Boomer looked at Lacuna and the screen again. “What does that mean?”
“I believe the only hypothesis that can explain these readings is that there are currently two consciousnesses inside Kevin’s brain, one being artificial.”
On the left diagram, another brainwave graph superimposed itself in a different color.
“The left one,” Mira continued, “shows a match for Kevin’s brain patterns we have on file. But the right one seems to be an AI of some sort.”
“That would explain its blockiness and patterns,” said Lacuna.
“Correct,” Mira confirmed. “And herein lies the problem: most of the patterns responsible for motor functions seem absent from Kevin’s current brainwave activity.”
“He’s being controlled, his body at least,” said Lacuna.
“How the hell did you jump to that conclusion?” asked Boomer.
“That’s the most likely scenario,” said Mira.” I agree with Lacuna.”
Boomer barked in frustration. He was having trouble following the conversation and felt like he wasn’t as smart as he ought to be under the circumstances. Zelda must have sensed his distress as she ran by his side, jumped on his back, and rubbed against him.
Boomer gently pushed Zelda off of him. “Not now,” he whispered, “this is important stuff.”
“Can we talk to him?” asked Boomer. “Let him know we’re coming.”
Mira didn’t answer. A couple of minutes passed, and Boomer was starting to lose his patience, but before he could verbalize it, Mira spoke again:
“I would recommend against it at the moment. I’ve managed to locate the AI chip, but there are multiple safeguards and firewalls around it. These aren’t part of its normal function. I believe the AI has erected them to prevent communication from the outside. And while these security measures are beyond my ability to crack them with the current CPU at my disposal, it may be possible for me to find a backdoor to give us a private line of communication with Kevin. But it will take some time, and we’re just about ready to arrive on the scene.”
“What about Ziron? Can he help free Kevin from the AI’s hold on him?”
“I’m afraid it’s too early to tell. My advice is for the two of you to beam down, incapacitate Kevin’s body, and bring him back on board. I should warn you that my sensors are showing that he’s been modified with cybernetic enhancements.”
“What?” yelped Boomer.
Lacuna kindly patted Boomer on the head. “What kind of enhancements?”
“Power sources, nano-circuitry, nothing as advanced as the smart armor, but I believe he’s been enhanced to be a killing machine. So you two are going to have to tread carefully.”
“So we need to engage him?” asked Boomer. “No! No way I’m attacking Kevin.”
“I understand how you feel,” said Lacuna, “but we may not have a choice. Right now the priority should be to get a hold of him and try and disable that AI.”
“Lacuna’s plan seems like the one that is the safest at this point,” said Mira. “I strongly suggest you use non-lethal force—”
“No shit,” barked Boomer.
There was a slight pause.
“Can’t we beam him on the ship?” asked Lacuna.
Damn, she’s full of ideas, thought Boomer, why didn’t I think of that?
“At this point,” said Mira, “I don’t recommend this course of action. The AI could perceive this as a threat and damage Kevin as a result. It would be better if you tried incapacitating him and the AI at the same time, once the AI’s brainwaves have been disabled, even temporarily, then it would be safe to beam Kevin back up.”
“Ok, so beam down, knock him out senseless, and beam back up,” said Boomer.
“Except there is a battle raging on down there,” Mira reminded.
“Right, we need a diversion,” said Lacuna.
Boomer jumped and barked. “The space bug!”
“I told you we would find a way to use it somehow,” said Lacuna.
“When you’re right, you’re right!” said Boomer.
“I’m going to try and patch you into Kevin’s mind the moment I find a bypass to all these firewalls and security features,” said Mira. “It’s very unlikely he’ll listen to reason as long as the AI is in control. You must treat him as deadly.”
“You got that, Boomer? You can’t let your feelings for your friend interfere, that could endanger all our lives, Kevin’s included.”
Boomer growled but the more he thought about it, the more he agreed it made sense.
“I—I understand.”
Zelda ran in front of Boomer, got onto her back two legs and punched in the air. “Can I come and kick ass with you?” she said with her tiny voice.
“I’m afraid that’s not a good idea,” said Boomer. “Next time, maybe?”
Zelda frowned and went back on four legs and lowered her head.
Lacuna crouched and petted the Sphynx kitten. Boomer was really surprised she used a sweeter than usual voice when addressing her.
“Look. Zelda, I know how you feel, but it’s too dangerous. We’ll be fine, there will be other times for you to help us.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but the pirate ships and Xonax’s destroyer are both sending more troops to the ground. This is going to be quite dangerous, so please, be very careful.”
“Let’s beam the space bug into the middle of the fight right now, this thing ate plasma blasts and bullets for breakfast, it may make our own entry into the battle much easier,” said Boomer.
“I agree,” said Mira. “Beaming down space bug now.”
Boomer turned into his white tiger form, fully armored and armed to the teeth with auto-targeting plasma turrets on each of his shoulder pieces and a missile launcher on his back.
“Locked and loaded!” he roared.
Lacuna materialized a blaster rifle in one hand and a personal shield in the other.
“I’m jealous, furball,” she told Boomer. “My smart armor isn’t nearly as advanced as yours.”
“I’m sure Zee will fix that for you next time,” said Boomer. “Mira?”
“Yes, Boomer.”
“Beam us down.”
16
Xonax rematerialized onto the bridge of his ship and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. His throat felt like it was on fire and pain radiated all over his body. He stumbled and fell on his knees as he grabbed his throat to physically check that it was still there.
He tried calling for help but his vocal cords would not budge. His eyes filled with panic as his first officer crouched near him.
“Are you alright, sir?”
The room started spinning as Xonax shook his head from side to side before collapsing unconscious in his first officer’s arms.
“This is the bridge,” said the officer. “Medical emergency, two to beam directly to the med-bay!”
The throne room was filled with laser blasts of all colors, smoke, and explosions in an utterly chaotic battle. 8-3-9-6 ran behind a large pillar to take cover as his latest shield spell ran out of power. He opened a holo-transmission to Altanor.
“It’s done, Master,” Kevin heard his own voice say.
“Well done. How’s Kevin’s body?” he asked.
Tell him to go fuck himself! Kevin shouted in his mind.
Silence, you’re lucky I can’t take the risk of damaging your brain or you’d have been disciplined.
Up yours!
I’m muting you now, said 8-3-9-6.
Yeah, you run, you coward.
“Kevin is undamaged,” 8-3-9-6 told Altanor over the holo-feed.
“That’s excellent news. How’s the coup going down there?”
“The battle is still raging.”
“What about the sister? Is she still there?”
8-3-9-6 swiftly poked his head out of cover and saw Athala trembling on the floor, her hands covering her head.
When a laser blast impacted mere centimeters from Kevin’s fa
ce, 8-3-9-6 jerked his head back behind cover.
Watch it, you dumbass! Kevin protested.
But the AI didn’t answer.
Kevin hoped Leg’olas was still in his hair and hoped that the young girl wasn’t scared to death from the furious battle that was happening all around them.
Hang on. Hopefully, this will be over soon.
Kevin saw something large beam down not too far from his position.
What the fuck is that thing?
A giant-looking bug materialized and screeched loudly. The sound was ear-piercing.
“Stand by, Altanor,” 8-3-9-6 said. “There’s been a development down here.”
Kevin could confirm that, as the bug looked at Kevin and decided to charge toward him.
“Holy shit!” roared Boomer seconds after beaming down to the palace.
The place was a war zone, explosions happening all around, more lasers than one could count kept screaming past his feline ears, some deflecting when impacting with his smart armor shields. The layer of smoke in the unusually large room was getting quite dense, affecting visibility.
Lacuna rolled out of the way to find some sort of cover behind a pile of bodies and winked at Boomer.
She briefly popped out of the flesh-made cover and shot two people dead.
“What are you waiting for? Shoot!” she screamed at Boomer.
“Who do I target?”
“Anyone that doesn’t look like Kevin is fair game at this point.”
Right, thought Boomer.
His automatic targeting plasma turret started mowing down enemies one by one and Boomer ran around, trying to make it more difficult for enemies to get a good shot at him. His shields were holding strong but each impact was draining precious power he may need down the line.
All the while, he was trying to locate Kevin and didn’t dare shoot past the smoke, fearing that he might accidentally hit him. He was nowhere to be seen, so Boomer decided to try and push forward to an area beyond the fog of war created by the thick smoke around him.
“Where are you going?” cried Lacuna.
“Looking for Kevin. Stay in this area. I’ll be back.”
Lacuna thought she heard the tiger chuckle, but her ears could be playing a trick on her.
Lacuna used a nearby explosion and the temporary cover that it provided to jump out of her current position and find a new cover behind a large column. Mira sure had not undersold how chaotic this battle was.
How the hell are we supposed to find Kevin in this mess?
Lacuna counted pirates, Kregans, imperial guards, and others, who all seemed to be shooting at each other indiscriminately. She had been in her fair share of close-quarters, disorganized battles when she ascended to the seven-hundredth floor, but she had been aided by armies. Or, more accurately, had used them to get what she wanted.
Right now she was alone. That elevated her stress level, but she decided that if today was the day she would die, then so be it. Once the thought was assimilated fully, she ran out from behind her cover and fearlessly mowed down enemy after enemy. But was it courage or madness?
She didn’t know and didn’t care. People were shooting all around her, and she shot back. Her smart armor would deflect hits and it seemed to hold fine, power-wise. When the shield’s power level would drop too far, she would find cover again and let it recharge.
Then she saw what looked like a civilian on the floor not too far from her position. The poor thing was crying and slowly crawling on the floor.
What are you doing, Lacuna? That’s not your mission.
But she felt compelled to run to that person’s aid. A female, from the looks of it. As Lacuna darted forward toward the girl, she saw the space bug through a hole in the smoke on her right side. It was charging toward a nearby target. . .
Kevin!
Boomer, I found Kevin. Transmitting location to you now.
Roger that, good job, Lacuna. In case we don’t survive this, I wanted you to know how grateful I am for your help.
To her surprise, hearing Boomer’s words brought tears to her eyes, she wiped them away as she kept running toward the space bug and Kevin.
Kevin was shouting inside his own mind, but 8-3-9-6 still had him on mute.
Get the fuck out of here before that thing crushes me, you dumb canner!
8-3-9-6 dodged at the last second and used his shockwave spell to push the bug into the column he was resting against a second earlier.
Kevin sighed. That was close.
The creature screeched and shook its head. One of its eyes seemed injured. But, then again, he probably had two dozen of them, so he doubted that would impact it too much. The bug turned around, looking for Kevin.
Great, you’ve pissed it off!
At that moment, Kevin thought he heard some static resonating inside his head.
Yeah, you fucktard, now is not the time to have me on mute, when it comes to battle, I can help. So you better listen to me.
Uhh…Kevin?
The voice was familiar.
Mira? Is that you?
Yes, Kevin. It’s me. I’m aware of your situation. I have isolated a subspace channel on which only you and I can hear, away from the AI sharing your consciousness.
Sharing my ass, that thing is in control.
That’s what we figured.
Who’s we? Is Zee with you? Please tell me he’s right next to you, helping you break me free from my own body as we speak.
I’m afraid not, but Boomer and Lacuna are there in the room, searching for you.
Lacuna? How the hell is she part of any of this?
That’s a long story, but she’s the reason we’ve located you.
Kevin was conflicted about this new development. He was both surprised and equally suspicious that she might have an agenda of her own. But right now, however, it was the least of his worries.
I’m not sure them trying to get to me is a good idea; 8-3-9-6 will shoot them if they come close. And the damned thing is pretty good at using tech sorcerer spells.
You’re a tech sorcerer? I thought they were extinct. That doesn’t matter, they know to treat you, well your body, as a threat. They also know not to use lethal force.
Thank you, Mira. Now tell me how I can get back into this fight?
I’m working on it. Hang on while I try to bypass the neo-cortex overrides your AI has erected in your mind. There has to be a way.
Where was Ziron when they needed him?
Mira?
Yes, Kevin.
I’m sorry I called you a fucktard earlier; I thought I was talking to 8-3-9-6.
No apologies required. It’s good to hear your voice, Kevin, even when you’re swearing.
Kevin chuckled. It’s good to hear your voice too. Is Zee on his way?
He and the princess are looking for her sister.
What sister?
Athala, Xonax captured her and forced Kalliopy into delivering you. If she refused, they would have killed the sister.
That explains a lot. I’m still pissed about it though, and that’s not the worst of it. I’m about to become this galaxy’s number one wanted man.
What do you mean, Kevin? Why?
My body just executed the Kregan Emperor!
Ouch.
You can say that again!
17
When Xonax beamed into the med-bay, he was already unconscious. Doctors put him under a medical scanner.
“Chief Forlon,” said the first officer. “I need to return to the bridge, but make sure to inform me about his condition. He’s now the Emperor.”
The Kregan doctor listened with only part of his attention.
“His vitals don’t look good. I can’t guarantee that he’ll survive.”
The first officer grabbed the doctor by the shoulders and shook him.
“Listen to me carefully, Chief. There’s no margin for error here. This is not your typical attempt at saving a soldier’s life. If Emperor Xonax dies so will your entire tea
m and their families. I suggest you shake off any doubts in your mind right now. Consider his survival your survival. Am I making myself clear?”
Terror spread through the room like a wildfire. Chief Forlon swallowed hard.
“I—I understand,” he said, nodding uneasily.
“Good, I’ll be expecting real-time updates on the Emperor’s condition on a regular basis, now get to work and save his life,” said the first officer before beaming back to the bridge.
“What are we going to do?” another doctor in the room said, his voice trembling.
“You heard him, we either save this man’s life, or we’ll die with him.”
But things weren’t looking good. The initial scans showed external elements had fused with the emperor’s tissues, and toxic alloys were running through his bloodstream and spreading fast. Each passing moment threatened to send Xonax’s body into catastrophic failure.
The medical scanner beeped loudly as the patient’s twin hearts stopped. Blood drained from the chief’s face as he felt his own heart was in danger of stopping as well.
“We’re all dead,” said one of the doctors, falling on his knees.
“Hearts stimulation, NOW!” screamed Forlon.
8-3-9-6 cast multiple fireballs toward the space bug, but they didn’t seem to damage the creature.
Kevin was overjoyed that his friends had come to rescue him, but worried that this creature would get the best of his body before then.
Mira, what do you know about this thing?
As a matter of fact, we’re the ones who beamed it down. We had managed to trap it in the transporter’s buffer. Not an easy feat, it almost killed Boomer and Zelda in the process.
Zelda? Who the hell is Zelda?
Long story short, an offspring of Ziron.
Kevin’s mind was still preoccupied looking at every futile move the AI was doing to try and bring the creature down, but, eventually, Mira’s words sunk in.
I go away for a few days and my friends start families, go figure. Please tell me you can beam that thing back somewhere else or at least back in the ship’s buffers?
Make it So! Page 12