Chapter 30
“Where’s the programmer?” Jade’s voice rang crisp and clear through the cathedral-like cavern as she stepped out of the tunnel and into the rocky red space where they were all standing. Her eyes were demonic red, and blood from the Pavilion was still splashed thick and heavy across her black uniform.
“Jade,” Angelo said, and you could almost hear the grin in his robotic voice. “It’s so lovely to see you.”
Jade raised her gun and shot the guard holding Charlie. Shot him dead.
“Jade, no!” Charlie shouted, jerking away and watching as the man hit the ground.
Lowsmiths dove in every direction behind pews as they took aim. Two ran to Trekon and ushered him out a back door. Maverick disappeared behind a glowing green protective field that suddenly appeared around them.
“I will have Charlie Richards.” Jade’s voice barely sounded her own. Her DC15s glowing blue and pointed directly at Charlie’s forehead. “You betrayed me.”
“No.” Angelo stepped between Charlie and Jade. Lowsmiths began firing at Jade. She jumped up, flipping in the air, aiming her gun precisely at each of the rebels in turn as she began pulling the trigger. But this wasn’t the first time they’d been fired at. Despite a couple of nicks from the HELs, most ducked low. They didn’t call them Lowsmiths for nothing.
“I would recommend you clear the room of humans,” Angelo directed his words at Maverick.
“Right, so you three can take off back to Crowley,” Maverick yelled, the green force field of green dimming just enough for him to see out.
“It’s more because she’s going to kill everyone, I think,” Charlie pointed out. Jade moved so quickly the naked human eye couldn’t track her.
But Angelo wasn’t human. He grabbed Charlie, whipped him back from her onslaught and plowed through Maverick’s protective energy shield.
Maverick whimpered. “She’s going to kill us all just to get him,” he murmured.
Charlie was pretty sure Maverick was right. Whatever was happening inside Jade’s programming was malicious and deadly. Unless they did something quick, no one was getting out of here alive. Anyone exposed in the room was subject to death.
“Free Angelo!” Charlie yelled at Maverick. “He’s the only one able to stop her. Don’t you see, he’s our only hope.”
“But- but then I won’t be able to study him,” Maverick said, crestfallen.
“You won’t be able to study him if you’re dead either,” Charlie said, ducking low as a laser bolt fired right over the top of his head. He could smell the singed hair as the blast erupted against the wall.
“But what if he turns on us?” Maverick asked.
“It can’t be any worse than the problem we’ve got right now,” Charlie insisted, huddling behind Angelo.
Jade was exchanging fire with the Lowsmiths, but quickly working her way through them and towards where Charlie and Angelo were hiding.
“I won’t turn on you,” Angelo said. “I am programmed to protect Charlie.”
“Really?” Charlie’s eyes opened wide.
“Why yes,” Angelo nodded. “My good lady Jade requested this of me. She said, and I quote, kill me if you have to, but don’t let anything happen to Charlie.”
“Wow.” Charlie let out a low whistle. “Do you think she likes me?”
Lasers blasted the walls of the chapel as Lowsmiths began to retreat.
“Perhaps this isn’t the most opportune time to discuss matters of the heart,” Angelo suggested.
Jade turned on them. The room was empty of all others.
“Angelo, you’re supposed to be loyal to me,” Jade hissed.
“Why indeed I am,” Angelo said. “Your primary directive is to obtain and protect Charlie Richards.”
“Not anymore it isn’t,” Jade said, her eyes glowing red as she fired towards the protective field, which blinked and stuttered against her onslaught.
“Release the cuffs!” Charlie yelled at Maverick. “This guy just saved me from the freaking basement dungeon of Crowley.”
“It really would be in everyone’s best interest if you allow me to disable Jade,” Angelo nodded in agreement. “I will submit to whatever testing you desire.”
Jade slammed shots towards the force field, which gave a dying flash before disappearing. Lasers shot glaring blue through the enclosed space.
“I can fix her!” Charlie screamed. “Let him stop her.”
Maverick’s hands shook as he reached into one of the many pockets of his lab coat. He brought out something that looked a lot like a ballpoint pen and aimed it directly at Angelo. He pressed a trigger on the side and a laser shot out and into the whirring center of the cuffs. They made a quick high pitch squeal and then the cuffs’ energy went black and they fell harmlessly to the floor.
“Thank you, my dear sir,” Angelo gave a swift nod to Maverick, before he sprang up and walked fearlessly towards Jade, his hand outstretched towards her.
“I am free Jade. Stand down,” he said. “I do not want to hurt you.”
Jade’s eyes blinked dark red and confused. “You can’t hurt me. Unless- unless they reprogrammed you.”
“My task is to protect Charlie Richards,” Angelo said. “And you, Jadyn of Crowley, are his biggest threat.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. The lone Lowsmith still in the chapel ducked up from behind a pew. Jade spun and shot him in the knee. He fell screaming to the floor.
“Jade, stop,” Angelo said.
“They are the human rebels.” Jade’s voice was monotone. “My task is to eradicate them.”
“You are confused,” Angelo said.
Jade frowned at him and turned her guns on Angelo. “They have reprogrammed you,” she said.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Angelo said, the plates of his arms slowly rising and guns coming out of his biceps.
“Don’t you dare,” Jade said and she fired directly into the heart of Angelo.
Angelo was the world’s deadliest robot. He could not return fire without considerable damage to Jade. He ducked and rolled to the side, working closer to try to engage her in hand-to-hand combat. Suddenly, Jade realized the predicament she was in. Being the lone warrior never concerned her. If it was just her against humans or even her against a hybrid or a few bots, she would gladly take the fight on her own. But a battle against Angelo? It was unfathomable.
Still, she had to do it.
“I can fix you,” she said, but she wasn’t stupid.
She moved behind the cover of a pew as she fired at the weakest point of Angelo’s metal, the joints. Jade was trying to destroy the wires connecting his legs to the rest of his body. The filaments that kept him standing. Her aim was almost on point. Almost, but not quite. It only succeeded in creating a black scar against his calf.
“I am not the one who needs fixing, Jade,” Angelo said, his movements bringing him directly in front of her. He stood in the open, his guns trained directly on her, waiting for the moment when she would rise and take another shot at him.
The only question remaining was who was the better shot?
Jade or Angelo?
It happened quickly. So quickly, the two humans in the room almost didn’t see it.
Jade flicked her wrist above her hiding space and took a shot at Angelo before ducking down.
Angelo fired also, slamming the pew and the wall behind Jade.
But only one hit was apparent.
Jade’s.
Angelo fell to the ground, the wires in his legs severed. Charlie gasped as the metal clanging of Angelo’s falling body echoed on the cavern walls.
“No.” Charlie’s voice caught in his throat as he waited for Jade to rise from behind the pew like a vengeful demon to kill him.
But nothing happened.
The room sat in silence until a single voice rose from the ground to fill the chamber.
“She’s a damn fine shot, don’t you think, Charlie?”
A raspy gasp came out of C
harlie’s mouth. “Angelo?” He wanted to run to the bot and embrace him, but didn’t dare move.
“She is stunned,” Angelo’s voice carried like a victory cry, at least, that’s how Charlie heard it. He rushed forward.
“But is she okay?” he asked.
“Yes.” Angelo said. “You have approximately ninety seconds to secure her.”
“Give me something!” Charlie yelled.
Maverick produced another set of cuffs as he and Charlie hastened to Jade’s side.
“Will they hurt her?” Charlie asked as he turned Jade’s limp body over and pulled her wrists carefully together. Her skin was so soft. How could she be so dangerous?
“These are H-Con cuffs,” Maverick explained. They work specifically for hybrids providing a quantity of the restraining capabilities they need, as well as short-circuiting some level of their programming.”
Some call must have gone up to the Lowsmiths because they flooded the room and two grabbed Jade, placing her on a floating plate rather roughly; at least, that’s how Charlie saw it.
“Be careful with her,” he said, pushing at one of the rebels.
“The cuffs will help her sleep,” Maverick said.
Charlie stroked her forehead and adjusted her hands so she at least looked comfortable.
Chapter 31
The city was bursting with wonderful, sweet, melodic chaos. Warren Relic, soon to be most powerful man in Crowley (he would decide a bit later what he was going to rename the city) stared out the main control room’s vast windows; over oceans of armies, both hybrid and bot, who listened to his every command. The outskirts of town, where Trenchtown once bred human disease, was now just smoke and ashes.
He smiled. His work was good.
Standing beside Warren was his ProtectoBot, Genesis II, programmed to be emotionless. Had he been programmed differently, he would have felt quite proud of his owner. Warren was sure of that.
“Approaching” Genesis II said in a low mechanical voice.
It was Dustin, impeccably dressed like the Warren-in-training he was.
Warren nodded at the slick CTO. “Things are coming along nicely.” His words were drenched in smugness, like an artist prideful in their craft.
“Yes, it is, sir.” Dustin straightened his suit, which didn’t actually need any more straightening. “I mean, if civil war could be considered a nice-”
“There is nothing civil about the rebels,” Warren’s words cut him off as he stood silhouetted against the giant Death Star-esque windows.
“I still don’t understand though, this is the city of Crowley. It was founded by Crowley. Wouldn’t he be able to stop any sort of takeover-”
“Blake Crowley has a sick wife to take care of,” Warren interrupted. “One who is probably trying to kill him right now.” Warren gave a textbook movie villain laugh. Not really, it wasn’t as loud and as head throwing back as that, but it did the trick.
Dustin eyed the screens. Around the city, hybrids lurked looking for human prey. This was the code he had installed in hybrids everywhere, and it was vicious. His hands were figuratively coated in blood. There was a twinge of regret, but it was small and remote. He was a Gamma hybrid, protected from the corruption he’d installed in the Deltas. He was safe, and just one glance at Warren’s nice suit and his own nice suit… well, the regret faded quickly. He was a hybrid who would ultimately live hundreds of years. He was also about a hair away from being the second most powerful man in Crowley, probably in the top one hundred worldwide.
“Why don’t we just…take care of him now.” Dustin eyes flicked to the giant black bot lurking next to Warren. “Genesis could rip Blake into forty-eight pieces without breaking a drop of sweat.”
Warren was aghast. “This is a civil, corporate takeover, Dustin! Where are your manners?” Warren’s finger tapped his temple and his eyes glossed over with an incoming message.
“I’ve been called to the principal’s office,” he smirked when the message completed. “Time to finish what I’ve started.” Without another word, Warren, with Gemini II flanking him, swept by Dustin and headed to Blake’s office.
Chapter 32
What the hell was this made of?
“Bonded quartz titanium,” Angelo’s voice carried loudly in the long corridor. Charlie let his fingers drop off the wall.
“What is that?” He asked.
“The strongest material in the known world, at least a hundred years ago it was, before opalum,” Angelo said.
“It’s still pretty damn good,” Zeke said. “If anything happens to this mountain, nothing’s going to happen to this tunnel. It will still be standing when the mountain comes down. As well as all of the rooms inside. It’s indestructible.”
“Seriously?” Charlie asked. “Indestructible? So, setting a bomb off in here wouldn’t make a scratch?”
“Hell yeah,” Zeke crooned.
“And the rebels built this?” Charlie said as they continued down the corridor.
“Of course not. This was DogStar 368,” Zeke said, as if it was something everybody should know.
“21st century over here,” Charlie said, pointing at himself. “If there is something I’m supposed to know about, I don’t. I’m missing about three-hundred years of history that every second grader around here has.”
The Lowsmiths guiding Jade’s gurney turned left. Angelo, Zeke and Charlie followed, though Charlie worried that if he had to find his way out of here it was going to be a bit tricky. The tunnels seemed endless.
“DogStar 368 was the project name for the Mars colony.”
“We have people living on Mars?” Charlie asked. “I mean, you know, I kinda figured that was going to happen soon, even back in my time, but it’s still kinda weird to hear it. You know, I went to the Kennedy Space Center once and they were talking about how they were planning a mission to Mars, but it was still so unrealistic. Wait, when did we make it to Mars? How many people live there? How big is the settlement?”
The idea was fascinating. He had leapt into the future and suddenly it was an exciting place full of questions that could be answered.
“The first mission to land on Mars launched in 2037,” Maverick chimed in as they turned down yet another corridor. “They went up intermittently for about fifty years, different humans trying to build a colony, but then the Great Peace came, and the refinement of the Earth, and it didn’t seem like we really needed to go anywhere else.”
“How long did it last?” Charlie asked. He never thought peace would reign anywhere on Earth.
“About a hundred and fifty years,” Zeke hooted. “Then they realized there were too many people on the damn planet, so they started an initiative to return to Mars and DogStar 368 started.”
Charlie reached out and touched the slick surface of the glass. “This has been here how long?”
“One hundred and nineteen years, three months and sixteen days,” Angelo said.
“How big is the Mars colony now?” Charlie asked.
“It doesn’t exist,” Zeke said.
“They built the bunker and people lived down here,” Maverick said. “They were supposed to live here for five years to show it was possible. It took twenty years to build and some people had just started living down here for like a year or so when the Plextor struck.”
“Plextor?” asked Charlie.
“The pox. The plague,” Zeke muttered.
“There was no more overpopulation of Earth,” Maverick shrugged. “The Great Depopulation had begun. Between Alaska and Mexico City on this side of the Rockies, there’s only about two million people.”
Charlie glanced over his shoulder for a moment. “And by people, do you mean humans of any kind? The hybrids also?”
“He means any biological being of Homo Sapien descent,” Maverick said.
“I am a bot, I do not count,” Angelo added. “But humans with mechanical and software implants, they think on their own. We have logic, we can have emotional programs running insi
de of us to make us appear very human, but we are not biologically functioning beings. Of those there are another two million.”
The numbers were hard for Charlie to fully fathom. Two million left in the entire region, in the places where a single city alone used to have twenty million people.
“So, this area was vacated and left abandoned when the rebels moved in?” He asked.
“Precisely.” Angelo said.
“Wouldn’t Blake or Warren know about this place?” Charlie asked.
“Crowley is very strong, inside of Crowley,” Angelo said. “They have great defenses, but they are not so powerful outside the walls. And they do not know exactly where to look, so if they send out a group of seekers they have to go many different directions to try to find this.”
The elevator seemed to go down forever in endless shifts of dark and light. For a moment Charlie was a bit concerned. It seemed high-quality enough that it wasn’t going to break, but what if it did and they were trapped down here in the middle of this rocky outpost? Then again, with every step he was getting further away from home, his friends, his real life.
He tried not to think about it. The task right now was to fix Jade. If he could fix Jade, she would help him get back to the DarkM’attr machine. She would help him go back in time, he was sure. He glanced over at her lying there on the floating slab, her black hair fanning against the board, her chest slowly rising and falling. The smooth lines of her face were clear and at peace, a look you’d rarely see on her face during her waking hours. He wondered what she must’ve been like before she became a hybrid. Before she became so desperate for a cure for her parents. When she was just Jade, the human. He knew it was totally crazy, but he imagined what it would be like to take her out on a date. Like a normal date. A date without the black outfit. Maybe she’d wear a sundress. They’d walking along a boulevard and...
But she wasn’t a sundress kind of girl. He needed to not be thinking about white picket fences. She was never going to be a floral print, spaghetti strap girl. Still, he felt part of him could see a little bit of that in her.
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