by Barry Solway
Jeff rolled his eyes at Mirage, then looked briefly at Sharon and Evan. Mel noticed he was ignoring Jon and Jon seemed to be ignoring everyone.
“Nick is dead,” Sharon said.
Mel gave Sharon a long hug. “Anna told me. I tried to save him, but they were too strong.”
“I wasn’t blaming you,” Sharon said quickly. “You did the best you could. Honestly, I would have just hidden and shut my eyes and wished it would all go away.” Sharon cast a sideways glance at Jon and Mel noticed Jeff scowling, but then Sharon rushed on.
“I’m just so scared. That could have happened to any of you. None of us are strong enough to fight these horrible aliens. That Whale thing, he’s… he’s gross and horrible. I just miss Nick and I want to go home.”
“I know, Sharon. That’s what I want too. For all of us. We’ll get through this, one way or the other. At least our plan kind of worked. A little bit of improv here and there, but we did manage to win the game.”
Evan looked at her suspiciously, then glanced at Jeff. “She doesn’t know.”
Mel looked at them. “Know what?”
Jeff had a flat expression, and Mel knew he was angry. “Wasn’t it weird, how Kathor was supposed to have this great AI system that would turn the game in our favor? It didn’t seem to work too well, did it? The Whale had a truck that he used to get to the city center before Beats. The Things put together an improvised bomb and nearly killed us. We weren’t warned about any of it.”
“I kind of wondered about some of that too,” Mel said carefully.
“They lied to us, Mel,” Jeff said. “Anna and Kathor. The AI predicted that the other team would get a vehicle. It predicted the bomb and that we would get there late. The whole thing with Mirage was a ruse; she had different orders and was never supposed to meet us. It even predicted that Jon would hide at some point.” Jeff cast another withering glance at Jon. “Anna told us.”
“Why? Why lie to us?” Mel said. But she thought she already knew the answer.
“Because it wanted a distraction. The AI predicted that if we knew the actions it planned for us that we would all hide or run away. They lied to us to trick us into following their plan.”
“And it worked.” She thought for a moment, then added bitterly, “Did it predict Nick would die too?”
“Anna said there was a near one hundred percent chance that at least one of us would die. Nick was at the top of the list, followed by you and Jon.” Jeff took a deep breath, relaxing his clenched fist.
Hearing all this was exhausting, but her head still buzzed. She couldn’t stop thinking about what it meant and whether they could use it to their advantage.
“At least we know the AI works,” she pointed out.
“I guess. Except we can’t trust that it’s telling the truth or even that it’s trying to keep us alive. We were bait, Mel. They sent us to the goal knowing that Mirage would already have it, to distract the other team. It’s like a chess game, you don’t mind sacrificing a pawn here and there if it wins you the game.”
“We need to talk to Anna, that’s all. If we train and get better, the computer won’t have reason to not trust us.” But she wasn’t sure she believed that.
Jeff snorted in response. Gorgeous came out of her room and told them it was time for dinner. The main door faded open and they headed towards the dining hall. Putting her hand on Jeff’s arm, she held him back. “Can we talk?”
Jeff blinked in surprise. “Sure. What’s up?”
Mel waited until the others left. “First, thanks for saving me in the tunnel. From Wicked. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. I looked for you and Jon, but finally gave up. I thought you were dead. I went back to meet Beats and just found him when we saw the Whale going into that underpass. I’m glad you made it through. You did an amazing job. You kept your head and kept to the plan. You tried to save Nick. You should be proud of yourself.”
“I got Nick killed,” she said, talking fast to stop Jeff from interrupting her. “I know, I know, it’s not my fault. But it feels like my fault. Because I’m useless in a fight. I need to change that and I’ll need your help, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Especially with Jon.”
Jeff stiffened. “I can’t believe you even care about him. He’s a coward and he left you alone.”
“He had his reasons, Jeff. I’m angry at him too. But when Marksman and the cyborg thing came out, I thought the same thing. That we should have hidden from the start. You heard Sharon. What else can she do? And the AI was playing us the whole time. But then, I guess it knew you wouldn’t hide.”
“It knew you wouldn’t hide too,” Jeff pointed out. “You thought about it, but you didn’t. By the way, Anna told us that they picked Jon up this time; but next time, if someone isn’t at the drop point because they’re hiding, they’ll leave them behind. Serve him right.”
“I know you’re angry with Jon. I’m just saying… he’s scared just like the rest of us and all he was trying to do is figure out the best way to stay alive.”
“The problem is that he was looking out for himself. We have to protect each other,” Jeff said stubbornly.
Mel thought that Jeff really meant We have to protect you. “Exactly. We need to work as a team. Promise me you’ll try to put it aside? Fighting each other won’t help.”
Jeff reached up and stroked her hair. “Okay. For you, I’ll try to let it go. But I’m going to keep an eye on him in the next game.”
“That’s fair. I’ll talk to him too, okay?”
“You’re a better person than I am,” Jeff said. He leaned in to kiss her. Mel pulled back for a moment, then made up her mind and let him have the kiss. After several long seconds, she gently pushed Jeff away. “C’mon, we should grab dinner before the gruel gets cold.”
Jeff looked nonplussed but recovered quickly. Grabbing her hand, he led her to the dining hall.
Chapter 22
Gorgeous made a face as Anna put the syringe back in her kit. “I hate needles.”
This was too close to what they’d done to Riley for Mel’s comfort. “So, this is like steroids or something?”
Shaking her head, Anna put two fingers against the inside of Gorgeous’s upper arm and counted under her breath. Satisfied, she looked up at Mel. “Not even remotely. It’s a neurological agent that increases neuronal plasticity at the subcortical level. Basically, it decreases the motor skill acquisition cycle.”
“There are times when I miss the old Anna,” Mel said. “You know, the one who never, ever used phrases like ‘neuronal plastic at the sub-cycle acquisition cycle.’ Whatever.”
“Sorry, I’ll remember to keep my vocabulary to four-letter words.”
“It’s illegal,” Gorgeous said. “The drugs. They’re designed for the military, but gangers sold it on Sha Shahur. It’s supposed to double the speed that you can learn new skills.”
“Only physical-based skills, like a sport or knitting. It won’t help with cognitive-based modalities.” Anna smirked at Mel. “Sorry, Mel. I meant a process that doesn’t involve a physical skill.”
“You’re still using six-letter words, so I’m ignoring you. You’re not trying to make Gorgeous a world-class knitter, so I assume this is for learning to fight?”
“Correct on both accounts. And Kathor has updated the formula. This one should increase the learning rate by eight to ten times.”
“Great, you’re drug doping. Does Kathor have any ethical code at all? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.”
“It also assumes I don’t go psychotic first,” Gorgeous said.
Mel glanced between Gorgeous and Anna. “What does that mean? There are side effects?”
“Of course there are side effects,” Anna replied. “The original formula is known for causing psychotic episodes. And long-term use can kill off neurons. Something like ALS in humans. The new version should reduce those problems and you won’t be using it long. Hope
fully.”
Frowning, Mel debated asking the next question. She didn’t want to be experimented on and didn’t really have a desire to become a super ninja. But if it would help them survive, was it worth it?
“Do the rest of us get this, too?”
Anna shook her head. “Every race has slightly different biology. We have a version for Beats, but it’s not as good as what we made for Gorgeous. But these are based on existing drugs. Kathor has tried developing a version for humans, but all the… test subjects… had severe side effects. For the moment, you’ll have to learn the old-fashioned way.”
A swell of relief flooded through Mel. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about making that decision. “I’m not sure how useful it will be for Beats. Did you know he’s actively avoiding learning to fight?”
“Yes, I know,” Anna said. “He’s struggling with a very strong cultural aversion to violence, especially gratuitous violence like in the gauntlets. I have reason to expect he’ll come around in time.”
“I hate to say it, but I hope so. If he won’t fight, we’re going to be in big trouble,” Mel said.
“Get back to training,” Anna told Gorgeous. “We’ll do injections every three days and you need to be training hard in-between for the best effect.”
***
Their new routine was relentless. Mel estimated they trained ten to twelve hours a day, including physical conditioning, fighting with weapons, reviewing tactics, watching old games and technical skills that might have been fun if they weren’t part of keeping them alive. Like scrounging common chemicals and electronics to build explosives. Mel assumed that’s how the Things had built their bomb.
Anna suggested they each specialize in a particular weapon and to choose a technical skill. They didn’t know when their next game would be, but Anna insisted Kathor was trying to give them time to build up real skills for the next gauntlet. Choosing a weapon was harder for Mel than she would have thought. She didn’t want to fight and didn’t want to hurt anyone, even weird ugly aliens. Somehow, consciously choosing a weapon made her implicit in the violence. But not choosing wouldn’t keep her or her friends alive. Still, none of the weapons appealed to her. She enjoyed the drills with the sticks, but it was apparent that it would take years to develop the skill to become truly dangerous with them. The challenge was even more evident when training with Gorgeous, whose skill at hand-to-hand and stick fighting quickly outclassed Mel. Fighting with a sword, she felt like more of a danger to herself than her opponent. Taking a cue from Wicked, she practiced knife throwing. Having a knife as a general tool was a good idea anyway and she liked the idea of ranged fighting instead of close combat. And the knife could be used for close fighting as a last resort. The memory of stabbing Wicked in the leg, the green blood oozing out, made her slightly nauseous. But she’d done it, and she knew she would again if she had to.
While she continued to train with the sticks and knives, her final choice for weapons came unexpectedly. On the third day, Anna set out a number of simple firearms, with one end of the training hall set up as a firing range. The reaction from the others was surprising, as she thought the boys would gravitate to the guns. But Evan had no interest, actively disliking all weapons. Jeff tried out the various pistols and a shotgun, but didn’t seem very enthused and ended up cutting his time short so he could go back to working with the two short swords he had chosen as his preferred weapons. He explained to Mel that he didn’t want to waste time training in a weapon that they couldn’t use in the gauntlets. Only Jon showed interest, depositing himself at a rifle station. Sharon tried to fire a pistol and dropped it with a scream as it discharged. Mel thought her shot hit the ceiling.
At first, Mel resisted even picking up the pistols. She had never touched a gun before and felt a general distrust towards it, as if the thing would somehow jump out of her hand and shoot her. She watched a video of how to hold and operate the weapon. One model of pistol used an electromagnetic technology instead of gunpowder. The second pistol operated with a chemical-based explosive, like guns on Earth. She tried the electromagnetic pistol but wasn’t impressed. It felt flimsy and made a little coughing sound that made her laugh the first time she used it.
Mel tried the more traditional weapon next. This was the same one that Sharon had dropped, so she held it firmly in her hand. She liked the weight of it. In the worst case, she could use it as a small club, not that she expected to carry firearms in a game. It was all just a bit too violent and loud.
She watched the video again and calibrated the virtual target at ten yards. Raising the weapon with both hands, she gently squeezed the trigger. Surprisingly, she came within a few inches of the center of the target. But more surprising was the sudden rush of exhilaration. The firearm sent a jolt down her arms as the sound boomed through the training area. A surge of power flowed through her body. She aimed again. The second shot was off by a foot, but it almost didn’t matter. She fired again. And again.
She emptied the clip and quickly reloaded. Something about the pistol resonated with her. The weight of it in her hand, the sound of the explosion a metaphor for all the screams she held inside. The way it tore a hole in the target, making it shake. It was as if the pistol had the ability to express all the anger she felt, without judgment or hesitation.
An hour later, Anna came over and stopped her. Mel blinked in confusion. She had been totally lost in the shooting. From that moment on, Mel knew her weapon of choice would be the pistols. Strategically, it was a gamble because gauntlets at this level wouldn’t allow firearms to be taken in, and scrounging one in a city would be unlikely at best. Mel barely cared. She didn’t want to shoot anyone, and wasn’t even sure if she could. With a thought that made her giggle inside, she knew that firing the pistol in training had become her personal form of therapy.
Mel also focused on the tactics of the gauntlets. She didn’t have the patience to learn the science and technology tricks, although Evan really loved it. With a pang, she thought Nick would have enjoyed it too. To her, the strategies of the gauntlets were like little puzzles. Send this piece here, that piece there. Watching the videos of former games intrigued her. In particular, she got to know some of the other fighters, their strengths and weaknesses.
This led to an additional discovery. After watching a video of a match from a few years ago, Mel wanted to get some more information on the alien race. The choices they made in the heat of battle seemed strange, and she suspected it was a cultural thing. When she asked Anna if they had anything she could read or watch, she was surprised to find that they did.
The ship had an archive that was similar to the Internet, although structured differently. It was more of a library of information as opposed to an ad-based conglomeration of random data that connected everyone. At the very least, social media hadn’t been the downfall of this alien culture. Anna arranged to give them limited access to the computers, and studying the alien cultures became a significant portion of her training time.
Jeff joined her in studying strategy and tactics of the games, although Mel suspected he did that because she had. They spent a lot of time together watching old videos and with her fending off his attempts to make out. It was clear he had no interest in the tech side of things, so maybe it wasn’t that surprising. Either way, she didn’t think he was very good at strategy, as Jeff’s answer to every problem was to go directly through an obstacle unless it was clear that approach would fail.
***
Evan avoided fighting altogether, unless Anna forced him to train. Halfhearted attempts with the electromagnetic pistols often had Mel and Evan practicing together. Most of his time was spent learning about the alien technology and how to jury-rig things they might find in the field for either combat or defense. In return for help in learning the pistols, Evan tried to teach her the explosive-making process. Mel suspected she cared way less about making bombs than Evan did about shooting.
Taking a break from shooting, she joined Evan so he could
show her a new technique he had learned for forming bombs out of the vehicle batteries. The batteries had been common technology on many of the planets centuries ago, so they were relatively easy to find in the deserted cities they used for the gauntlets. The process was similar to what Things 1 and 2 had used in the first match. Anna provided him with samples and the computers had devised a way to break down the batteries faster. The new process involved disassembling the electromagnetic pistols and using the power source and magnets to accelerate a chemical reaction. As Evan took the pistol apart, he palmed a piece of it in his hand.
“This is an electromagnet. Check this out,” he whispered to Mel.
Evan held the device next to her ear. She shrugged, but he smiled back and mouthed the word Wait. Then he turned to Beats, who was practicing strikes with a large staff on a dummy about twenty feet away.
“Hey Beats, can you hit that thing a little harder? I can’t feel the room shaking anymore.”
Beats growled, then swung the staff with all of his might. The training dummy broke in half and skidded across the room, almost hitting Gorgeous, who shrieked and whistled a high-pitched tune. Beats laughed and Evan smiled, returning his gaze to Mel.
It took Mel a few seconds to realize what had happened, but when it sank in, she gasped. Evan shook his head imperceptibility. She nodded, but this was huge. When Evan had put the electromagnet against the side of her head, she couldn’t understand a word that Beats or Gorgeous said. Evan pulled the magnet away and started counting with his fingers. Mel was baffled for a moment, then realized she still couldn’t understand what Gorgeous was yelling at Beats. Evan counted to thirty before something clicked in Mel’s head and Beats’s reply to Gorgeous switched to English.
Not only could the electromagnets block the translators, the effect lasted about thirty seconds after they were removed. And if the translators didn’t work, that likely meant they couldn’t be used to spy on them. Mel was deeply impressed that Evan had figured this out.