“That fool!” Deiley spat out and began walking quickly to the room. “Wasn't he warned about entering an access area with Wyeth present?” He spoke with a clear voice to activate the comnet already placed over the base. “Corporal White! This is Major Deiley! Do not enter that room!” There was no response, so they began running. Probably a waste of time.
It was a waste of time. When they arrived two minutes later, they could see easily into the room; Corporal White had not closed the door. They could as easily see why he hadn't: The remains of all three men lay just inside it. In the center of the room were Wyeth and a man, probably Lieutenant Lockwood. Between them and Deiley stood a bright orb of light, less than a half meter high. It moved about as though alive, guarding the two people. Judging by the bloody and shattered corpses, Wyeth had chosen her sentry wisely. Deiley sighed and sat down. He hoped the Lieutenant could not—or chose not to—see his hands tremble slightly as the sight of Miss DeChant. He was so very close to his goal. But what was his goal?
“All right. We'll wait for them out here. I don't think it will be too long."
* * * *
There was nothing to be seen. From flat, featureless horizon to flat, featureless horizon, there was nothing. Appropriately enough, the ground was flat black, only slightly less black than the sky, and much duller. Even the Quantum, about a half-kilometer behind us, gave no light. We'd come here, ready to fight our way through a host of typical goons, bullies, and monsters. All the standard stuff. But no, we had the place to ourselves. That scared me. I'd hoped he thought they would have been necessary to wear us down. That he didn't made him very confident or very powerful. Probably both.
“What gives, Abby?” Mike was looking around, perplexed. “Are we at the wrong address?"
“No, we're not.” I turned out to the open plane and raised my voice. “All right, Chris. Let's get it over with."
“WHO?” Mike spun toward me and for the first time I could remember, he was genuinely surprised. Surprised and scared. But I didn't respond to his question, nor to Alan's unasked one. My attention was focused on the ground five meters in front of me.
A deep black hole appeared, pulling in energy from the surrounding terrain. When it was filled, the energy pool raised up and took on a humanoid form. Colorless at first, it began shifting and sharpening, gaining shades and hues. Slivers of energy pulled away and became arms. A bulge grew from the top and began growing hair and a hideous skeleton face that started covering itself with muscle and skin. A small hole appeared in the middle of the torso. It became a slit, then a separation as legs formed.
A body fully formed, it quickly finished with the defining features of Chris Young.
“Hello, John.” He cracked his grin at me, the one he always used whenever he thought or actually did have something over me.
“Hello, Chris. Only it's not John anymore. It's Abigail."
He laughed. “Really? Let's see.” He flipped a hand and I felt an energy field surround me. I looked down and saw that instead of my normal glowing form, I was standing naked in my human form. I had expected something like this. I smiled at him, paying no attention to my nakedness.
“You always were something of a leech, Chris. Go ahead. Look all you want."
He got a dirty look on his face. “You're feminine enough on the outside, John. But I'm sure you're still John Wyeth.” He flipped his hand again and I returned to my original form. “So. Have you and your army come to defeat me?"
“Uh-huh. And why not? You're the one responsible for NATech Supreme, aren't you, Chris? It was you who developed the webbing techniques. It was you who manipulated NATech, the original one, into a role of prominence after the Terran Martian Wars. It was you who—"
“Yes, yes, yes. All that, John, and more.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “I'm surprised you don't take some of the credit yourself, though. After all, I couldn't have done all this without you."
“What?” I whispered.
“Then you don't know? So my old boss does have a chink in his armor.” He laughed. “I created the webbing techniques, sure. But once I'd developed the overall concept, it became clear that I had something and I needed something I had a powerful programming scheme that could ultimately give unimaginable control to the being who owned it, which was me.
“But I needed a full time presence to monitor it and develop it while I worked out a plan of action. Fortunately, I was surrounded by some of the best minds that ever existed, so I picked the best one.” He smiled, and his smile revealed bright white teeth with a forked tongue that made me flinch. “I picked you, John."
“Then it was you who had me killed."
“Yes. I manipulated your death and transfer into the computer, another little something I'd worked out in my spare time: the moving of a mind and soul into another host. I planned to do it to myself at the right time. Only I wasn't sure it would work. So I needed a guinea pig. You. And in case you died, John, I had two others picked out.
“But you worked out far beyond my wildest expectations. After I'd used you to stabilize my webbing schemes, I hid you in the computer banks for six years, then reintroduced you as my first netter."
I wasn't saying anything. I didn't know what to say.
“I kept you there for about two centuries, then started moving you around as I needed. You've had quite a career, John. Netter, space station, a lowly housemaid, the primary core to the PlaNet defense systems.” He paused.
“But it was the housemaid that ended up being the most profitable for me. I'd been following the studies and theories of Professor LeClaire, and was excited by his studies in Keyed Memory Encapsulation. I arranged for him to be given a housemaid, and saw to it that it was your mind that was used to provide life to the soulless female.” He grinned. “I also liked the thought of screwing you bad, John. Not physically, of course. There's no way I wanted to leave the puterverse once I'd made my home here. But I'd always been put off by your ease with women. I couldn't stand seeing you work so well with them and not use that to your advantage."
“You mean you hated my respect for all my people. That's why you never made it to Project Leader, Chris. You tended to think with your head second."
“Could be, John. Could be. But at least I don't have any dresses in my wardrobe. And I saw to it that you did have dresses in your wardrobe. I paid close attention to your life as Miss DeChant, John. It was a pleasant diversion from ruling the planet.
“But then Professor LeClaire actually developed a workable KME procedure. I didn't know what he planned to implant, but I guessed he'd choose you to implant it in. And so he did."
I shook my head. “Sorry, Chris. But you're wrong. There's been nothing special about Miss DeChant that would indicate—"
“God! You're stupid! Of course there wouldn't be anything in her, John. This thing takes years, centuries, to develop. And after I realized that LeClaire planned to betray me, I had both of them killed the night he implanted the capsule in your mind. I then put you someplace safe to develop that KME; into the planetary defense system."
“Unfortunately, the KME didn't develop. I gave up after a century and a half and ordered you destroyed. But a traitor shifted your mind into another computer bank and reported you terminated. He was caught and executed, but you managed to disappear. It's only in the past few months that I put together the rest of the story.” He smiled. “I find it quite humorous that you've never regained your manhood, John."
The smile disappeared. “I also found it very exciting when I found out that the KME did develop over time. I just hadn't given it enough time. That's how you acquired your ability to program in bound trinary code. And now I'm going to acquire that ability from you, John. I have Major Deiley standing by to harvest your mind as soon as I've shut it down.” He raised a hand. “I've never savored a moment as much as I've savored this one. Goodbye John."
A bolt of solid black energy exploded from his hand and struck me full force. My shielding had long been up, though
, so it splashed harmlessly off me. I laughed.
“Not what you expected, eh, Chris? Tell me, did you expect this?” I tightened my body and a sphere of crystals erupted from my body. They spread out in all directions for twenty meters, then homed in on Chris, hammering with blow after blow after blow. He stepped back, staggered.
That was the cue for Alan and Mike. Alan came at his right side from the ground, Mike at his left from the air. Alan slid negative shielding around him, lowering his access level and leaving him open to Mike's blistering attacks. Green plasma slipped between the negative shielding cracks and I heard him scream. He fell to his knees.
I stepped up, feeling suddenly tired. I just wanted this over with.
“Chris, you've manipulated all of Earth's society for centuries. You've callously used and discarded thousands, perhaps millions of lives. You've surrendered your own humanity for power. I pity you more than anything else. But I've no way to express that pity that will help anyone, including you. You're right, Chris. It's time to say goodbye.” I placed my hands on his forehead to fire a razor of UTC into his cyberbrain. “Goodbye, Chris."
I fired, but nothing happened. Confused and worried, I tried again. Nothing. He looked up at me, smiling.
“What's wrong, John?"
“Stop calling me John!” For some reason, I was suddenly upset by his constant use of my old name. “My name is Abigail!"
“Really? Kind of kinky isn't it, calling yourself by a girl's name, isn't it, John? After all, just look at yourself."
Stunned, I looked at myself. I was a man. My arms were strong, my chest wide, and my body complete. I stepped back, knowing I should press the attack, but unable to. Mike and Alan were looking at me with startled eyes, aghast.
“Stop it! Stop it! My name is Abigail! I'm a woman!"
“If you say so, Abigail. Have it your way."
I felt a wave wash over me and I looked at myself again. I was a woman!
“Nooo!” I yelled, covering my nakedness. “What have you done to me? Stop it, Chris! Make me a man again!"
“But you just insisted you're a woman, Abigail. Make up your mind, girl.” He was smiling again.
“Abby!” Mike jumped up into the air and brought both hands together, preparing to launch a bolt at Chris. Panic gripped me. If he destroyed Chris, I could never be a man again! But wait, wasn't my name Abigail? It couldn't be. That was a girl's name.
I shouted at Mike to not fire, but my voice was drowned out by a thunderclap of sound as Chris opened fire at Mike. The battering ram of energy didn't explode when it struck Mike. Rather, it filled him, as though he were sucking it in. Chris had hit him with a virus, and caught off guard, Mike was quickly coming undone. I started to rush Chris, to hit him, when I felt Alan hold me back. His hand on my tiny shoulder made me scream.
“Don't touch me! Leave me alone, Alan!” I kept myself covered, feeling shame and revulsion at being in a woman's body. Even worse, a young woman's body.
“Abby! Calm down! Look!” He fended off my weak blows and pulled my foot up. Black tendrils, reaching up from the ground, were embedded in them. Even as I watched, the skin in my lower leg bulged as they pushed deeper inside me. I screamed.
“Calm down! Young is messing with your mind, Abby! I think he's doing some kind of partial ripe! You've been Abigail Wyeth for three years now. Remember!” He shook me by the shoulders. “Remember! You were even engaged to a man."
“NO! That can't be true! I am a man! I'm just in the wrong body!"
“No, you're not! This is who you are! Remember? Please! Snap out of it, Abby! You told me how much you loved him. His name was Aaron Marks."
Aaron...
“That's more than enough from you, Lockwood.” Chris had been occupied with Mike, but now turned his attention to us. He didn't even move and suddenly Alan was sinking into the ground. His face became contorted with pain. Chris laughed.
“So, what's it to be, Lockwood? You can save yourself by ending access. Of course, that means abandoning John. Not that you can help out anyway. All three of you were fools! Coming to my home, thinking to beat me, armed only with some bound trinary code. It's painful enough, I'll grant you, and potentially more potent than pseudo trinary code. But I've had centuries to refine my pseudo trinary, and it's far more advanced than your current skills."
He looked back at me. “And what about you, John? Shall I turn you back into a man? Come. It's time to abandon this lost cause. Your construct is all but destroyed. Every moment you wait brings your human friend closer to death. Give me the memory capsule and I'll let both your friends go."
I felt the tendrils twist and lurch deeper in my body. Into my foreign, female body. They were now up to my stomach. Mike lay motionless on the ground, encased in a smoky black rock. Alan would have passed out from the agony if Chris hadn't been keeping him awake. All I needed to do to end this suffering was to let Chris have my mind. But I couldn't. No more than I could make a deal with the devil.
“You know what, Chris? You'd think that six hundred years would have mellowed a person out. But you're still an asshole."
His face tightened and he started to say something, when suddenly everything became fuzzy and my skin felt
COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET POUR PRESS COOL RESET...
End of Book Three
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Shards [Book Three] Page 22