"We've got to check out the time vault," he said. "It's a long-shot, but someone's got to check it." She wore earplugs, but he knew she could hear him easily.
She hesitated only a moment, then spoke clearly, so he could easily read her lips. "I will tell Krystal and the others." She meant that she could subvocalize to them. As John caught his breath, she accelerated ahead.
The T-XA stepped from its shell knowing two main things: First, it was now Skynet—a simplified version, but nonetheless, Skynet incarnate. Second, it had a mission: it had to escape. Then all the humans had to die.
It took the appearance of a gigantic man clad in military uniform, and found a laser rifle to assist it at the end of its journey. If needed, it could split into sub-components. Its volume was as great as two normal-sized human beings. Plunging the rifle inside its body, it walked to a set of metal stairs in one corner of this level. The humans were fighting their way upward toward Skynet's useless hardware, but using a different set of stairs. The T-XA would not be disturbed.
John was right, Jade realized, as he so often was. Unlikely or not, they had to check the time vault. It was not past Skynet's powers to try to download its own personality somehow, and try to escape through ice or time. She took the stairs six at a time, approaching an endo on the next landing. She dodged and leapt, avoiding its bolts of laser light. As she reached the endo, she struck at it, using her thirty-pound laser rifle like a club. But the endo brushed her away. Strong as she was, she could not match the raw power of metal machinery.
They exchanged more blows. Jade fell at the endo's skeletal feet, but she never hesitated. She had the angle she wanted—and fired. Once. Twice. Again. Straight up at its grinning skull. In two seconds, the endo had been terminated. She got to her feet and ran on to the level with the time vault. There were voices and footsteps behind her. John and Sarah were still following. And Fiedler. And now Dmitri's footsteps. To Jade, they were as recognizable as his voice or his face.
Then something else came up behind them. Two human-sized, silver-chrome forms. Jade subvocalized to Krystal: Thank you. Then she ran on. She had the team she needed.
John pulled out his earplugs to talk, as he ran in the dark. "Mom," he said. "Are you okay?"
Sarah must have removed hers, too. "I'm still ready to rock," she said.
Dmitri had started well behind, but he soon passed them, moving like a blur. They all entered a cavernous space full of strange machinery. Four endos awaited them, their eyes glowing in the darkness. John took cover behind the stairs, and fired.
The two T-l000s rushed forward at full speed, drawing the endos' laser fire, which momentarily stopped them. One shot out an endo's CPU—that left three to go. Jade and Dmitri accelerated, trying to get past the endos, to fire at their real enemy. Behind the endos, near one corner of the enormous room, was a giant. It reached into its own torso, and pulled out a laser rifle. This was something John feared: another T-XA.
Before his eyes, the T-XA split—part of it pulled away as though hands had torn it in two. One part was still the size of a big man, well over six feet tall. It held the laser rifle, and it fired as Jade and Dmitri rushed toward it. A laser bolt hit Dmitri in the left arm, and he screamed in pain, dropping his flashlight and falling to the ground. An endo stepped toward him, laser rifle at the ready. Dmitri rolled on his back, aimed upward with his good right hand, and shot out its visual sensors, then its CPU.
The T-XA's smaller part was silver-chrome and sexless, vaguely feline. It walked to the wall near a massive cubical structure that just had to be a time vault. A hinged metal door, three feet thick, hung open. Next to it was some kind of screen, maybe six feet high.
The feline T-XA module shaped an arm into a metal spike, which stabbed into the wall. An instant later, the screen activated, displaying the inside of the vault—just a plain cubical interior, shown from one corner. John suddenly realized one thing: Skynet had modified the T-XA, or modified the time vault itself, so the T-XA could control it. That had to be stopped.
John, Sarah, and Fiedler moved forward, finding points of cover behind the machinery on the floor. They fired on the two remaining endos; Fiedler scored with a skullshot on one of them. The other was caught between the two T-l000s, which soon disposed of it; the grinning, hyperalloy demon couldn't handle both. Jade fought the T-XA's "big man" component, dodging its laser fire, and firing back. Laser bolts hit its head and body, but seemed to have little effect. The T-XA returned her fire, and she dashed for cover. The machine paused for a moment, then fired into the body of Dmitri, already helpless on the floor. The Specialist's entire chest incinerated.
The feline module finished what it was doing. It ran to the "big man" module and merged with it, forming the same huge man that they had originally seen. The T-XA thrust its laser rifle deep into its body. It was clear to John what would happen next—he could see how it would unfold, but had no power to stop it. In a moment, the T-XA would step into the time vault. The door would slam behind it, and the vault's immense energy would send it wherever it wanted to go. The feline module had programmed the vault, and now it was counting down.
As the giant stepped toward the vault, Sarah shouted, "The endos! Use them. Somebody!"
Jade was still unhurt. She did what Sarah had wanted: She threw down her laser rifle and flashlight, and picked up one of the terminated endoskeletons. She ran to the door of the time vault. The T-XA entered, and the door started to close, but one of the T-l000s had reached it. It morphed its upper body into a two-foot-thick cylinder, hard as tempered steel, and blocked the door before it slammed shut. The door bit into the T-l000's body, then sprung open. In that second, Jade threw the endoskeleton inside; she pulled the T-1000 free, and hit the floor. The time vault's door slammed shut once again, but Jade had thrown in one hundred pounds, or more, of metal.
The terminated endo was dead matter, not enclosed in flesh, or in finely tuned polyalloy. Nothing like that would pass through the field. It would warp the vault's immense energies.
On the screen, blue lighting played around the giant liquid-metal Terminator, as it ran for the time vault's door. Did it have sufficient power to burst the hinges? They all waited, lasers at the ready...but then, on the screen, the endo and the T-XA were gone.
At first, nobody spoke. There was so much to do, so much doubt about what they'd really achieved. Dmitri was dead. Outside, on the mountain, more Resistance soldiers must be fighting and dying. The same across the world. On the floors above them, Krystal and the other fighters—and the remaining Terminators—must still be fighting their way toward Skynet's hardware. It had to be destroyed, and never used again. The two T-l000s were now in their basic form—silver-chrome, featureless, otherwise humanoid. They were powerful tools, but they, too, had to be destroyed. Otherwise...they were the future.
John spoke first. "What do you think we've done?"
"I don't know," Sarah said. "I can only hope."
Fiedler shrugged. "I don't know, either." He looked from one to another. At Sarah, John, and Jade. Then at the T-l000s. "Maybe we've saved the world."
VILA NOVA DO SUL
Hiro's computer showed a space-time field fluctuation 6000 miles away, in Colorado. There'd been many through the night and into the day. Most were local travel by Terminators. Skynet must have been sending them to attack Devaux' forces on the mountainside. This time, it was different. Something had passed through the mad computer's time vault. Analysis refused to show a destination.
Merrillee paced the room, looking every bit as anxious. Both of them waited for news from Colorado. Hiro put up the data on the room's screens. "What does it mean?" he said.
Merrillee shrugged. "Maybe something that Skynet wouldn't want."
Hiro subvocalized to his computer, still trying to sort it out.
Soon, it became clearer. Whatever had gone into the time vault was no more. It had not been displaced to any one point in the space-time continuum. It had been totally disintegrated and scattere
d, across infinity.
He sat back in his chair, feeling old and tired, despite his own enhancements. For a moment, a smile creased his face. Perhaps Merrillee was right. Maybe it was bad news for the crazy war computer. Why would it use its time vault just to disintegrate something?
"One thing," Merrillee said.
"Yes?"
"If it's bad news for Skynet, Jade will probably know."
"If she is still alive."
She pulled up a chair, and sat across from him. "We live in hope, Hiro. I'm sure she'll call us soon."
TWENTY-TWO
VILA NOVA DO SUL JUNE 18, 2036
The thought had crossed John's mind that he should stay here, in this reality, with Jade and the rest—with Jade in particular. But that was probably crazy. Back in the world that he'd left there were still people who were dedicated to creating Skynet. The U.S. government had canceled its contract with Cyberdyne Systems, and it was watching the company's leaders like a hawk. Oscar Cruz and the others were out of business, but there could be changes. Some crisis might make the government think it could control Skynet after all. Some other government might take it on. Who knew what could happen while men like Cruz were free?
He walked with Jade in the ruins of her city, his mind overflowing with emotions. She wore ragged jeans, canvas shoes, a thin T-shirt, heedless of the cool air. She had a jade pendant round her neck. No make-up. Nothing fancy with her hair.
She looked beautiful.
It was fifteen years since this reality's Judgment Day, a grim anniversary, yet one full of hope. So much had changed—but a leaden sky still brooded over Vila Nova do Sul. All around were ruins and wreckage. Broken masonry. Twisted metal. Half-recognizable vehicles and machines. Another world had to be reconstructed.
Minutes passed in silence. Jade seemed to be waiting for him. Eventually, she spoke first. She took his hand, then squeezed it gently as he turned to her. "John, I am truly sorry."
"Sorry about what?"
She smiled sadly. "I wish I could go back with you. I know that is what you want."
A dozen answers came to mind, each of them slightly false. Then he said, "It is what I want."
She let him go, and they walked on. "I know how you feel about me," she said.
"I guess I realized that."
"I am not a vast, cold intelligence from the stars, you know. I am human, too, John."
"You're more than human." He'd always known that she must know. Ordinary human beings and their emotions must be transparent to her. All the things they did to protect themselves, to keep their thoughts and feelings hidden, were useless. For Jade, they were like panes of glass. His soul was as exposed to her gaze as a fish in an aquarium.
"In some ways, I wish I could—Oh, John.. .it is not that I don't understand love...not even that I don't love you."
He shook his head. "I don't understand, then." He tried to feel some kind of hope amidst the rejection. What was she saying? It was funny how people always clung to hope.
"I don't think I can explain. Not really. I am sorry to hurt you. I feel..."
"What?"
"Miserable about it. Very sad. I wish I could explain to you. I hope one day you can understand...but, please, don't be angry with me."
Could she feel hurt about how he felt? Perhaps her feelings were beyond his imagination. No—as she'd said, she wasn't a cold intellect from the stars. She wasn't a machine, or some kind of monster. Even Frankenstein's monster had possessed feelings—John had read the book, not just seen the movies. He remembered how rejected it felt when it tried to approach human beings. As for Jade, perhaps her feelings were deeper than his, more complex, but she certainly had them.
"You must go back," she said, "and I must stay. Everything has changed now."
"How can I?"
"Come here, John. Please come here."
He stepped over to her, tentatively. She reached out her arms to embrace him. None of his training, or anything he'd thought or known, had prepared him for this. Why had he fallen in love with someone way out of his league? Out of anyone's league? He put his arms around her. She was smaller, but he could feel how strong she was.
She kissed him lightly on the lips, then stepped out of the embrace. "I know what you must be feeling."
"Like what?"
"Don't think I'm rejecting you."
"But that's just what it feels like." And, bad as it felt now, he knew it would only get worse.
"I am not rejecting you, John." She looked into his eyes earnestly. Her own sad eyes were full of tears. "But I could never be happy in your world, and you do have to go. I hope we can meet again some day.. .in some place and time"—a tired smile—"some universe."
"I hope so, too," he managed to say.
"Except—"
"Except what?"
"Except...I don't know what the circumstances would have to be. Maybe not something we would hope for, not even to meet each other again."
There was a long silence between them. Then he said, "I guess this is goodbye."
"It is. Don't feel bad...above all, not about yourself."
"Aw, Jade, what can I say? That I wish that they hadn't made you like that? That you were...I don't know..."
"Someone different from what I am? Someone more normal?"
"Just someone who could come back to my world...and be happy there. But you'd have to be you, at the same time. I guess that isn't possible."
She gave the slightest laugh. "No. No, it is not. Do you think people like me should not exist? That's what a lot of people thought, you know.. .back when I was born."
"No! Of course not, Jade, you're wonderful. If you didn't exist...it would be terrible. Don't ever think like that."
"I don't, John. Really, I don't. I would not be any other way...and I am glad to be alive."
"But you always seem so sad."
"Always?"
"Lots of the time. Most of the time."
Jade shrugged. "I am glad to have this life. I have been able to do worthwhile things. But I belong here. In your world, I'd be all alone. You cannot ask that of me." She paused, then changed her tone, as if she were coming out of herself. "Goodbye, John. I will always love you with my whole heart. I won't forget you."
"I won't forget you, either."
"I know. But you will find others to love, people in your own world and time. They can give you what I cannot." She took his hand again, squeezed it, then let go. "We should walk back."
Soon, he would face the white light, the pain. He would go back, as he always knew he would. He'd discussed it with Sarah. They'd create a gap—two years or more—from the day when they'd left to travel to other worlds, first Skynet's World, then here. It would seem to others that they had simply vanished. Their names would be out of the news. They could make a new life. But the gap couldn't be too long. Even in two years, say, many things could happen. Cruz and the rest would be plotting, planning, making contacts, doing their work for Skynet.
"The sooner I leave, the better," he said. "Otherwise it's too painful."
"I understand. Sarah would agree."
"She will. I'm sure she will."
They turned to go back. Back to Jade's people. Back to the time vault. Back to his own world.
When Jade spoke, it seemed so final. "Take care, John. I am glad I knew you."
EPILOGUE:
JOHN'S WORLD
NEAR CALEXICO, CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER 23, 2004
The Salceda compound was hidden in the Low Desert, a flat expanse of sand, sifted by a gusting wind, tucked amongst yucca trees, cactus, and dry scrub. No one ever came here except those in the Salcedas' network of survivalists and gunrunners. The compound carried plenty of signs to warn away any trespassers, over-eager police, or curious tourists, in no uncertain terms. Dried snakeheads mounted on the chain-link fencing made the meaning clear; so did the words WARNING! KEEP OUT, written in both English and Spanish, using six-inch letters formed from blood red paint. Nobody messed
lightly with Enrique Salceda and his family.
Within its fenced perimeter, the compound looked deserted, but that was an illusion. The Salcedas went about their business without looking too conspicuous. What showed was a jumble of broken trailers—they accumulated more every year—and several abandoned-looking vehicles. But there were also aircraft hangars, a satellite dish, and a clothesline with several items flapping in the wind.
Suddenly, a series of electrical flashes lit up the desert, framed against the sky. The lightning continued on and on, just outside the compound, half a mile down the sand and gravel road. It was a twisting, morphing thing, an electric blue, 3-D spider web out there in the desert. Somehow it was raising a huge dust devil, almost like a tornado.
"What the hell is that?" Enrique said to himself, looking from the window of one of the trailers.
He was in the trailer's tiny kitchen, drinking from a bottle of tequila. He'd made himself a thick ham sandwich, which sat on a shelf under the window, waiting for his attention. Enrique was a tough, hawk-faced man in his fifties, his gray hair receding sharply, his short beard trimmed back almost to stubble. He wore loose khaki pants and flak jacket with no shirt underneath. His eldest son, Franco, and his daughter, Juanita, sat at the other end of the trailer, sprawled in battered old lounge chairs, watching a bikini-girl beauty quest on cable TV. Juanita had been mocking her brother for his taste in both entertainment and girls, but she hadn't tried to change the channel or turn the TV off. The screen suddenly went dead of its own accord.
"Let's see what this is," Enrique said.
Franco was a lean young man in his mid-twenties, good with guns, cars, and computers—plenty smart, though not educated past junior high school. He wore faded, torn jeans, a pair of dirty tennis socks, and a white T-shirt with the arms ripped out, displaying his wiry, high-veined biceps. "What?" he said, just realizing that there must be something outside—watching the way Enrique peered out the window. "What's happening?"
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