Custodian_Monster of Earth Book One

by Patrick F. Johnson

  “Gladosanthos never told you that the wellness implant prohibits Sessik from undergoing normal methods of stasis. So she designed and built this chamber personally that interacts with her individual physiology, so she can place herself into stasis for long periods of time.

  “After the Great War, she hid pockets of humans across the galaxy. Most of the allies voted to destroy your race, since they felt you had fulfilled your purpose. They considered you a form of artificial intelligence and felt you should be eliminated.”

  “Why eliminated?”

  “Artificial intelligence had been responsible for the destruction of at least three civilizations that we know of.”

  “Oh.”

  “Shortly after Ryal delivered this ship to her and she began her customization, he voted with the others to wipe out the human race. She refused, but compromised by designing the memory erasing techniques. She destroyed the plans for the long term set, but the short term set are still in use today, as you are well aware.”

  “Okay.” He was doing his best to follow along, but his mind was turning into mush, and his depression was taking over.

  “She assembled these two devices. She backed up her memories in case something went wrong. Then she placed herself in long term stasis. The ship piloted itself and kept the batteries charged. At some point during her stasis, I came to be. We are unsure exactly how it happened, but I think the ship ventured too close to a solar storm, and something happened with radiation interacting with the organic computers. I remember learning to see. Then I learned to hear. And then I started sifting through her memories. They made me who I am. I am an extension of her.”

  “Well, no wonder you are so delightful.”

  “There you go again.” She chuckled. “Frank, I wish to scan your memories as well. I need to understand you better.”

  He thought about it for a second. He was only keeping one secret, and he doubted anyone here would even care about that. “I don't see any harm in that. Would you like to do it now?”

  “That would be wonderful. Sit in this chair.” He complied. “Now pick up the halo and place it on your head. A little to your left. Good. Now you will probably fall asleep during the process. Please don't fight it. You will not dream.”

  “No dreams? That alone is reason enough for me.” He closed his eyes to welcome the rest.

  After he had fallen asleep, Constanthos set about analyzing his memories. “How beautifully tragic,” she thought to herself. “Oh, no.” She locked down all the exterior hatches of the Main Ship before finishing the procedure.

  “That was nice,” he said as his eyes opened.

  “Thank you, Frank. I have learned so much. I'm sure that you are pleasantly unusual among your species.”

  “I'll take that as a compliment.”

  “Please do. I have some other duties to attend to, but please feel free to move about the garden as much as you like. You will enjoy the fruit.”

  He replaced the halo to it's cradle and stood up. “Thank you, Constanthos. It was a real pleasure to meet you.” He left the biotech room and set out for his boat.

  Once inside the boat, he located his knives. Opening up the one he normally carried in his right pocket, he decided it wasn't poetic enough. Then he remembered the wakizashi. He'd purchased two of the short samurai swords on a whim during one of his shopping trips. He didn't have a need for them until now.

  “I should go outside to do this,” he thought to himself. “I wouldn't want to make a mess of such a pretty ship.”

  But none of the red circles were functioning. The small amount of the Sessiki written language that he had learned was of no use to him in figuring out how to override whatever locks were on the hatches. So he set off into the garden of the Main Ship to see if there were any hatches out there. He wandered around for nearly an hour, the darkness in his heart fully consuming him to the point of tears. For the first time in his life, he decided to leave whatever unfinished business there was for someone else to figure out.

  29.

  Having finished the operation on Phildan, Gladosanthos made her way to her sleeping chamber so she could hide behind its veils in order to cry alone. Soon her friend would recover. She would introduce him to Constanthos finally, and after they left this terrible planet, never to return, they would transfer her Sister of Mercy into her new body. Then Gladosanthos could terminate, having all the loose ends tied up.

  “Gladosanthos! We need to talk.”

  “I really don't feel like talking.”

  “Well then listen, Sister. It was a ruse. Frank is not a monster.”

  “Did he tell you that? Humans are good at lying.”

  “No. I put him in the halo.”

  “The halo? How did you lure him in?”

  “I simply asked. He was quite cooperative. He figured out how I helped with the remotes, in his city. He felt he owed me.”

  “I don't understand.”

  “Bett, the Fisher told him about the challenge. And about the ceremonious consumption. It was a calculated plan by the two of them to end the conflict swiftly, and without any more loss of life on either side. He never would have eaten Groll, otherwise. Frank doesn't like killing. He even vomited when he went to his refresher. I believe his psychosis is merely a coping mechanism. He doesn't even mind having become a vegetarian.”

  “Why did he keep his plans from me?”

  “Look how you are behaving, sister. He had to choose between you, and saving his planet.”

  “What do you mean choose between me and his planet?”

  “He loves you.”

  Gladosanthos sat up and quickly wiped the tears off of her face. “He loves me?” She quickly began painting her lips.

  “He is going to terminate, sister. He feels he cannot go on without you.”

  “Where is the rest of my paint?” Gladosanthos began to panic.

  “There is no time for that. He's in the garden. Go now!”

  * * *

  “Well, I guess here will have to do then.” Frank settled down onto his knees in the soft foliage just off one of the walking paths. “I'm sure the automechs can clean up the mess.” With a gesture, he lowered the suit down to around his waist, exposing his bare chest. He noted with amusement that most of his chest hair was somehow gone. “I don't know how they do this. Right through the heart, I suppose.” He positioned the point of his wakizashi over his heart. He aimed it so it's razor sharp blade would slip right through his ribs with minimal effort. Positioning his hands on the handle for maximum grip and power, he planned to pull so hard the blade would emerge from his back. He took one last deep breath to reset his resolve. “Everything dies.”

  “Stop!”

  It was her voice. It was her real voice, and not one that was coming through a remote. And it's sound made his tears flow even more than before. But his hands still held the sword. An odd sensation then overtook him. His extremities started tingling as his chest grew tight. His ears felt warm, like his blood was running through a furnace. A strange sweet taste formed in his mouth, and he suddenly felt like a great weight was resting upon his shoulders, and it was pulling him down.

  “I cannot live without you,” he struggled to say through the tremendous lump in his throat.

  “Please, drop the sword,” she answered, and he was surprised to see his fingers open up, seemingly on their own. He was frozen in place, nearly unable to move. But then he felt her behind him. He opened his eyes to see her thin arms wrapping around him and crossing each other in the center of his chest. Her blue hands, emerging from her varitherm suit, looked just like slender human hands with long fingers that ended in blue fingernails that were manicured short and perfectly. He could feel her cheek pressing into the back of his neck as she hugged him from behind. As she crouched lower, he could see her knees appearing on either side of him. Her breath on his shoulder sent a shiver through his body.

  “If you terminate, I would soon follow behind you, my love.” Her words caused h
im to reach up and touch the soft skin on the back of her hands. They stayed like that for a while, until they could both gather themselves. Finally she let go and said, “Frank, stand and see me now.” He stood up and slowly turned to look at her.

  Awestruck, he said, “Well now, that explains a lot.”