He left us partway through our meal to run diagnostics on our damaged suits. He returned looking grim. Jack's suit had lost its integrity, and he'd been lucky to survive. Even though my suit remained airtight, the damage to the environmental control module proved too severe to repair, so he'd been forced to place both suits in the recycling chute.
I realised just how close we'd come to losing Jack. It explained his unconsciousness. He'd almost run out of air.
After giving us shots of painkiller, Julian helped Jack and me into new suits. With difficulty, I hoisted Jack into a piggyback position on Julian’s shoulders. He refused to be carried in Julian's arms. I watched them enter the airlock that exited onto the shuttle bay. I sat down on the floor, placed my helmet next to me and waited for Julian to return.
He reappeared after about twenty-five minutes. I had no objection to being held in his arms for the journey back to our section.
Tiani hurtled towards us as soon as we emerged and flung herself into my arms, almost knocking me over in her enthusiasm.
"Steady," I said, curling my arms around her and giving her a huge hug. "Ease back a little; you've got a lot more strength now."
"Sorry, Dad," she said, releasing her crushing grip on my ribs. "Is that better?"
"Much better." She beamed up at me.
Jack interrupted us. "First priority––your dad and I need sleep."
Tiani opened her mouth to protest, but Julian leapt in, "Hey, Tiani. Dad and Uncle Jack have been through quite an ordeal, and they're both exhausted. They need rest and a decent sleep, so everything else can wait, okay?"
Tiani didn't look happy, but she nodded and let go of me. She went to embrace Jack, but he held her off. "I think I have some cracked ribs, so no hugs for the moment." He leant forward and kissed her cheek. "That will have to do for now. You two kids have been bloody marvellous," Jack said, glancing across at me.
"I second that," I said, smiling. "We wouldn't be here without the two of you. Thank you. I'm really proud of both of you." I blinked away tears. "Now, let's get some sleep." I hurriedly turned away and made for the living unit, blotting my eyes with my sleeve.
In spite of his tiredness, Jack insisted on taking a shower before sleeping. Unable to raise his arms due to the pain from his ribs, he got me to help him out of his clothes. Our sleep suits were made of a body-hugging, synthetic, self-cleaning, stretchy material. In spite of the zip fastener down the front, it still required some wriggling to get out of it.
I sucked in my breath when I saw the extent and severity of the bruising down Jack's left side and back. Fortunately, his nanocytes were well into repairing the damage. Some of the bruises were already turning yellow. I grabbed the scanner off the wall and took it over to him. His face flushed in embarrassment. It occurred to me it probably felt like he was standing naked in front of Kiera.
"Stand still a minute," I ordered, "I need to do a scan to make sure there aren't any loose ribs or bone chips floating around," or internal injuries, I added silently. He stood patiently, avoiding my eyes, while I lightly ran the scanner over him. He flinched when I moved it down his back. "Sorry, nearly finished."
We both peered at the readout. It showed three simple rib fractures in his back. There were no internal injuries, or bone fragments. The advice––rest for the next twenty-four hours. It would take a week for the bones to be fully healed.
"That's a relief, Jack. The possibility of internal injuries really worried me."
He touched my shoulder. "Thanks, Luke. Can I have my shower now?"
"Yes, go ahead. Will you need help to get dressed?"
"No, I'll wrap myself in the blanket and sleep naked. You can help me when I get up."
"Okay, I'll probably be asleep by the time you get out. I'll have a shower in the morning."
"I'll be quiet. Sleep well." He turned and stepped into the shower cubicle.
"You too," I said, yawning as I went out the door.
#
I slept for around nine hours and woke up ravenous. Jack was still dead to the world. I tiptoed to the food dispenser and got myself something to eat and drink. When I'd finished, I made my way out to the main deck, curious as to what Julian and Tiani were doing.
Julian was seated at the computer terminal and Tiani was standing behind him. "Hi you two. You look busy, what are you doing?"
Tiani turned, "Hi, Dad. You look heaps better." She appeared flustered. The guilty look she'd always got when we'd caught her raiding our biscuit tin as a small child was plastered over her face.
Julian swivelled his chair. "Dad, how are you?" Guilt was written all over his face as well. I wondered just what they'd been up to.
"So?" I stood regarding them both with my hands on my hips.
"We were just looking at the revival protocols," Julian said, trying to look nonchalant. "I mean…hey, we thought it would save time." He suddenly studied his feet.
"Jack's familiar with the process; he doesn't need extra information, as you both well know."
Betrayed by their expressions; they'd obviously been trying to figure out how to activate the program by themselves. "Whatever you are doing, close it down, now." They'd shown such maturity over the past twenty-four hours, but when it came to something like this they were still impatient children.
"I'm awake, finally," Jack said, poking his head around the living unit door. "I need your help, Luke."
After I'd helped Jack get dressed, we confronted Julian and Tiani.
"What's going on?" Jack said, looking from me, to Julian and Tiani and back.
"Nothing." Tiani crossed her arms defensively.
In a flash, Julian turned back to the screen, and pressed a button. He jumped up as the screen blanked. "Hey, Uncle Jack, how are the ribs?" Nice distraction, I thought, but I'd let him get away with it. Obviously, he knew I knew precisely what they'd been up to.
"Mmm," Jack winked at me, and grinned. "Will we wake the two-chipper?"
"Absolutely!" Tiani uncrossed her arms.
"I concur." Julian put on a serious expression. "Hey, I thought you'd never ask," he chuckled.
"So where is he, again?" Jack asked.
"He's in module one, the same one Dad and you were in," Tiani said.
"Let's go." Jack strode over to module one. Once there, he activated its panel. With fingers poised over the keyboard, he turned to Tiani. "What number Ti?"
"Number nine."
Jack raised his eyebrows, "Right next to you, Luke? You did check this section, didn't you?"
"Yes, I already told you that, Jack."
"Sorry, I forgot." He scratched his head.
"Nothing I saw rang alarm bells, and I didn't find anyone I recognised." I became defensive.
Jack, keeping his hands low, held them with both palms up, "Okay, okay––just making sure. Considering your frame of mind at the time, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd missed something."
"You said it was just to distract me," I snapped back.
"What's it matter? Let's just get on with it," Tiani retorted.
"I concur," Julian said, blinking like an old, wise owl and holding his face in a solemn expression.
The tension dissipated as we all laughed.
"Let's get the process underway." Jack turned back to the display. His hands skipped over the keyboard, while command protocols flashed down the screen. We stood in awe, and I wondered how he could move his fingers so rapidly. It was like watching a famous pianist playing at breakneck speed. Minutes passed, and Jack finally turned and said, "It's underway. There's nothing more we can do for the next hour, and I'm starving."
"Didn't you have anything to eat when you got up?" I said, feeling guilty for my full stomach.
"No, I thought certain people," he skewered Tiani and Julian with his gaze, "would be getting impatient. To avoid being pestered, I thought I'd start the process so I can eat in peace."
Tiani folded her arms and glared. Julian suddenly seemed intent on inspecting his footwear again. I
chuckled.
Jack marched off, and we fell in step behind him.
Chapter 41
The four of us stood like expectant parents, as we watched the sleep capsule's canopy disengage and slide away. As the capsule slid silently forward and began to tilt upright, it's occupant's eyes fluttered open. The tall, handsome young man with dark brown eyes fixed his deep, penetrating gaze on me. My heart instantly jolted, and I stiffened. Even though he had altered his appearance, I knew the person staring back at me was Logan Williamson.
Rage boiled up in me. Before I had time to think, I'd leapt forward and was about to put had my hands around his throat. "I'll kill you, you murdering bastard."
Just in time, Julian and Tiani, acting in unison with lightning speed, grabbed an arm each and hauled me backwards.
"Think, Luke," Jack said firmly but without raising his voice, "kill him and we'll never find Kiera. Now calm down."
"Dad! Dad! Stop, please." Tiani dragged on my left arm, while Julian kept a vice-like grip on my right.
"For Zark's sake, Dad," Julian said, "you told me there was to be no violence."
"Okay," I said, through gritted teeth, "okay, I…" My mind blanked. Julian and Tiani released my arms, and I stood in a silence broken only by the sound of my heavy breathing. Jack remained calm.
Williamson's face held a mixture of confusion and terror but no hint of recognition. He began to shake as the restraints slipped away, and he slid to a standing position. As the capsule began to retract back into the module, he staggered away from it. I fought to control my anger.
Jack reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him. In a quiet voice, his anger cool and restrained, he asked, "Where's Kiera?"
With terror still in his eyes, and his gaze darting around us all like a cornered mouse, Williamson said, "Keep that psychotic woman away from me. Who are you people, and what exactly is going on?"
"I'm Jack Summers, head of the emergency team for the section. Now answer my question." He grabbed both of Williamson's arms to hold him steady.
"I feel dizzy," Williamson said, in a pleading tone, "Please, I need to sit down."
"Okay." Holding his arm firmly, Jack guided the shaky Williamson towards the living unit. Without a word, the rest of us followed. Williamson, apparently terrified, kept glancing in my direction. After sitting him at the table, Jack got him a cup of water. Williamson's hands were shaking so badly Jack was forced to hold it for him.
"Keep your distance, guys. Let me do the talking."
Julian, Tiani and I sat opposite them on the other side of the table and waited.
When Williamson had finished the water, Jack tried a different tack. "Have you uploaded Kiera's consciousness to one of the two chips you have hidden inside you?"
"What chips and who's Kiera?" His face still oozed fear and bewilderment.
He must've recognised me, although some people took up to half an hour to recover fully from the wake-up process. Either that, or he deserved an Oscar for his performance.
"Look, Williamson," I clenched my fists and stood up. "We know who you are. What exactly did your message mean?" I glared at him. He shrank back as I stepped closer.
"You're not helping, Luke. Sit down." Jack motioned me to sit.
"My name is Gregory Archer. I am not, this…Williamson." He stared directly into my eyes. I could see defiance now, mixed with fear. "Who is Kiera?"
"You know who Kiera is. She's my wife," I shouted, "my dead wife. The person you switched into my body. The person you put my children with in a different section and then sabotaged the section so it would fail catastrophically."
Williamson's jaw dropped, and his face turned pale. He met my eyes. His expression conveyed a mixture of horror, disbelief and something else––sorrow. That shocked me. A niggling doubt surfaced at the back of my mind. What if my own wishful thinking had clouded my judgement? What if I was wrong? What if he wasn't Logan Williamson?
He just stood there, silent, struggling to control his emotions. Seconds passed before he was able to regain his composure. He looked up at me and said softly, "I'm…sorry." Every bone in his body screamed sincerity––his eyes, especially his eyes, his tone and his drooping shoulders.
My heart jolted, and I felt my jaw drop. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The Williamson I remembered had been clever, manipulative and an expert at maintaining his various masks. Momentary flashes and chinks over time had given him away, but I could see no masks here. Perhaps post-wake-up brain fog explained his puzzling behaviour or…
"What happened to your children?" he asked, quietly in a sympathetic tone.
"You're looking at them."
"But these two are…androids…I mean, sapioids. What happened?" He turned to Jack.
"Module three developed a fault. We had to terminate. I rescued Julian and Tiani, but I couldn't save Kiera. She, along with seventeen other human beings, died." Jack, his expression grim, inspected his hands.
"Having saved them, what possessed you to download them into androids? Why weren't they left on the ship's computer?" Williamson had a controlled, slightly smug, perplexed look on his face. Finally, he'd revealed himself in one of his familiar masks. My doubts evaporated.
"We couldn't leave them on the computer. My anti-virus program, put there to protect the ship from any outside interference while we're in transit, would have deleted them." Jack focused on the table and added, "In hindsight, I wish I'd never thought about it."
"It wasn't your fault, Jack." I tried to sound convincing.
"Wasn't it?" His face held such pain and sorrow it took all my strength not to get up and put my arms around him.
"It's immaterial as to whose fault it was," Williamson said, surveying Julian and Tiani. "But, dear me, now they're trapped. So disappointing for you, Luke, because there won't be any grandchildren, will there?"
Just like flicking a switch, the old Williamson had reappeared. Once again, I found myself drowning in those dark, malevolent eyes. Bloody Zark! Julian!––too late.
"What do you mean, no grandchildren?" Julian stood up abruptly, frozen, motionless, with both arms locked by his side.
"You haven't told him. Well, well," Williamson said, smirking at me with satisfaction.
"Shut the Zark up." I leapt up and stepped towards him. He sat surveying me and his smile widened. "Well well…"
"Luke––don't," Jack warned, "he's baiting you."
"Dad, what the hell does he mean?" Julian's face filled with shock, and his voice dropped to almost a whisper. "You mean I'm stuck in this thing forever?"
No, no, no. This wasn't how he was supposed to find out. Bloody Zark, I should have told him earlier. My mind flooded with regret, guilt, sorrow and grief. I reached out, but he shoved me away. I staggered a few steps backwards before regaining my balance.
"You lied, Dad. You lied to me." His face crumpled with disbelief, disappointment and hurt so intense it sent a stab of physical pain through me; like my insides were being twisted around barbed wire.
"I told you the truth," I said, quietly, "I asked you what you wanted. You told me to go ahead." I ran my fingers through my hair, Kiera's hair.
"When I asked you if it was forever, Dad, you said no."
His eyes held so much accusation, I had to look away. A wave of nausea swamped me. I realised I had had misinterpreted what Julian had said during the link. Perhaps, I had heard what I'd wanted to hear.
"Julian, when you asked me if it was forever, I thought you were asking me if you had to stay in a particular android. When I said no, I meant we would be able to upload you later to a custom android designed to be identical to your biological body. I presumed you realised you would become a sapioid."
Julian shook his head in disbelief. "Did you know about this, Tiani?" He gave her an accusatory look.
"Yes, I knew becoming a sapioid would be permanent." Tiani looked about to cry.
Jack leapt to her defence. "When we realised you'd got the wrong idea, Julian, I tol
d Tiani not to talk about it—that we would tell you when the time was right."
"Except it never was!" Julian spat back.
"I'm so sorry, Julian. It was only later Jack and I discovered you had the wrong idea. I couldn't seem to find the right time to…"As a single tear rolled down his face, I had a bizarre thought. I wondered why they'd bothered giving basic androids the ability to cry. In a microsecond, I snapped back to reality. "I'm so sorry Julian, please…" He turned away, streaked out the door, and a second later we heard the bathroom door slam.
"Julian," Tiani called after him, jumping to her feet.
"Let him go for now, Ti, he'll be all right." Jack stood up, came around the table and patted her arm. She burst into tears. I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back while she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Well, it seems none of you can handle the truth," Williamson smirked. "Such a tragic domestic scene, poor Julian."
Jack whirled, slapped him hard across the face and then winced. "I forgot. We'll deal with you later, Williamson. You might want to think about cooperating by telling us what's on your two chips, because my favourite option is to cut them out." He glanced across at me. "I can think of just the person to do it." He smirked.
"You can't." Williamson stiffened, and the terrified expression returned.
"We can," Jack said, with an air of malice.
"And we will," I added with satisfaction at seeing genuine fear plastered all over Williamson's face.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Jack jumped in, "Not another word or I'll gag you."
Williamson's mouth snapped firmly shut.
#
Jack located a pair of handcuffs and restrained Williamson by securing him to the metal leg of the table. After stuffing a set of earplugs, none too gently, into Williamson's ears, he held up a gag. Williamson, compliant now, had shaken his head. Jack laid it on the table.
Julian still hadn't come out of the bathroom, so we congregated outside the door and Tiani knocked lightly.
"Julian, Julian, please come out." Met with silence, she said, "Dad?"
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