice ring to it, but we can always come up with a new name. What matters is, we’ll have your intellect, and you’ll have access to Zaxby’s creativity, Indy’s processing power—and my body.” She sashayed closer, breathing through her mouth.
Murdock licked his lips. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do it. Just let me grab a
few things…” He turned to rifle through the mess.
“Come to the docking port in one hour with whatever you like.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and Frank?”
“Yes, Marisa?”
“Take a shower first… and put on something clean.”
* * *
After the showered, less-noxious Murdock dumped his bags and cases in a cabin, Nolan led him to the rejuvenation chamber and tucked him in. Once he was sedated, she allowed her separated consciousness to re-meld with Trinity and began to program the machine.
In a few weeks, Frank Murdock would be a totally new man. Unfortunately, Trinity didn’t have a few weeks. Every hour was precious. So, she prioritized the worst of his corporeal problems—tooth decay, body odor, lack of hair on his head, bad skin, and a persistent malnutrition brought on by a diet too rich in processed snack foods—and set the machine to work as quickly as possible.
Soon, she’d need his mind, so once the nano-cellular reconstruction was underway, she backed off the sedation and knocked on the door of his brainlink. Once he’d granted access to his loading matrix, she created a virtual cyber-lab with direct connections to Indy. He’d ease deeper and deeper into the meld, and soon he’d be so used to linking with the other three persons that he’d never consider departing.
Of course, within the VR world, he was already a handsome man with a pleasant aroma. Nolan further cemented his merging by making love with him as frequently as he liked.
It was no sacrifice. It took only a fraction of her distributed consciousness. She even found it pleasant, and she let the others observe. The Zaxby portion seemed constantly fascinated by the details of human mating, and Frank wasn’t a bad guy. He just needed the right woman to steer him properly, keep him on track, and help him reach his potential.
Trinity’s next stop was at Freenix, the original Ruxin habitat here in the Starfish Nebula and still its seat of government. The old matriarch-mother Freenix, for whom the base was named, still ruled here, as her daughter Vuxana had gone to take charge of the homeworld.
Of course it was the Zaxby part of Trinity who met with Freenix. He’d taken advantage of the rejuvenation tank to trim off the worst of his infirmities, but he couldn’t bring himself to set his biological clock back to true youth. Being middle-aged suited him just fine. It gave him an excuse to be crotchety, and enhanced his status.
He’d also taken the liberty of using the rejuvenation tank to become male.
Zaxby enjoyed the deference he received as he locomoted majestically down the watery corridors of the Freenix hab. Neuters stepped aside and lowered their eyes. When a female eyed him speculatively, a young male bristled with the instinct to challenge. Zaxby brandished his weapon, a long, slim duranium railgun penetrator with its center wrapped for ease of grip, forming a kind of spear. Seeing Zaxby’s Fleet-issue water-suit, harness and sidearm, the warrior retreated out of his way.
The other parts of Trinity, observing through the brainlink like whispers in his mind, expressed silent amusement. They were so much a part of him now that he joined them in laughing at himself.
“Hail Freenix!” Zaxby said as he entered her audience chamber. “The rest of you, leave us,” he said to her neuter attendants. They quickly backed out and shut the doors.
“Oh, it’s you, Zaxby,” Freenix said. The old matriarch lounged on her throne, periodically plucking snails from a bucket and popping them into her large, slack mouth with audible crunches and smacks. “I see you’ve finally gendered. Vuxana always was a soft touch. You’re unlikely to have her, though.” She sighed. “The young only care about the young.”
Zaxby ignored the assumption that Premier Vuxana had given him permission to upgrade from neuter status. He no longer regarded himself as merely Ruxin. He was something much greater, and the Ruxin body was merely a component of himself. As far as he was concerned, that meant he could skirt Ruxin cultural proscriptions with impunity.
Though there was no reason to bring that up now.
Freenix, despite her age, seemed quite attractive to him—perhaps because she would be his first since gendering. “I have become male. Perhaps you’d like to—”
“Keep it in your suit. If whatever you have to say pleases me, I’ll consider it… though don’t expect to see any offspring. I’m too old for that.”
“Surely not! Your eyes glow as brightly as ever.”
“Eyes, maybe, but my skin is in terrible shape.” Freenix sighed and rubbed regretfully at an age spot. “You should have seen me in my youth.”
“I still might. It all depends on how much that youth is worth to you.”
“As usual, Zaxby, your lips are jabbering but you’re making no sense. You’re male now, so speak plainly. I don’t have many good years left.”
Zaxby formed a Ruxin smile and stepped forward to take one of Freenix’s tentacles in his own. “We can change that.”
“Change what?”
“The number of good years you have left. You see, I’ve joined a synthesis of three—pardon, four beings, one of whom is the machine-mind the Mindspark Device germinated. Together, we have created a chamber that uses nanotechnology to rejuvenate humans or Ruxins from the genetic code outward.”
Freenix sat forward, all four eyes sharply focused on Zaxby. “What do you want to trade for it?”
“We won’t be trading away the technology. There are too many ramifications to simply let it loose in the galaxy, especially at such a time of disruption. Without careful consideration and control, it could cause overpopulation, corruption, and tremendous divisions between those with and without access. However, a few selected worthies such as yourself could be given, oh, an extra century or two of life and vigor. What’s that worth to you?”
Freenix folded her tentacles. “I see you have grown shrewd with your masculinity, Zaxby. My compliments. As you must know, I would give much for rejuvenation. What is it you desire—other than me?”
“To begin, the loan of the Mindspark Device.”
“For how long, and for what purpose?”
“Let us say for one standard year. As to purpose… we are not sure yet. Experimentation and research. It was the Device that made Indy, but the humans have now created their own stable AI, and it is a fearsome thing.” Zaxby explained about Victory and the recent battle. “We Ruxins may need the Device and its AI spawn just to counter this new weapon. To put it to use, we must know what it does and how to best use it.”
“Granted—once I see this rejuvenation is real, and has no drawbacks, that is.”
“We also wish to peruse the vault for other interesting items. I understand the Device is not the only piece of alien technology you found over the years.”
Freenix settled back on her throne. “Perhaps. Again, provisional to rejuvenation.”
“I assure you the process is flawless—like you, my dear. When you’ve been rejuvenated, you may once again think about offspring, and I insist on being your first suitor.”
“I will consider it.”
“Well… I can always court Vuxana. Perhaps she would like to see the other miracles we have.” Zaxby turned away. “Yes, perhaps it would be better if I simply went straight to the homeworld for what I want.”
“The homeworld doesn’t have the Device, nor what’s in my vault.”
Zaxby turned back. “That’s exactly why we’re a perfect match, Freenix. Your daughter thinks she’s the ruler of the Ruxin people. How long before she reclaims sovereignty over this nebula? Think how much stronger you would be with me—with us—on your side. The homeworld has billions of workers, but we would hold the higher technology.”
“I’m inclined to be persuaded. Let me see this rejuvenation chamber. I wish to have proof.”
Zaxby led Freenix aboard Trinity’s ship-body and showed her Murdock lying within the rejuvenator. Already his skin was smooth and blemish-free, his muscle tone was excellent and his hair had sprouted thick and luxuriant.
Trinity load
ed images of Murdock from her database. “Compare his current state with his former.”
“He does look much improved.”
“More germane to the discussion, look at me.” Zaxby removed his water suit and rotated for a full viewing. “I have clearly rejuvenated.”
“Both your improvements and Murdock’s could be the result of regeneration and cosmetic surgery. I would need to see a more complete regression to youth to be convinced.”
“How about me?” Marisa Nolan said, also stripping to the buff. Trinity displayed images of her from her physical old age, and then morphed them slowly toward her current youth to demonstrate that her bone structure had remained unchanged. “I can provide you with DNA records as well.”
“That is much more impressive—if true.”
“Why would we lie?” Indy asked.
“To get the Mindspark Device.”
Trinity now changed the display to a ship’s schematic, combined with realtime external views of her ship-body, and spoke in Indy’s voice. “We have enough weaponry to easily cut our way into Freenix Base and take anything we wanted—if we were willing to do so. Also, if we traded fake rejuvenation for the Device, you would soon know, and our relationship would be poisoned. We wouldn’t do that. We desire to establish trust and long-term benefits.”
“Yes, many benefits,” Zaxby said, sidling up to Freenix.
“Back off, you horny old squid. All right, I agree. Stick me in that thing.”
“It will be ready tomorrow,” Nolan said smoothly. “I have to finish up Frank’s initial run. Report here at 0900 and everything will be in place.”
The next day, Freenix arrived early. The Zaxby portion was waiting for her. “How young do you wish to be?” he asked.
Freenix’s expression hinted at hidden cleverness. “I gave this some thought. I wish to be physically barely post-pubescent, but to appear approximately five years older than Vuxana. This will provide me with the best of both situations. Is this possible?”