by JD Clarke
“And our lone ally might change his mind.”
“He will change his mind, as you say, and abandon us if his own survival is threatened.”
“This is Jason aboard warship 700.4599.027. I am en route to intercept the pursuing Unity warships. Maintain your present heading and increase your speed to maximum. Jason to the warship 676.4598.328, maintain your position alongside the cargo vessel. Any deviation from present course will be interpreted as a hostile action, and you will be fired upon.”
“Jason, are you in control of the warship?” I asked my alter ego. Damn, this could get confusing.
“Yes, Jason number 1, I am in control. It is a newer ship with new armament. I think you’ll like it. I have recruited the Unity member here, and she is serving as my gunner.”
The new warship had been patrolling the system farther out from the Nursery Planet; it came streaking in now at high speed. Sybil tweaked the display to give us an image of the warship as it approached. The new warship was chunkier in shape than the other warships we had seen, and it had a strange blue glow around the nose of the ship. As we watched, the glow increased in size and intensity until it suddenly launched away from the ship.
“The new warship is armed with a plasma weapon, Jason.” Sybil’s comment was concurrent with my own realization.
Sure enough, and it made short work of the older warships that were pursuing us. The plasma struck the first ship directly on the nose; the shielding shattered, the nose section peeled open, and blue energy boiled through the inside of the warship. Yellow and red secondary explosions lit up the inside of the ship. The new ship, under the copied Jason’s control, fired on the second warship. But the warship had already begun evasive maneuvers. The blue ball of plasma struck along the starboard side of the warship, sending a shower of shielding and sparks into space. The warship’s hull held together but was now naked and vulnerable, devoid of shielding. The older warship beat a hasty retreat.
The new warship slowed, made a wide circle, and fell into formation with us as we raced to the jump gate. It would now be a race to get back before the assassin reached the planet base and my sedated body.
R eturn
“We will be within sensor range of the warship planet in five minutes, Jason. You wanted me to alert you.”
“Thanks, Sybil.” I had been having a long conversation with the other two Jasons as we raced back to protect my unconscious body. It had been odd talking to them, Jason 2 and Jason 3. I thought it would be like talking to myself, but it wasn’t. It was more like talking to a lifelong friend that had shared all your experiences. Yet the similarity in speech and use of expressions was almost like they were mocking me.
“Keep us hidden as long as possible, Sybil.”
“We will be coming from behind the sun in our approach to the planet, but once we pass the sun, their sensors will detect us.”
“Any idea what instructions they will have received?” asked Jason 2.
“Yes, the Unity communications will certainly have arrived before us, and the Unity warships circling above the base will have been instructed to destroy all three vessels. It is the best alternative to keeping us from interfering with the assassin’s mission and preventing the plasma weapon technology from being acquired by the humans.”
“OK, Jason 3, bring up your ship. It’s time for the transfer. Bring it right up against the cargo ship.”
Jason 3 piloted his new warship up to the cargo ship until I could hear the shields scraping against our hull. Sybil opened the rear hatch and climbed out onto the exterior of the cargo ship using every available handhold. She literally crawled across the hull and then reached out for the warship. Her hands were not large enough to grip the warship’s shielding effectively, and she had to settle for just reaching under it and wedging her fist in the gap between the hull and shielding. The blackness of space enveloped us. Far-off stars only emphasized the vastness of space, and I felt as if I were looking into an eternal chasm ready to swallow me if Sybil should lose her grip. All I could do was watch as she climbed along the outer surface of the warship to the hatch at the rear. I hated sitting in the passenger seat, helpless. The trickiest part was getting around the rear of the warship. Sybil had to swing her body around the edge and catch a grip on the stern shielding with her legs. There was no way to crawl around the edge, and it took three tries before she released her hands and swung freely behind the warship. The rear hatch was already open, and Sybil deftly swung round, grabbed the lip of the hatchway seal, and sprung into the warship like an Olympic gymnast dismounting a side horse.
There is no gravity inside a Unity warship, no need for any since the Unity pilots are all housed inside the computer consoles of the ships. So Sybil did not “stick” her landing but instead instantly sprang upward and caught a hold on the ship’s internal bracing.
“Close the rear hatch, Jason 3. We are inside,” Sybil told our pilot. “You may begin download of Jason 2 and the Unity member from the other warship into our data bank and the designated data files aboard the cargo vessel.”
“Beginning download,” Jason 3 reported.
The simplest way to transfer a Unity member from one ship to the other was by downloading their entire holographic processor unit, a lot easier than crawling on the outside of a ship hurtling through space. The disadvantage of doing so was the lack of memory space in the warship’s data bank. We had to purge certain systems to free up enough memory space. Laser targeting systems and communications had been sacrificed. We would not be able to fight our way through or talk our way out of this situation anyway. The forward plasma weapons system was still intact.
“Download complete, data checks 100 percent, no errors. Unity pilot and Jason 2 are now aboard.” Jason 3 sounded pleased with himself. I wondered if I sounded that way to others.
“Cargo ship proceeding on programmed path. The older warship is following the cargo ship’s lead.” Sybil had accessed the new warship’s navigation and sensors. She also took control of the weapons firing system.
“Great. OK, Jason 3, put us directly behind the older warship and stay in tight,” I ordered.
“Already pulling into formation. We look just like a Disney train in the happy kingdom,” Jason 3 responded.
“I am uncertain as to the success of your plan. Our survival would have a higher probability of success if we proceeded to rendezvous with the Defiant. Jason could then be downloaded to an android body, and our chances of survival would be increased,” the Unity member interjected.
“What about the people on the planet? Their chances of survival would not be increased now, would they, Tom?” I told him. I had picked up on Jason 3’s use of the male gender in speaking of the Unity member.
“What is Tom? I do not understand the reference.”
“It’s your new name. The name you will be referred to by organic beings. Your computer designation is too awkward for us to use in talking to you,” I explained.
“Why Tom?”
“It’s short for Doubting Thomas. You Unity members all share the same lack of faith,” I explained.
“We have been detected. Unity warships are moving to intercept,” Sybil interrupted before Tom could inquire about faith.
The enemy warships were moving fast. A stream of missiles flashed out from eight enemy warships. The missiles impacted on the cargo ship, destroying it in a brilliant fireball of yellow and orange. The older warship we were following plunged through the cloud of debris, and we were fast behind it.
“Unity warships firing again, missiles and lasers,” Sybil reported again, even though I could see it through her eyes and senses at the same time she did. I wondered, Do androids have habits? Is she reporting just out of habit?
The missiles spiraled in toward the warship ahead of us, but its weapons systems targeted and dispatched the enemy missiles easily. Its weapons systems were on automatic, and while this limited their capability to react, it would be an effective defense for the short duration
of this engagement.
The enemy continued to close on our formation. The warship ahead of us was taking a pounding. Laser fire and particle cannons from the enemy smashed its shielding, and it began trailing a path of debris as it continued heading for the planet. I could hear the bits of metal and ceramic striking our own ship as we followed in its wake.
“Powering up forward plasma weapon,” Sybil reported as she operated the weapons controls.
At the last moment, Jason 3, piloting our warship, dodged downward, barely clearing the belly of the warship in front of us as it began breaking up. Its protective shielding was gone, its hull ripped open. Reinforced sections of the ship scraped and bounced along our hull as we passed.
“Firing weapons,” Sybil said as a flood of missiles issued forth from our warship. We were so close to the enemy formation now that there was little time for their lasers to disable the missiles, and several ships took hits. But the most devastating weapon was the plasma cannon. Its ball of death reached the Unity warship directly in front of us and instantly destroyed the shielding, hull, and forward contents of the ship. It was dead in a single blow. Jason 3 began weaving through the debris, and we were past the first wave of enemy ships.
The planet was in sight now, and we were still coming in at a high speed. A second wave of eight enemy ships was coming at us, and we maneuvered erratically—weaving, twisting, and dodging. Enemy lasers struck our shielding, their particle cannons blasting away entire shields, and I could hear the motors groaning as they attempted to rearrange the remaining shielding to their most effective arrangement. Sybil continued to fire the plasma cannon, but its slow rate of fire meant she could only get off two shots before we were passing through the second formation of Unity warships.
“Entering atmosphere, beginning deceleration. Better hold on, Sybil,” Jason 3 warned.
We were thrown forward despite the warning. I felt the pain sensors reporting danger to Sybil’s mind as we struck the forward support structures inside the ship. Even the onboard inertial dampers could not compensate for our rapid deceleration.
“Exceeding structural design limits. Buckling in stern cross bracing, two engine mountings shattered, forward bulkhead separating on port side.” Tom continued reporting the damage to the ship as we skimmed across the surface of the planet, so low we began striking low mounds of dirt. Then we impacted with the surface, lightly at first, then harder, skipping across it. Dirt flew to either side; pieces of warship flew off from the impact. The ship began a vicious spin as it skittered along the surface, then collided with something solid.
Sybil landed on the floor; her body was still as she began a systems check of her chassis, appendages, and android processor. Her eyes were locked on the ceiling—my only view.
“Damage report, Jason 3. Tom, report,” I ordered.
“Jason 3 here and functional. We are … stopped below the time shield at the base.”
“Tom here and operational. The ship is no longer functional … power levels dropping, no fires, no immediate threat … data banks intact.” There were gaps in his communication. I was not sure if it was a problem with the ship or with Sybil.
“Sybil, are you OK?”
“Yes, Jason. But my left leg is damaged, and my right arm is not responding. I can ambulate, but with decreased efficiency. There is also additional damage to my android body. I am still running diagnostics.”
“Then let’s get out of here and identify ourselves before Legion’s troops start firing on us.”
“We must still find and stop the assassin if it is not too late,” Sybil said as she rose and propped herself up with a grip on one of the ship’s girders. She began walking with a decided limp, her right arm dangling at her side. There was no need to open the rear hatch. The stern of the ship had torn away, and sunlight streamed through the jagged opening.
“We’ll be back to retrieve you shortly. There’s the pressing matter of the assassin to attend to first,” I informed the others but got no reply. Then I began searching for Sasha and Legion with my mind. No answer.
As Sybil stumbled from the rear of the warship and out into the light, I saw that we were surrounded by dozens of Warriors, and more were coming. Their pulse rifles were all aimed at us. Sybil stopped and looked around. The crippled warship was up against the side of the factory. The factory wall was crumpled and pressed inward. The ground was torn up where the ship had left a deep furrow, and scattered pieces of shielding and debris marked our trail.
“My communications abilities have been damaged. I am unable to make contact with any neural nets.”
“I know, Sybil, I have been trying as well.” The Warriors looked upset, and their semicircle was closing in on us. They were obviously discussing things among themselves. Where was Legion? “Sybil, kneel down. Do it immediately.”
Sybil’s injured leg caused her to topple forward, but she caught herself with her good arm. She slowly straightened up into a kneeling position, a position of surrender in the Warrior culture. The Warriors looked disappointed and at a loss as to what to do next. Then Legion came, pushing his way through the crowd. His left arm was bandaged and in a sling.
“Sybil, you’ll have to try vocal communication with Legion. His neural net should be able to translate if you keep it simple.” It suddenly occurred to me that I had never tried vocal communication with Legion before. There had never been a need. Of course, Legion could not reply vocally; his alien anatomy could never make the sounds of human speech, and humans could never make the sounds of the Warriors’ speech either. I wasn’t sure if Sybil could vocalize Warrior speech.
“Legion, we are here. Jason and I are both here. There is an assassin on her way. She will look like me. She is here to kill Jason.” Sybil tried to get up, but Legion placed his pulse rifle against her head and held her in the kneeling position. I wasn’t sure if he understood or not. We waited, Legion standing over us.
Finally, the Warriors parted, and Sasha walked up. “Sybil? Is that really you?” she asked, using her vocal cords.
“Yes, Jason and I are both here. We’re all right. We have returned from the Unity base, but there is an assassin coming here to kill Jason. She will look like me. We must stop her,” Sybil replied.
“She’s already been here,” Sasha told us. “She shot Legion and killed two of his troops.” That explained the blatant hostility of the Warriors.
“And Jason? Is Jason alive?” Sybil asked, and I would have held my breath if I’d had lungs.
“He is. Jason is still in his sedated state. But how do we know you are the real Sybil? How can I contact Jason to confirm who you are?”
Good question, I thought.
“Mako can repair the damage to my android body and reestablish my communication capabilities. Then you can interact with Jason directly.”
Sasha studied Sybil for a long moment. “OK, take her to Mako, but keep guard on her. If she tries to leave Mako’s workbench, kill her.”
Jason × 3
It was three days before Mako could isolate the problem and repair it. It was a strange three days with nothing to do. Since I was a software simulation, I didn’t need sleep, so Sybil entertained me by giving me a virtual tour of her memories. It was absolutely astounding at the detail she retained. It was not until the second day when Mako became convinced that it was the real Sybil that he reconnected her to her holographic processor unit and Sybil had her full capabilities. She helped Mako with the repairs and simultaneously kept my mind occupied in the virtual world of her holographic processor unit. It was even richer than the memories held in her onboard android data. I was able to explore entire planets, planets that she had simulated from data acquired by other Unity members. After all, that was what Unity members do.
“Try now, Sybil,” Mako requested for the umpteenth time.
“I can receive your thoughts. Diagnostics report 100 percent. Repairs to my android’s communications systems are complete,” Sybil replied.
“And I ca
n hear you fine. Your telepathic abilities are restored. The damage to your body was severe. It will require that we build a new body for you. Jason, are you able to receive my thoughts as well?” Mako asked.
“Yes, Mako, it’s good to be back. I need to get back into my own body again. Is Sybil up to the task?”
“Yes, I will require assistance in my mobility, but I can transfer your new memories into your biological body at any time,” Sybil answered.
“We have to convince Sasha and Legion of your true identity first. They had a rough time with the assassin, but that should not be hard now that we can communicate with you, Jason.”
Just then, Legion and Sasha both walked into the area Mako had set up as a temporary robotics lab.
“Jason, I need to be sure it is you,” Legion commanded.
“Ah hell, can’t you recognize my thoughts by now? We’ve been through enough together, and you and I are closer than brothers.”