by Ken Lozito
An image came on the large wallscreen showing the leathery wings of a bat-like creature that had a hooked beak like a hawk and a large protrusion covering its head.
“We think the creature’s large head is for extra cranial capacity, and we have scientists who are studying them now. They have an excellent sense of direction, and when a flock of them takes to the skies, it’s truly a sight to behold. While their wings look leathery, they are in fact multilayers of translucent fibers. These things have double-jointed shoulder sockets that allow them to change how their wings work. They’re able to lock their wings into position for lengthy glides that don’t strain their muscles,” Rich said.
One of the newcomers raised their hand. “How did you learn so much about them if we’ve only been here a short time?”
“Excellent question,” Rich said and repeated it so everyone else could hear. “We’ve done field studies, but much of our research was gathered from drones. We’ve been careful not to disrupt their habitats and migration patterns. But if you want to see something truly strange, check this out.”
The next image showed a creature that looked like evolution hadn’t been able to decide what it was supposed to be. It stood on two clawed feet that bore a striking resemblance to a rooster’s. There were two arms and four fingers with black claws, a tail that reached the ground, and small feathered wings. It had a small round head covered in dark hair, large dark eyes, and a mouth full of teeth.
“They’re nocturnal. Some of our younger colonists insist on calling them nightcrawlers. Their wings enable them to fly short distances and they’ll eat just about anything from small rodents to a variety of plants. They sing at night, which we think is part of their mating ritual. They average between one to two feet in height and, believe it or not, are most active during a full moon,” Rich said.
The speaker paused to take a drink of water. “We could spend weeks learning about all the different animals here, but we’re not going to do that. Your personal digital assistants—”
There were several chuckles from the crowd and Rich smiled. “I know—a very old reference. Your PDA is equipped with a vast encyclopedia of knowledge that interfaces with most equipment, so if you’re out and about and you see something you’re not sure is dangerous, this can tell you.”
Connor shook his head, thinking that if any of the colonists encountered something truly dangerous, they might not have the time to wait for the all-clear from their PDAs.
“As part of your orientation, we’ll go out beyond the fence and acquaint you with the area. I’m not going to lie to you. Like Earth, there are some dangerous predators out there. It’s important to remember not to let your preconceived notions about an animal fool you. It may look like a friendly cousin back on Earth but may be a dangerous predator here. The next images I’m going to show you are to make you aware of some of those predators,” Rich said and took a breath. “Honestly, this one creeps me out a little bit.”
The image showed four smaller pictures of a large tree limb. A long powerful tail coiled around it and was connected to a large armored body with four hairy legs that each ended in a claw. A beard made up of tentacles adorned a face with fearsome dark eyes and savage-looking canine teeth.
“If you spot this up in the trees, get the hell out of there because there are likely more of them. The creature uses ambush-predator tactics, so once it loses its surprise advantage, there’s only a small chance of it chasing you. The armor is tough and, like everything else here, warrants closer study. We learn more every day, so check your PDAs frequently for any updates,” Rich said.
Connor raised his hand, and Rich nodded for him to speak. “What predator is the perimeter fence meant to keep out?”
“There are some large herbivores that sometimes come near here, and they draw in some pack hunters. One of them looks like a giant centipede that has a pair of pinchers. They move pretty fast but are easily deterred with subsonic frequency transmissions. It drives them away. There’s another one to be aware of, however,” Rich said and put another picture on the wallscreen. “This resembles a prehistoric bear, but they roam together in packs and move more like wolves. There’s usually an alpha, and they range in size from between six hundred to eight hundred pounds. They’re capable of running long distances. We find them mostly on the open plains, but our drones have seen them in the forests as well. We call them berwolf,” Rich said.
Connor glanced around the room and saw that many of the people looked scared.
“It’s going to take some getting used to. The fauna here is sometimes bigger and more exotic than what we’re familiar with, but in time this place will become familiar too,” Rich said.
Connor had more questions but he didn’t want to scare the group any more than they already were.
A woman raised her hand. “Has anyone been attacked?”
Rich nodded. “Yes, they have. There have even been some deaths. This is why we don’t leave the compound without an armed escort.”
The murmurings of several people swept across the room.
“I get it. You’re new and some of this stuff is scary, but think about it. Anyone who lived out in the wilds back on Earth never went out without some kind of protection. The same principles apply here. That’s why your next class will be in small arms training so you can protect yourselves and your loved ones,” Rich said.
Diaz leaned over toward Connor. “I’m pretty sure you can skip that one.”
“What do they arm them with?” Connor asked.
“Mostly deterrents like sonic-type weapons. Just enough to get the thing to pause and go off in another direction,” Diaz said.
“What happens if it doesn’t?”
“We do have gauss rifles and plasma pistols, some heavier stuff, but we’re not handing those out to the general colonist,” Diaz said.
The other new colonists rose to their feet, and Connor did the same.
“Rich,” Diaz called out. “My buddy, Connor, here, is already checked out of the next training sessions. We’ll regroup with you later on.”
Rich waved to them and then led the other colonists through the exit near the wallscreen.
“What do we do now?” Connor asked.
“You have an appointment with Dr. Marashi,” Diaz said and smiled. “Then I get to clear you for weapons training myself. That will be fun.”
They left the tent, and Diaz drove them to the neurological research facility. These buildings were also made up of prefab parts that had just needed to be put together. They went to the front desk and were told where Dr. Marashi’s office was, which they found after a short walk.
Dr. Amir Marashi was an extremely thin man with a thick dark beard.
“Hello there, Connor. I was told to expect you,” Dr. Marashi said. “Ashley warned me of your aversion to needles, so I’ll assure you that we won’t be needing any today.”
Diaz glanced at Connor questioningly.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Connor said.
“Let’s get you loaded up onto the table and see what the med scanner can tell us about the state of your implants,” Dr. Marashi said.
Connor climbed onto the table and lay down. “Do you have the restart protocols for the ZX-64?”
“Not exactly, but let’s take a look first,” Dr. Marashi said. “I assure you I won’t do anything without your consent first.”
Connor nearly grinned. He guessed his reputation had preceded him. A large robotic arm extended from the ceiling, and Amir told him to lie still while a broad-spectrum laser pulsed from the end of the arm and proceeded to scan his body. A holoscreen appeared nearby that displayed an image of the results as they came up. The scan went on for a few minutes and then stopped. Connor sat up and watched as Dr. Marashi examined the information on the screen.
“The good news is that the nanites are intact. The scans show—and your biochip confirms—that their integrity hasn’t been compromised due to the abnormally long stasis period,” Dr.
Marashi said.
“And the bad news?” Connor asked.
“I wouldn’t call it bad news. I just can’t be exactly sure what will happen if you re-enable your implants, but they’ll more than likely function normally. Once active, the startup protocols should signal a diagnostic of your nanites with all the fail-safes designed to keep them from harming a person. The thing is, we can’t be sure. Even if we fabricated another set of the ZX-64 series implants to the exact specifications, there’s no way for me to reproduce what’s already occurred,” Dr. Marashi said.
Connor considered what the doctor had said for a moment. “Well, if anything were to go wrong, then I’d be in the right place.”
“Brain implants are nothing new. We’ve been using them for over two hundred years. The fact that yours are designed for military application shouldn’t affect that, but there is a degree of risk involved that I needed to make you aware of. An alternative I can offer you is to surgically remove them,” Dr. Marashi said.
Connor frowned. He didn’t like the idea of surgery. “I’m going to turn them on. If something goes wrong, you can always yank them out.”
“I must warn you that the risk of turning them back on also extends to your brain,” Dr. Marashi said.
“So what do you recommend?” Connor asked.
“I’d say you’ll be fine.”
“Turn ’em back on, doc,” Connor said.
Dr. Marashi brought up a separate holo-interface on his console. “Okay, I’m going to send the startup protocols. You should experience the same sensations as when they were first installed.”
Connor lay back down on the bed and told Amir to send the signal. There was a long pause, and Connor braced himself. Then he felt an extension of his consciousness come back online in the form of a disorienting buzz in the back of his mind. The throbbing in his head quickly gained in intensity. Connor squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back.
“What’s wrong with him?” Diaz asked.
“His nanites are coming back online,” Amir answered.
Connor cried out.
“He’s in pain. Is this normal?” Diaz asked.
Connor’s muscles went rigid as a strange pins-and-needles sensation spread throughout his body. His breath came in gasps and he focused on his breathing. Thankfully, the pain in his head slowly went away and he began to relax. He opened his eyes, and a familiar internal heads-up display overlaid his field of vision. He took several long blinks and felt his leg muscles twitch.
“I’d forgotten how painful that could be,” Connor said.
“Are you alright?” Diaz asked.
“I think so,” Connor said.
His implants were showing that they were online. Everything he was looking at was immediately classified, and his implants searched for the nearest network connection.
“I’m showing that your implants are online and the nanite activation sequence is progressing,” Dr. Marashi said.
Diaz frowned. “How long does it take?”
“It can take a day to cycle through all of them,” Connor said, and Dr. Marashi nodded.
“I’d offer you something for the pain, but your nanites should be taking care of that,” Dr. Marashi said.
Connor nodded.
“You’ve got healing nanites that just stay in your system?” Diaz asked.
“Yeah, they’ve saved a lot of lives,” Connor said.
Diaz looked at the doctor. “Can you reverse-engineer that? The healing nanites we use are temporary and just cycle out of a person’s system.”
“I’ll look into it, but I’m not sure they’re entirely safe,” Dr. Marashi said and looked at Connor. “If you’re willing to be scanned again, I think that—coupled with some test sequences for the implant-to-nanite interface—would reveal a lot about how they work,” Dr. Marashi said.
“Go ahead, doctor,” Connor said.
The deep-level scan took almost thirty minutes to complete. Dr. Marashi told Connor to use his implants, and Connor opened a connection to the compound’s computer network. He spent the time trying to learn what had happened to the rest of the Ghosts, but there wasn’t a trace of them. Wilkinson had covered his tracks well. He thought about looking up his son but changed his mind at the last second. He wasn’t ready to face that just yet.
“Finished for now. If you wouldn’t mind, please come back in a few days or at least forward me a diagnostic report of your implant’s performance. I’d like to be sure there aren’t any problems with the nanites. Meanwhile, I’ll dig through the archives we have to see what the side effects were for prolonged nanite exposure,” Dr. Marashi said.
Connor thanked him, and they left the neurological research building.
Diaz glanced at him. “You sure you’re alright? You looked like you were in a lot of pain.”
“I’m fine. The nanites do a good job managing the pain. What I’d really like to do is go for some target practice,” Connor said.
Diaz let out a hungry laugh and they hopped back into the ATV.
Now that his internal heads-up display was active, he felt more like his old self and caught himself looking for Kasey and Reisman from Ghosts Squad. Thinking about them reminded him of the men who had died under his command on Chronos Station—Jefferson, who was calm and kept his shit together even in the stickiest of situations, and Malarkey, who was one of the medics serving with the Ghosts. Connor could always count on Malarkey to risk life and limb if there was a chance that one of them could be saved. He kept looking around for them, wanting those men near him—anything to create the illusion that he was home, even if it was just for a moment.
Chapter Ten
The communicator on the ATV chimed, and Diaz hit the button. “Go ahead,” Diaz said.
“Hey, Diaz, Vic here. Where you heading?”
“Sweet Victoria, your voice is enough to brighten anyone’s day. I’m just taking my friend Connor to the firing range,” Diaz said.
There was a pause and a chuckle. “Do you think you can swing by section seventy-three? I’m showing unauthorized access to the perimeter fences over there.”
“You know I’d do anything for you, but aren’t Mills and his group on patrol?” Diaz said.
“They’re on their way, but they haven’t checked in. Also, it’s not far from the outer farms that have the new fruit you like,” Victoria said.
Diaz looked over at Connor. “She gets me.”
“If I get some, does that mean we can share that tasty fruit tonight?” Diaz asked.
“Stop being a pain and just do what I ask you to do,” Victoria said.
“Roger that. I’ll see you tonight,” Diaz said and laughed.
The comms channel closed, and Diaz turned the ATV around.
“What’s going on?” Connor asked.
“We started planting some local crops outside the fence and sometimes people take it upon themselves to go out there and harvest it. There should be guys out there working the field nearby, but I think Victoria just likes the sound of my voice,” Diaz said.
“You guys together?” Connor asked.
“Every chance I get,” Diaz said.
They headed toward the perimeter fence. There was an open area near the fence, and Connor could only glimpse what was on the other side.
“Do me a favor and reach behind us into the storage locker. There should be a CAR-74 semiautomatic hunting rifle in there,” Diaz said.
Connor twisted around in his seat and opened the storage locker. Inside was a black rifle. He pulled it out and sat back in his seat. When he activated the gun’s interface, it barked an alarm saying he wasn’t authorized.
Diaz glanced over and nodded. “You’re not cleared yet. Inside the glove compartment is an SD-15 you can use.”
Connor opened the compartment and saw a bulky handheld weapon with a stubby barrel.
“That’s the one. Activate it now so it’s charged. The SD-15 is a sonic deterrent system capable of firing short-range frequency bursts. Have yo
u used one before?” Diaz asked.
Connor held the SD in his hand and gave it a once-over. “I’ve used something like it. Are you expecting trouble?”
“Oh, you know, rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it,” Diaz said.
They approached the perimeter gates and the guard immediately waved them through. Once through the gate, Connor held on while Diaz hooked the steering wheel to the left and put on the speed. There were at least a hundred yards between the perimeter fence and the edge of the forest. Everything from the plants to the trees was big and thick, and some of the plants were a variety of colors other than the dominant green. A short distance from them was a large ATV off to the side with four Field Operations security people working around it.
Diaz slowed down and stopped. “Hey there, boys. What seems to be the problem?”
The men were huddled around the ATV, which had a series of holes over the engine compartment. One of them turned around. The name Mills was written on his shirt.
“Vic got you here to check out activity on seventy-three?” Mills asked.
“That’s right. She thought you were farther away,” Diaz answered and introduced Connor.
“One of those berwolf shot out of the forest and sank his teeth into the engine compartment. He hit one of the power cables and got the shock of his life. Then he took off running back into the forest,” Mills said.
“Are your comms down? Need me to radio in for a field mechanic?” Diaz offered.
“Nah, we got a spare cable here and we’re changing it out. I think we’ve got a group of kids that decided to make a fruit run. Charlie’s crew. Caught sight of some of them, but that’s when that berwolf decided to try chewing on our ATV,” Mills said.
“You’re lucky it wasn’t one of the big ones,” Diaz said. “How many kids with Charlie?”
“Definitely saw four of them,” Mills confirmed.