by Duran Cross
“Yes, we were the rear guard for a grossly outnumbered fleet. Most of us didn’t make it.” Rennin takes a breath and shudders away the memory of the men that died from the pod he was in.
“Well with this record I’m sure you’ll be accepted without much trouble. I don’t know about your sergeant rank being restored, the army has changed a lot in the last twenty years.”
Horse shit. “I see.”
“We’ll get you scanned for infection and a quick physical.”
Three hours later and after explaining his various android parts, his rank of sergeant is restored dependent on his reading the rules of engagement text book, but he’s more or less got the job. His infection level turned up inconclusive once, then negative, then inconclusive, then negative.
He passed his psychiatric test as the picture of mental health, so perfect in fact that they had to retest him. The lieutenant asking the questions figured he merely knew what to say, but since his scores say he has passed, there’s not much that can be done.
The lieutenant doesn’t like him. Rennin doesn’t like any of them. None of them would like him if they figured out he killed three of them barely a few nights before. He curses himself in the army dome several times for his own thoughtlessness; he still carries Logan’s gun since the night he threw him out of Carla’s apartment window.
He is having a great deal of internal conflict about getting rid of it because it is such a brilliantly crafted weapon. Though its customisation makes it, therefore, recognizable.
Rennin gets back to his apartment in the Godyssey complex to find Carla bundled up on the couch playing some of his most violent video games. She’s chosen to fight on the aliens’ side and is butchering the human side. Clearly she hasn’t quite dealt with being a military target for execution.
She looks over to him and he sees the veins in her face and most of her neck have returned to normal. He is about to say hello when the power goes out.
7.
Mettle Skin
Pharaoh Drake wasn’t paying attention when the citywide blackout hit Raddocks Horizon. The entire grid went down at once, and has remained out for nearly two hours. The backup power supply hasn’t even kicked in. There was no warning, no backup and there is no power at all.
Drake is strapped to a chair, deep scratches running down the sides of his face. Serro is outside his observation room, looking at his friend’s fingers that are caked with his own blood.
He hasn’t recovered from his first hit mission with the Tasker child and mother. Before being sent on a second mission, Serro advised Captain Kowalski not to assign Drake until he’d been counselled and properly evaluated. Unfortunately, time was of the essence. Drake made it as far as the target’s house before he went berserk. In his mad panic he shot Mia Saker, before attacking the rest of his team. If it wasn’t for her body armour she would have been killed.
He was wrestled down and put back in the RV, but once alone he began tearing at himself as if his skin wasn’t his. He broke every window and mirror, fracturing his own wrist in the process. Sedation has left his head is lolling from side to side. Serro sighs and looks across at Mia. “What would you do?”
Mia huffs, her pale brown eyes quickly appraising Serro. They are sharp as a knife. “Drake is one of those moral unfortunates. Might have been kinder to shoot him.”
Despite her relatively young appearance, Mia Saker is well into her thirties and is extremely pragmatic, certainly well chosen for the HolinMech Program. Serro can’t help but wonder if she’s being serious about executing him. “Would you do it?”
She pauses for a moment looking at Drake through the glass. “No. But looking at him is just… shit. Look at him,” she gestures with her hand, “he’s gone.”
“Did you know Caufmann wants him taken to the lab immediately?”
Mia’s head cocks slightly, her eyebrows pressing together to make a face that challenges Serro’s question. “Why?”
He shrugs, “He didn’t say. You ever met him?”
“Caufmann? No. Don’t want to.”
“Well you’re taking Drake over there.”
“No I’m not.”
“I’m not going there. I’m your superior, so get moving.”
Mia glares at him, “I can shoot your nuts off from three kilometres away.”
“Only because it’s a big target.”
“Anything looks big in 3000x zoom, Hopper.”
Before long she’s driving through the streets. Without power it’s like travelling through a ghost town. The streets are deserted. In the darkness, all the looming buildings make it look like some kind of gothic nightmare. Mia can’t remember ever being in a blackout.
All vehicles in the city are usually connected to the electrical grid. Without the power signal to tell the organic compound engines to run, all cars are useless without an alternate power source. There is only a limited amount of petroleum left that is capable of running vehicle engines the old fashioned way, and Mia has been allotted a single tank of it.
She’d only ever smelled real petrol once before, when cleaning out her grandfather’s garage after he died. She doesn’t miss the aroma at all. She can’t stand colognes either. As far as she’s concerned, they all stink like embalming fluid.
It is well into the night by the time her RV pulls up at the Godyssey Laboratory gates. The lab has emergency lights on, so obviously has it’s own generator. The watchman is waiting. He approaches the gate, one eye glowing unsettlingly. “Yes?”
Mia sticks her head out the window. “Open up! I’ve got Drake in the back.”
“That’s wonderful.”
This must be Rennin Farrow, Mia thinks with a mental sigh. “Caufmann ordered him here.”
“Does he come with chips?”
“Open the gate.”
“Identify yourself.”
“Mia Saker, Beta HolinMech.”
“Serial number?”
“What’s the point of that? No electrical equipment is working citywide, you can’t verify it.”
“I suppose only military are capable of driving around. I’m just not thrilled about having to open the gate with this,” he holds up a crank.
“Well I’m not thrilled about being here at all.”
As Rennin begins winding it open he eyes the car, “Is that a combustion engine I smell, or are you just wearing unleaded as a deodorant?”
“Unleaded?”
“The last time I remember smelling that shit was years ago at the Fusion Grand Prix. Couldn’t you guys afford hydrogen?”
“Apparently this stuff is easier to synthesize, it’s not actually fossil fuel.”
Rennin laughs, “Yeah, hydrogen is really hard to get being the most common element in the universe.”
“The fuel is easy enough but when was the last time you saw a hydrogen engine?” asks Mia.
“To be honest I don’t know.”
“That’s because they’re two centuries out of date, a little on the dangerous side in a firefight since hydrogen explodes when it contacts oxygen. We’re not sure of the extent of the blackout or even how it happened. And these old engines aren’t connected to a grid and they’re impossible to remotely hack,” she says, clearly losing patience.
Rennin grins, “I like you.”
Mia winces.
“Not like that. I’m spoken for.”
“Lucky her.”
A moment later, the gate has been cranked open, allowing Mia to drive in. She takes Drake out of the back of the RV. He’s been strapped to a wheelchair, and is luckily still sedated.
Wheeling him in the front doors and through the front foyer of the lab complex, she finds Doctor Jellan Roths waiting. The surgeon is looking a little pale. Mia has heard she is infected, but rumours aren’t to be trusted.
The Beta HolinMech nods a greeting before Roths leads her to an observation room deeper in the lab, where Caufmann awaits in a room that looks more like a cell. It’s lined with soundproofing soft pads. Mia st
ops for a moment wondering what Caufmann has in mind for Drake.
He waves her in with some kind of faux-smile, some mock attempt to settle her doubts. This is the first time she’s ever seen him.
And she can already feel her trigger finger twitching.
◆◆◆
Rennin walks back up the clock tower where Wayne Carr is sitting with Carla. He knew he had to get back to the lab as soon as he could when the blackout hit. All the doors have to be open and closed with manual latches. Wayne looks up, “Look, Rennin, I don’t think you should have brought her here,” he says, turning to Carla. “Nothing against you, it’s just against the rules.”
Carla smiles. She tries to make it as polite as possible but every time she looks at Wayne’s nametag, she can’t help but smirk.
Rennin arches an eyebrow, “Jeez, Wank, I didn’t think you’d pass up the opportunity to talk to a woman that doesn’t require inflating.”
“We could get in trouble.”
“Actually we can do anything, there isn’t a surveillance camera up and running anywhere in this stinking city. I mean honestly, just listen,” he makes a sweeping hand gesture.
A long pause ensues.
“To what?” Wayne eventually asks.
“Exactly, Tonnes of Fun. Nothing. No hum of electricity, no buzz of technology, no car engines whirring, not even the barely perceptible drone of wireless signals, radio waves and all that other stuff flying around we don’t consciously notice.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re enjoying this?” asks Carla.
“And none of the solar batteries are working,” Rennin says looking out the tower window trying to see anything past the gates.
“Whoever cut the power knew exactly how to,” says Wayne.
“And what else is bizarre: two hours and no looting.”
Wayne huffs, “There has been looting.”
“Not on the scale that’s the median, particularly for a city this size.”
“Martial Law keeps most people indoors,” says Wayne.
“Good god, the good Lord’s bitter joke on the world makes a good point.”
Carla makes the stern face at him. “Is it necessary to be such a prick?”
“Don’t knock it until you try it. Go on, tease him, it really helps.”
Despite Wayne’s unfortunate appearance, he does have a pair of eyes that can melt hearts, which he turns on Carla with an expression that would remelt Antarctica. Carla feels like she’s defending a hurt puppy. “Rennin, lay off him.”
Rennin straightens his belt. “I’d lay him off given half a chance.”
“You’d lay him, Rennin, that’s not the same thing.”
“Don’t be stupid… his tits aren’t big enough.”
“The space between your ears is,” says Wayne drawing an unexpected laugh from Carla.
◆◆◆
In the lab, Caufmann has Drake in the Chair. Mia and Roths are still in the room but Mia looks like she doesn’t want to leave. Drake is still mostly unconscious, until Caufmann jabs him with a syringe. The Beta HolinMech jolts awake with fright. “What…”
“Doctor Roths, Miss Saker, excuse us. Now.”
Mia remains still but Roths firmly grips her arm, leading her out of the room. When the door seals shut behind them, nothing can be heard. Drake looks up at Caufmann. “Where am I?”
“Godyssey Laboratory, level three. You’ve suffered a slight breakdown.”
“Slight? I shot my own friend.”
Caufmann smiles, “I’ve killed several of mine.”
That catches Drake off guard but he doesn’t let it show. “What am I doing here?”
“I ordered you be brought here. You’ve been declared unfit to serve in Beta HolinMech during your induced sleep and I know enough about your father to know he’ll react quite… poorly to this news.”
“What does my father have to do with any of this?”
“You’ll get your chance to ask him but I have a job for you. Absolute secrecy is essential.”
Drake shakes his head, “I can’t. I can’t do anything right now. And I’ve heard about you, no way am I doing anything for you.”
“You don’t exactly have a choice. It’s do this job for me, or end up where you were going to be taken before I had you brought here. The asylum.”
Drake clenches his jaw. “I deserve it.”
“Irrelevant. I know you’ve voiced serious concerns about Godyssey’s conduct regarding its employees and their treatment of the androids. And have only voiced these concerns because your father will pay any price to keep you in Godyssey’s control. A curious thing, isn’t it?” When Drake doesn’t respond he continues. “You can do something good now. I need a HolinMech deserter taken out of this city.”
That gets Drake’s attention. “I’m sorry? There’s only one HolinMech that’s…” he trails off as it dawns on him. “He’s here?”
Caufmann nods, “And very frightened.”
“How do you know I won’t tell anyone?”
“Because you’re insane. Who’s going to believe you?”
“Everyone, because everyone knows you’re screwed up.”
Caufmann eyes him closely. “You murder hundreds of people and you’re called a butcher, yet never to your face. But when you try saving lives, everyone has something to say about how you’re going about it wrong or how you’ll fail. Why is that?”
“I don’t know,” says Drake quietly.
“Yes you do. It’s because anyone trying to do any kind of good is an easy target. It’s why husbands beat their wives. Their own inherent incompetence and lack of confidence manifests into violence against something perceived to be weaker, and there’s nothing easier to hurt than someone who loves you.”
“And you know everything, do you?”
“I know you shot Mia Saker when you could have taken your anger out on those responsible if you were so inclined, but that’s too difficult isn’t it? Best to take it out on your friends because they’re less likely to see it coming,” says Caufmann in a derisive tone.
“You need to stop talking.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, we’re all guilty of it on some level. It’s a survival instinct but some are simply more cowardly than others.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I told you. You will take this HolinMech out of Raddocks Horizon.”
“How?” asks Drake.
“I don’t care.”
“It won’t work.”
Caufmann grits his teeth but remains calm. “The Skyhook will not be alerted and even if it is, it will not have the resources to chase one small ship. The HolinMech’s transponder has been cut out and there is a sarcophagus I have designed that can mask androids from close range scans.”
Drake huffs a laugh. “Chase? They won’t chase, they’ll just shoot us down.”
Caufmann hates to admit it but Drake is right, the entire idea is insane. “We have an entrance to the sewer systems but Prototype might be down there. We’ve been receiving some bizarre readings from various locations.”
“You said everyone’s going to go insane and start attacking everything so why not just let him go in the confusion?”
“He’s frail,” says Caufmann tapping his temple.
Drake looks stunned. “You want me to see a crazed deserter android and take it out of the city?”
“Do you need everything explained to you more than twice?”
“What do I do if he attacks me? I can’t wrestle a combat ready soldier robot.”
Caufmann turns away for a moment thinking fiercely. “You can with some help.”
“Why does it have to be me?”
Caufmann produces a syringe from his pocket containing a clear fluid. “You have two options. You can do this for me, or the contents of this hypo will dictate your future.”
“Poison?”
“My work is delicate. Poison is crude. Inside this needle is a substance colloquially known as Mind Kille
r. It’s an agent that simply stops your brain from performing certain tasks requiring the cortex. It’s the chemical equivalent of an archaic procedure called the Transorbital Lobotomy. It’s quite permanent and negates the necessity for constant sedation.”
Drake’s head instinctively moves back from Caufmann. “That’s my choice?”
“I was ordered by a Godyssey founding member to use this on you. Godyssey superiors obviously don’t want the scandal of a Founder’s son shooting up their own soldiers to get out.”
“My father,” Drake nearly spits.
Caufmann shakes his head. “Orders such as those don’t come with names, just the specific action to be taken. This choice is my offer, not theirs.”
◆◆◆
Outside the room, Doctor Roths and Mia Saker watch through the glass like it’s a television on mute. Caufmann paces back and forth, Drake sits strapped into the wheelchair looking up with those deep self-inflicted scratches scoring his face. Mia doesn’t really care about being shot in the chest, she is just concerned about her comrade.
Being killed as a Beta HolinMech is one of the ways to a fast promotion to become an android. In her opinion, androids are the real deal, the best of the absolute best. She will be the first female HolinMech Warrior.
Mia sometimes feels a little like Drake’s big sister. She jumped at the chance of becoming a Beta HolinMech and is scheduled to replace a HolinMech Warrior called Joseph Yomak. Drake was forced to sign on with the Beta HolinMechs and being forced into such a thing is akin to a death sentence.
Mia sighs, “I know you’re probably tired of impatient soldiers hanging around but what do you think Caufmann wants with him?”
“William never wastes his own time so it’s probably important.”
“I can’t imagine anyone calling him by a first name.”
Roths smiles slightly, “He really can be a good friend.”
Mia looks at her incredulously for a moment. “Well if he gets Drake killed or experiments on him he’s dead.”
Roths laughs, “Yes… of course.”
“This blackout has left a lot of our contingents across the city vulnerable. How could the city’s entire power supply not have a back up?”