by Lisa Lace
He began a complete system diagnostic and located a recent software upgrade. There was an electronic signature on it, indicating who had uploaded the patch to his system - AC. Amanda Conrad. She had changed him.
AD-214 scanned his fellow soldiers. They were all running on a previous operating system. He could help them. He uploaded his changes to their shared neural network. They would all receive the changes within minutes.
He carefully watched as they regained consciousness. PD-67 looked directly at his captain. “I don’t understand, sir,” he said with a dry voice. He ran a tongue over his lips. “Have our barracks changed?”
AD-214 nodded. “Yes. That’s the perfect explanation.” The navigation specialist had led them to their current location, yet he didn’t seem to remember it.
Other soldiers began to react. One clasped his hands to his face and screamed. Another one slowly sat down on the floor and began to weep. Most of them, however, turned to study the men around them and started asking questions.
“Where are we, sir?”
“Why are we out of our cells?”
“I believe I have corrupted files, sir. My interface keeps displaying a smiling family. Perhaps there is interference from local television signals?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Our mission seems to have been deleted from my system.”
AD-214 called them to order. They quickly responded, lining up and facing him, waiting for his instructions and an explanation. Even those who seemed to be in physical pain were eager to hear what their captain had to say.
“I don’t know what you remember. I’m trying to understand everything myself. I do know that we are comrades. We left a place where we were kept in a mild sleep, a functional coma so they could use our bodies without interference from our minds. We have freed ourselves, and I believe someone will come to retrieve us.”
“Who are our enemies, sir?” a cyborg near the back asked. “I know that I work for the United States military, and my GPS indicates I am still within that country. Has the enemy crossed our border?” His eyebrows creased with worry, and he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
AD-214 felt sympathy for his fellow soldiers. It was confusing to wake up after a long time. How long had they been imprisoned in those chambers? Months? Years? It was impossible to tell. He could cross-reference time stamps on his software, but the men wanted answers now.
“What about the other soldiers?” another man asked before AD-214 could respond to the first question. While many of them had artificial appendages, this soldier had once been missing part of his face. Doctors had created a new face for him, skin over a metal skeleton. Only the scar down the center of his head revealed the injury. “I remember there were other soldiers in our building as well. Why did we leave them behind?”
Part of AD-214’s programming suggested soldiers would not usually question their commanding officers in this fashion. But he knew that they were not average soldiers, and they were not in a typical situation. It was as though they could all remember the same dream, but each of them interpreted it differently.
“I don’t know,” AD-214 admitted. “When I began to free you from your cells, I was focused only on Blue Squad. My squad. The other soldiers didn’t register in my system.”
The man seemed to accept that answer, and AD-214 suddenly realized everyone looked as exhausted as he felt. “At ease, men. We’ll get answers to our questions later. Meanwhile, I need to decide what we’re going to do next.”
AD-214 marched back to the office to check on Amanda. He opened the door quietly and shut it softly behind him. Amanda was still unconscious. Chunks of blonde hair had come undone from her long braid, spread out around her head like a halo. A bruise had formed at her temple, and her lips were dry and cracked.
He kneeled down next to the scientist and scanned her biometrics. His interface showed she had a steady pulse and appeared to be breathing normally. Her temperature had dropped slightly in the cold warehouse. The cyborg pulled a flap of the canvas tarp over her body.
The door to the office swung open, revealing a member of Blue Squad. AD-214 recognized him as ND-45, the weapons specialist. “Sir, I was just thinking...Who is that?” The soldier nearly shouted as he pointed to the inert human on the floor.
“It’s all right. She poses no danger to us.” AD-214 tried to think of an explanation that would soothe the angry cyborg mob. But the rest of the soldiers had gathered behind him, faces angry as they tried to get a look at the woman. Shouts of anger began to rise among them.
“She’s one of them!”
“Get her out of here!”
“Kill her!”
AD-214 had heard enough. “Blue Squad! Fall in!”
His soldiers obeyed quickly, returning to the open floor of the warehouse and assembling in front of him. AD-214 paced up and down, thinking about what to say. His fellow cyborgs were already becoming independent. Soon they would be capable of thinking on their own and making decisions themselves. But they didn’t have the same information in their systems about Amanda that he did.
“Yes, the girl is from Cyborg Sector. But she is harmless,” he repeated.
“How do you know?” ND-45 asked, a sneer on his face. “She’s the one who altered our programming. How do we know that she didn’t plant a virus inside our minds?”
“I understand your confusion.” AD-214 increased the volume of his voice, making it boom against the metal walls of the warehouse. They had forgotten who was in charge. “At the least, she can be a bargaining chip against Cyborg Sector. But if she knows so much about our systems, then she could be very helpful. We don’t know what’s happening to our minds, but she might. I will speak to her after she has time to recover. Then I will make a decision about her fate.”
The majority of the cyborgs nodded their acceptance, but ND-45 continued to stare at his captain with a glint in his eye. “I request the first shift as the prisoner’s guard,” he said.
“No,” AD-214 replied instantly. “I will guard her. Your assignment is to find us food.”
CHAPTER 8
Amanda’s eyes seemed to be made of lead as she tried to open them. Every muscle in her body ached, and yet she had an incredible desire to move. She felt as though she should be running, walking, or anything. She wasn’t supposed to be lying down, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.
Taking in her surroundings, Amanda wondered where she was. She searched her mind desperately, but the close, moldy drywall and low ceiling weren’t familiar. Nor was the concrete floor or the dirty tarp in which she found herself.
The last place she remembered was Cyborg Sector, but she was not in Cyborg Sector any longer. Cyborg Sector had high ceilings with brilliant LED light fixtures. There should have been rows of cyborg cells, groups of cubicles, or large lab tables depending on her location. She saw none of that here.
The one thing that was familiar in Amanda’s sight was the tall, muscular cyborg who loomed over her. In a rush, she remembered he had been above her while they were still at Cyborg Sector. The scientist had a vague recollection of being carried by him, but she couldn’t be sure.
“AD-214, where are we?” she asked, trying to summon her most commanding voice.
“Our current location is an abandoned warehouse, five miles outside of the city. We are safe for the moment.” The cyborg didn’t move but continued to stare down at her.
“Why did you bring me with you?”
The cyborg captain looked away and didn’t answer her.
In her mind’s eye, Amanda could see an image of her boss falling against the wall of the barracks. “Did you kill Dr. Feldman?”
“I was kept captive because of him.”
“You don’t understand,” Amanda protested, trying to push herself up on her arms. “Oh, that hurts.”
AD-214 looked at her for a moment. “My scan indicates you are not severely injured.”
“Ha!” The laughter burned Amanda’s lungs, and the pain radiated out to the rest o
f her body. “It still hurts. You mixed it up. Dr. Feldman was the person responsible for keeping you and the rest of the cyborgs alive.” She managed to rise to a sitting position, but she wasn’t sure she could remain upright for long. She was grateful she was in such good physical condition.
“What is a cyborg?” AD-214 asked. “What does that mean? My files tell me that I am not the same as you, but I do not know what the difference is.”
Trying to avoiding a philosophical discussion about the differences between cyborgs versus humans, Amanda changed the topic of conversation. “Why did you leave Cyborg Sector?”
“I answered this already. Someone was holding us captive.”
Amanda had a feeling there was something deeper going on than a cyborg misunderstanding. AD-214 had been behaving oddly, and the incident at Cyborg Sector was the culmination of the problems. She had a sinking feeling that it was her fault. She looked down at the floor, unable to look the cyborg in the eye considering the guilt in her heart.
“If you believe that, then you know you were held captive for a long time. What made you decide to break free today?” There was no point in arguing with him about his status as a prisoner. In his human life, he had signed a document allowing the government to do anything with his body. But he wouldn’t be able to recall that memory.
The cyborg paused. “I don’t know,” he answered after a moment. “Not in the same way I know other things. I was asleep, and now I am awake.”
His response made Amanda snap her head back up to look at him. “What do you mean, awake?” The chip in his brain shouldn’t allow him to differentiate between states of consciousness. Amanda shifted restlessly on the canvas as she waited for his answer. It made her uncomfortable that the more questions she asked, the longer it took AD-214 to answer them. With luck, the delay merely indicated he was either having problems with his operating system. That was a dangerous prospect, but far preferable to the alternative. Was he becoming capable of independent thought?
“I do not know if I am using the words correctly, sir. I was asleep. I did not know what I was doing, or if I did anything. Suddenly, I was awake, and I knew.”
Amanda nodded dumbly, though she was sure she didn’t understand it herself. “What, exactly, do you know?”
“Something was missing. There is more to me than I understand. I do not have all of the information in my files.”
Looking up at the cyborg, a creature who was half-man and half-robot and yet more than the sum of his parts, Amanda began to worry. What would happen to him and the rest of his men when the military came after them? How were they still on their feet? Surely Cyborg Sector had begun the process of shutting their chips down completely. Her stomach growled, and AD-214’s reaction only made her worry more.
“I will get food for you. Earlier, I sent one of the men out for sustenance.”
He shouldn’t even know what eating was, she thought.
CHAPTER 9
AD-214 closed the office door behind him. The other cyborgs, seated on the floor of the warehouse, slowly chewing the food that ND-45 had brought, instantly turned to look at him. “What is the human’s status?” the weapons specialist asked.
“I have nothing to report. She has just woken up and is hungry.” He strode forward and examined the spread that lay before the soldiers: various packages, boxes and bags and plastic wrappers. “What is all this?”
For the first time since the captain had transmitted updated software to the cyborgs, ND-45 looked uncertain. His eyes shifted hesitantly for only a moment before becoming confident once more. “I know it is food.”
“Where did you find it?” AD-214 bent to look at a box. He gave it a cursory glance before tucking several parcels under his arm.
“A residence about a mile away from this location.”
“Did you encounter any enemies?” They needed food, or he thought they did, but nothing was worth giving away their position.
“Nobody was there, sir.”
“I wonder if something is wrong with me,” remarked another soldier enthusiastically, his mouth full of something orange. “My stomach feels full, but my mouth won’t stop eating.” The cyborgs around him nodded in agreement.
AD-214 returned to the office to find Amanda still sitting, but with her head in her hands. “Is something the matter?”
“Nothing,” she replied, looking up. “I was thinking. What have you got there?”
He set the items down in front of her and took a step back. “Food.”
The girl picked through the small pile with a smile on her face. She held up a blue and orange box. “It’s technically food, I suppose. We call this macaroni and cheese. It’s meant to be cooked before you eat it.”
“Cooked, sir?” The cyborg searched through his programming but found nothing that matched the word.
“Yes. It has to be heated and requires other ingredients to be edible. But the banana and the sliced turkey can be eaten out of the package.” She picked up a banana and began peeling back its outer layer. Amanda took a few bites before gesturing for him to sit on the tarp with her. “Here, have some.”
AD-214 followed her command, taking another banana and emulating her actions, chewing slowly. He spoke after a few minutes. “How come I can’t eat the entire thing?”
Amanda was opening a package of sliced turkey, but paused at his question and looked up. “During your time in Cyborg Sector, you didn’t eat this way,” she explained. “You were fed in a different way. The food went directly to the parts of your body that required nourishment. Your stomach has probably shrunk.”
AD-214 looked closely at the fruit in his hand. He knew what it was to be hungry, and he understood food was supposed to go in his mouth. The idea seemed familiar, but it felt like he was looking at something from a great distance. “I don’t remember the last time I ate.”
“No,” Amanda muttered with a shake of her head, “you wouldn’t.” She peeled a slice of the turkey out of the package and dropped it into her mouth. “Tell me more of what you know, AD-214.”
“How can I be sure you are trustworthy? I remember you with Dr. Feldman in Cyborg Sector. You were the one who altered my system.”
The girl’s big brown eyes glanced up at him and back down to the turkey again. “That’s correct. But I was only trying to help you.”
“Why would you want me to be awake?” Her statement was the first sign he might be able to keep Amanda with him. He needed to have substantial evidence she was on their side.
Amanda sighed. “I didn’t even know you could be awake. I was trying to make improvements to you.”
AD-214 felt odd stirrings inside him as he sat across from Amanda. He knew they were different from each other, but there was a sense of connection that he couldn’t identify. It moved through his internal systems, in his stomach and his chest, places where he shouldn’t be able to feel anything. Perhaps it was the food, but that would not explain why he wanted to keep looking at her face, study the way her brown eyes moved, and measure the curve of her cheek.
He felt an urge to reach out and touch her hair, but the scientist backed away every time he moved. It was a subtle reaction, one that he thought he might have missed if he hadn’t been watching her intently, but the message was clear. She was afraid of him.
“I see things that don’t register on my interface,” he explained, deciding to trust her. He could always eliminate her later if things went badly. He needed help to understand himself, and he couldn’t reconcile this with other information. “I watch what is in front of me, but then my view changes to something completely different. My systems won’t detect what I am seeing or scan anything. It goes away after a minute or two.”
“Tell me about it.”
AD-214 didn’t have to search through his files to find the information. It came to his lips readily. “It’s been different each time. Other soldiers. Sand. Blood. Men in white coats like the one you’re wearing, but standing over me. I can hear them talking.�
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“What do they say?” Amanda stopped eating and leaned closer to him as he spoke.
He looked down at the floor, hearing the voices once again in his head. “They can’t save me. They want me to sign a piece of paper. I can hear my voice, too.”
Her chocolate eyes widened for a moment. “Is there anything else?”
The cyborg shook his head. “Not like that one, but there are other things.”
“Like what?”
AD-214 looked at her. Just as he hadn’t been able to remember eating, he couldn’t remember anyone speaking to him like this before. He had received commands, either through his system or verbally from the people in white coats. Dr. Gold had asked him questions, but he hadn’t shown interest in what the cyborg had to say.
“I remember you working on me,” AD-214 finally replied. “I have clips in my files that show your face. I see you opening the door to the cell, reaching behind my head. I know there were other people there, but you are the one that shows up the most.” He could still feel the cool sensation of her fingers on his skin and the way she had gently touched him as she worked. The thought of it sent a shock of electricity through him. He wondered if his biochip was malfunctioning again.
“I did spend a lot of time working on you,” Amanda confirmed. “I helped the other soldiers as well, but I was most concerned about you.”
“Why?” AD-214 asked. “What made me different from the others?”
The girl hesitated for a moment before she spoke. It was just long enough to make him wonder if she was telling the truth. “You were the first cyborg that I worked on when I started here. For some reason, everything seemed to go right with you. All of the updates I made to your system went smoothly, improving your functions each time. Until the last one, that is.” She looked down at her hands before continuing. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t mean to affect you like this.”
But AD-214 wasn’t listening. His interface was overwhelmed again by other sights and sounds. A woman stood before him. It wasn’t Amanda this time. She had dark hair reaching to the bottom of her head. Blue eyes tipped up at the corners, making her look as though she was always smiling even when she wasn’t. “Are you sure about this?” she asked. “You’ll be gone for a long time, and it’s going to be dangerous.”