by Mark Lingane
“Ow.”
The older guard glanced over briefly before returning to his surveillance.
“You’re in my way. I’m delivering a special order,” @summer said.
“Contents?”
“Medical supplies required for information gathering.”
“I have no record of a delivery.”
@summer sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’ll find it on your tinyIris. Check your messages.” She stepped closer. “Where is your tinyIris?”
“Stay where you are. I’ll check.”
“Check all you want,” she said, as she threw open the lid of the first box. She grabbed a handful of the bottles and waved them under his nose. “I’m a field operative fighting the enemy face-to-face. What do you do?”
The young guard took a step back.
The older guard snickered. “Will you supply some to me?” he said.
“No!”
“Correct answer,” the cyborg said. From a tall storage box he took a long stick with a small camera attached to one end. He positioned the camera under the cart and examined the display. He nodded to the young guard, who turned and pressed a large yellow button. The great gates started to open.
The older guard’s tinyIris beeped, and he paused to read the new instruction. “Wait. Close the gate.”
The younger guard slammed his palm onto the yellow button again. The doors started to close.
There was a massive explosion. Sparks erupted from the tesla tower and shot skywards. There was an ominous creaking. The tower buckled and toppled over toward the military zone. It crashed across the fence. A huge bolt of electricity arced into the nearest dark gray building. The immediate area went dark. Then the building exploded. The windows blew out. The buildings around it went dark.
Cyborgs came streaming out of the buildings and the guard had no choice but to open the gates again. Through the throng of the crowd @summer pushed the cart into the main courtyard. When the crowd cleared, the two guards were looking at an empty spot.
@summer steered the cart into a partly disused ammunitions room. Dust laid over everything. Most of the discarded ammunition cases were open and empty.
@summer threw open the lids to the boxes on the cart and removed the top trays. The other three clambered out and, cautiously, they all made their way back to the main courtyard, hiding inside one of the empty buildings. They watched the continuing sparks from the fallen tower and the devastation around it.
“Was that meant to happen?” Sebastian asked Melanie.
“Not all of it. But if it impresses you, then yes.”
They peered out the door and saw the last of the cyborgs streaming past, hurriedly marching to the tesla tower.
Sebastian nodded toward a large building with an enormous brass dome. He nudged Isaac, who was beginning to make noises, and remarked on its similarity to the main station at New Toowoomba. Isaac didn’t pay attention. He was staring at his hands.
“What’s the matter?” Sebastian hissed.
“I feel different,” Isaac replied.
“Stay focused. We’re as deep as we can be in enemy territory.”
“I can sense the cyborgs.”
“What are you talking about? Tesla senses are dead in here. At least mine are.”
“No. I can sort of sense them. I can feel where they all are.”
“Stop making it up.”
“I’m not. There are seven running past now.”
@summer looked out the door and confirmed it.
Melanie frowned. “How could that happen?”
Sebastian thought for a moment. “You said he got hit by electricity from the tesla tower?”
“Yeah. Big spark. Very funny. It threw him about fifteen feet.”
“Back at the Academy, my powers were boosted when I was near the hydro-generators under the city. I wonder if the same thing’s happened to Isaac.” He looked at Isaac, who still stared at his hands. “I’m not sure how long it’ll last.”
“Then we have no time to lose. We can use him.” Melanie turned to face Isaac and looked into his eyes. “Isaac, are you with us?”
He slowly focused on her and nodded.
“We need to go, and you’re our leader. Now is your time.”
He suddenly snapped into full consciousness. “Me?”
She pointed to the dome. “Take us there.”
55
HE LOOKED OUT into the courtyard. He closed his eyes and let his mind unwind. He slowly counted under his breath then dashed out into the courtyard, surprising the others.
“What’s he doing?” @summer said.
“Seeing a world we can’t,” Sebastian replied.
“What do we do?”
“Follow him.”
They all ran after him. To their further surprise, there were no cyborgs around. They followed him across the courtyard and into a small storage room just as a large skynet ran past.
“That was close,” Sebastian whispered.
Isaac was counting again, his eyes lightly closed, almost fluttering. He opened the door and whispered, “Follow me. Do as I do. Exactly.”
He ran out with the others in tow and ducked beneath a low wall just as a guard turned and looked in their direction. They ran to a corner and paused as a small skynet marched past. They ran behind the cyborgs, who marched on oblivious to their presence.
Isaac led them down a small alleyway. A cyborg was unloading a cart full of black boxes. Isaac relaxed his mind and the boxes toppled over, scattering down the alley. The cyborg went after them and the gang charged through an open door into the building.
Isaac turned left, then right, then left, and hid behind a rolling screen as more guards marched past on their way out. Then Isaac ran into a thick plate of glass. He collapsed to the ground. The others, for once, didn’t laugh. Their mouths fell open.
In front of them, beyond the glass, were the twisting strands of electricity that made up the core.
“Whoa,” Sebastian said.
“Oh. My. God,” Melanie said.
“It is beautiful,” said @summer.
“Ow, my head,” Isaac said.
“Huh?” Melanie said. She half turned her body back toward the fallen boy but her eyes remained transfixed on the sight.
“This is it, folks, what we came for. Death to all cyborgs and all that.” Melanie looked at @summer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you.”
“I’m no longer a cyborg. I’ve chosen freedom. Cyborg are defined by their obedience and slavery.”
Sebastian put his hand on the glass. He whistled, low and long.
“The core,” said @summer. She also placed her hands on the glass. It was mesmerizing, a hypnotic display that would burn you alive while you stared at its wonder. “See it from afar, and behold. I heard someone say that before and I thought I understood it. I was wrong.”
“If you close your eyes you can still see it,” Sebastian said. Through the blinding light that emanated from the core he thought he saw something green moving. “It’s got green tentacles wrapped around it.”
“Is it protected?” Melanie asked @summer.
“Of course,” said @summer. She smiled brightly.
“Of course,” repeated Melanie, without any of @summer’s enthusiasm. She sagged before continuing. “How do we take down the protection?”
@summer looked around the small observation room and saw a large telescreen, currently dark. She clicked a button underneath it and the screen burst into life. “Phantom power,” she said. “It’ll only last a few minutes.” Her hands flew over the screen, pulling up various images. She selected several menu items and a map of the facility appeared.
“We get to the power source and disable it,” @summer said, indicating the round flashing image on the display, “then destroy the tentacles.”
“How?”
“I have insufficient information to answer that. Once the barrier’s down we throw an explosive into the base.”
“And that will shut dow
n the entire cyborg hive?” Melanie asked.
@summer nodded. “The whole hive will be freed from the oppression of Iris.”
Melanie sighed.
They watched the spectacle in front of them. The light was vicious in its brightness. It burned itself into the vision of all those who stared at it. Great ropes of lightning swam between the ceiling and the floor, arcing aggressively. Micro-shards of electricity leapt between the various ropes and the sides of the glass tube surrounding them. The dark green tentacles wrapped themselves around the glass, snaking and twisting around each other. It was alive in a way that was alien yet familiar, and as deep-set as the bones of the planet.
“What’s that symbol above it on that other observation deck? The rounder, horseshoe shape,” Melanie asked. She indicated a flat metal pad secured to the opposite side of the dome.
“I have insufficient information to answer that,” replied @summer.
“It seems very prominent. I could swear I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
“I think I’ve seen it,” Sebastian said. “On the top of the administration building at the Steam Academy. The sixth floor.”
Isaac stood up, having recovered from a lack of attention. “You know, standing back here, the whole place looks like a spider.” He pointed at the display.
“I can’t see it,” Melanie said.
“Look at the red outline.”
“Nope, still can’t see it.” Melanie turned from the glass barrier and looked at them. “Focus with me. The only way I can see a plan working is if you three go and deactivate the barrier thing, and I’ll go out to the observation platform over on the other side and throw a couple of grenades into the base. The place then blows up and somehow we get out alive.”
“Tell me again why we’re doing this,” Isaac said.
“I guess because there’s nothing else we can do,” Melanie said.
Isaac nodded. “What are we if not this? We’re defined by what we do,” he said. “If we lose our meaning, are we anything? What good is a fighter in a world without war?”
The words sank into the minds of each member of the gang. Isaac had probably been profound by accident, Sebastian thought, but at this time it was right to cut him some slack. They were silent for a moment.
“Melanie, if you follow the corridor keeping to the right,” @summer said, “it’ll take you to the far observation deck.”
“Are you sure? Last time you gave me an instruction like that it ended badly.”
“Keep right. Don’t forget. We’ll go the other way. The left will take us down past the strategy room to the power grid in the base of the building. Once we’ve been successful the barrier will disappear. You’ll have a few moments to throw your grenades before the emergency power engages and the barrier’s restored. The entire building will go into lockdown if we fail and we won’t be able to escape.”
“Are we all feeling optimistic? Tell me, @summer, how long is a moment?”
“I have insufficient information—”
“Stop with the ‘insufficient information’ line. It’s winning you no friends. All right, everyone okay with what we’re doing?”
They all nodded.
Melanie looked at them. They were children and her heart went out to them. “Stay safe, everyone.”
56
MELANIE STALKED DOWN the corridor. Its quietness disturbed her. She had been hoping for a stealthy entrance, but was surprised by a solitary cyborg patrolling the corridor. She kicked him between the legs and was rewarded with a sore foot and a metallic ringing sound as she dented his protector.
He raised his weapon. She twisted on her good foot, kicked the weapon away and followed with a roundhouse kick, wrapping her feet around his neck and twisting. He collapsed to the floor. She punched him in the head. It didn’t hurt and knocked him out cold.
“I can see where your protection priorities lie,” she muttered, as she hopped around. “You’d think your head would be more important.”
The quietness within the corridors chilled her. There were too few guards with too little support. Something was wrong.
She crept along the corridor. One side was smooth, curved metal while the other side consisted of green boards, containing small round tubes joined together by thin silver lines. As she progressed the boards became smaller until they were eventually replaced by small black squares, which also got smaller and smaller until she could barely see them. She ran her hand over them, sensing their warmth.
She paused, listening for any sound. She made out a faint scratching noise then felt the pain. The tiny squares were wrapping around her arm, digging in with tiny silver legs. She rubbed them off onto the floor. They started to scurry after her. She stamped on them until they stopped moving.
“Freaky,” she muttered.
She continued down the corridor. A shadow fell over her. She stopped. She looked over her shoulder. She looked up. Uncoiling behind her was a great spider made up of the small black squares.
She ran.
The spider lunged after her.
She stopped, spun around with her sword and cut through one leg. The leg fell to pieces then flowed back into the great beast and the leg reappeared.
“Oh, that’s bad.”
She ran faster. The spider thrashed after her, crashing into the walls. Each impact caused a dent in the spider, but the tiny squares dissolved right back into the body and it charged on relentlessly.
She looked to one side and saw that the tiny squares were matching her speed on the walls. Nervously, she looked up. Directly above her was the hideous body of the spider. It swelled into a dark and menacing ball then plunged downward.
Melanie stamped her foot and sword into the ground and came to an instant stop. The spider collapsed onto the ground, narrowly missing her. She leapt forward, slashing through the spider’s body. It exploded and the tiny squares flew everywhere. She emerged through the other side and ran.
There was an intense stinging in her arm. When she glanced down she was horrified to see several of the creatures ripping at her flesh, trying to burrow in. She screamed and stopped to shake them off, then realized her mistake. She looked up and raised the sword above her. This time the spider hit the mark and fell directly on top of her.
The tiny creatures coursed all over her body, streaming into every place they could access. The experience was horrendous as they ripped her flesh away from her body in small pieces. She charged forward with the blind hope of unknown salvation ahead. If there was nothing then she was dead.
She tripped over a thin ledge and fell to the floor. She found herself on a large metal plate—the far observation platform. She thrashed around on the platform, manically stroking the tiny squares away, until finally she realized she was free of them.
She stood up and looked around, then jumped back when she saw more squares rushing at her from down the corridor. She ran forward a couple of steps and planted a heavy boot into the thick of them. They swarmed up her leg. She leapt back and they all fell away. The tiny beasts were swirling and charging up to a certain point, and no further.
She put her arm out and felt the smallest hint of a tingle. She looked up and saw on the ceiling several round tubes emanating a faint red glow. It was a shield. The creatures bounced futilely against the invisible force. She stuck her sword out and the squares ran up it until they hit the shield then fell off.
“Why can’t you come in?” she muttered.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of green. She wheeled around and the deadly dark green tentacles swung at her. She screamed and desperately ducked for cover.
The tentacles smashed against the light blue barrier surrounding the core only a few feet away. They flailed repeatedly, smashing themselves to pieces until they calmed, swirling toward her but cautiously.
She sat down. Her whole body was trembling. A thought occurred to her. If Seb &Co. were successful, the invisible shield would fall and nothing would prevent the tiny creatures f
rom getting to her. She looked up at the familiar green tentacles, the deadly lightning, and back at the tiny squares swarming up to the shield.
When it went down she was going to be in a whole heap of trouble.
She stood on the observation deck with her hands wrapped tightly around the thin rope dangling over the precipitous drop below, in awe of the great twisting lightning. Her eyes followed its natural flow as it danced in the space defined by the blue barrier. It had drifted over toward her, as if determining whether she was a threat. The pale blue barrier had turned brilliant cobalt when touched before fading back to normal.
She looked around the large domed area. There were a few windows looking in from various vantage points.
Then her heart sank.
@pascalNumLover paused at the office door. The sign was getting dirty, so he balanced the cups of coffee on the plastic tray in one hand and wiped his spare hand over the piece of metal revealing Vice President of Philosophy and Probability.
He held his thumb to the small black scanning device to the right of the door. It beeped. He swore, and was instantly fined by the inappropriate language detector, then translated into four languages by his Babel plug-in. It repositioned his thumb several times, each time resulting in a beep. In the end a numeric keypad appeared and he typed in his code. The door unlocked and he pushed his way in.
“We have a problem,” said the old cyborg sitting behind the desk. He was looking at the suspended image being projected up from lasers in his desk. “The trees are fading.”
“What does that mean?” said @pascalNumLover.
“The future is uncertain. Probability is fading to possibility,” @brian222Brainwell.VPphil&prob replied.
“Can that happen?”