by Jay Toney
Our presence was welcomed by these unknown aliens. At any space station we visited, I would be expected to moor my ship away from the space station and transport its people and passengers by shuttle craft. Amber, Jewel, Persephone, Nugget and I made up the first group to leave the ship. We were met by an air car and driver, at the foot of the dock. The driver ushered us inside the vehicle and whisked us away.
We passed through another airlock and we found ourselves inside of the world. The entire inside of the sphere's surface was devoted to living space. In the heart of the sphere was an artificial sun, providing illumination and heat. Gravity plates below the surface provided artificial gravity. We were driven past lakes, streams, woodlands, and farms. We finally came to a city and stopped outside an office building.
The driver escorted us inside. We were seated in a plush waiting room and offered ice cold water to drink. We didn't wait long before being called into an office. The man before us was the same person we saw on our viewscreen.
"I am Gordon, ruler of this planet. You are a strange mix; a Keshian of noble birth, perhaps even the royal line, a hologram who isn't, two human females, and I am not sure what you are Captain Roberts."
"I am or was a hybrid mix of Human and Iniguar species. I was transformed into being turned mostly into a machine on a planet entirely populated by cyborgs. I still question how much of me is me or machine. Sometimes it is hard to tell."
"A curious mix, indeed. How did you come to travel with a Keshian?"
"I am Nugget, Chancellor of Edam, second in line to the Queen of the Keshian Empire. I have come to consider these people as my friends. I travel with them, seeking a challenge for my abilities, and relief from the boredom that comes with the politics of government."
"I thought you might be royalty. That explains your traveling on a luxury cruise liner and your military escort. It is rare that we get visitors, much less royalty. What brings you all to Nevis?"
"We are in need of phosphorus to fertilize our gardens. We are also in need of reaction mass for our ships. My fleet can also use a break in our travels, to allow shore leave for our crew. We can trade with fresh produce from our gardens, galactic credits, or silver."
"We have no need of produce, but we will accept your credits or trade in silver. You and your crew are welcome to visit Nevis and take your shore leave here. We have many interesting sights to see and places to visit. Welcome to Nevis."
The driver took us to a hotel, in the center of the city we were currently in. We checked in, reserving two suites for the next three weeks.
"Persephone, start crew rotations for a three-week stay."
"Already done, Nathaniel. I am having our luggage packed and sent here. There is no reason to return to the ship until we are ready to depart."
Nugget left us saying, "There is much work to get done, now that we have the time."
That left the four of us alone. I accessed the hotel rooms computer and began scanning a long list of sites that people frequently visited. Bregga Hot Springs stood out on the list. It was only 20 minutes away by air car. I hired a driver to take us to the hot springs. A few people were already there lounging in the shallow pools. We selected a spot and changed into bathing attire in a nearby cabana.
Persephone changed her attire, in a blink of an eyes time. One second she was wearing a dress, the next she was in a one piece black bathing suit. We waded out into a shallow pool. I thought that it might feel relaxing, after all that had happened to me recently. I was gravely mistaken.
"Temperature 108°," flashed in my mind. Not to hot, it should be relaxing. Amber and Jewel seemed to enjoy the sensation, luxuriating in the hot water. I barely felt it. It did not have the relaxing feeling, it once had. I remembered how the hot water use to warm my muscles, relaxing me. I only had the sensory input that my cybernetic parts sent to my brain. I felt out of place.
"I remember visiting places such as this. They use to give me great joy. Now like you, all I feel is emptiness."
"I thought coming here would make me happy. I was mistaken. Too much of me has been turned into a machine. I cannot even feel the simple joy in relaxing in the hot water."
"There are other ways to experience pleasure, like when you are piloting your Marauder. You are still human, that has not changed."
Persephone started entertaining Jewel and Amber by morphing her body into different forms. Some of them were very funny, others were scary, like her appearing ready to give childbirth. At one point she was even holding a newborn infant for them to see.
I needed some time to myself and walked off to deal with my feelings. I didn't want to be with anyone right now. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
****
"It's a rogue droid, capture it."
I was hit with some sort of neuralyzer. My arms and legs went dead, as well as every other cybernetic implant. I was dying, and couldn't do anything about it.
"Wipe its memory, we can reprogram it later."
For a second I thought I saw Thanatos, then everything went black.
"I can't remove this pendant. It's fused to his chest," the hunter said.
"Don't worry about it. We will be compensated enough with the sale of the droid."
****
The ore that the freighters brought in needed to be broken up before it could be refined. That was the job that I was given along with several other androids and robots. The lumps of material ranged in size from a few inches to several feet. Two of the more heavily built robots used a jackhammer to break up the larger rocks, I was given a sledgehammer, to further reduce the pieces. No piece over three inches was allowed to be sent to the processor, where the material would be converted to fuel to supply the artificial sun of the world above.
I struck the stone with my hammer. It made a loud thud but refused to be broken. I hit it two more times, before being rewarded with a crack and several small chips flying from it. Now that its outer layer had been cracked, reducing it further would be much easier. I hit the rock a few more times, satisfied with the rubble that was once a large chunk of ore.
My assistant, a dainty droid perhaps once a sex bot, collected the rubble in buckets that she carried. She carried them to a waiting mining cart and emptied them. We had two cars filled, and eighteen remaining. We would not be allowed to take a break until they were all filled and ready for shipment.
Any dallying would be dealt with by an electrical shock delivered through our collars. One punishment from the overseer droid was enough to ensure compliance. The Unit designation for my partner is Persephone. Somehow she remained clean and neat unlike me. My clothing was in tatters from the manual labor we performed. Unlike her I did not have a unit designation, nor did I have any memories predating my assignment to this facility. Persephone watched over me and made sure none of the other droids tried salvaging parts from me when I was deactivated in my rest cycle. Maintenance and repairs were not a common practice in this facility. It was up to the droids here to salvage parts from weaker units to keep themselves functional. Lesser non-functional units were used as salvage for repair. Replacement units were always available at auction.
****
"Mr. Gordon you have to help us. Nathaniel disappeared. He was with us two weeks ago at the Bregga Hot Springs, when he vanished. We haven't heard from him, or seen him since then," Amber begged.
"What can you tell me about his disappearance?"
"He was with us while we were enjoying the how water. I don't think he was enjoying himself as much as he had hoped. He walked off to sort out his feelings and never came back. Persephone disappeared too. She was entertaining us then suddenly vanished."
"Have you been in contact with her?"
"Yes, she is our ships AI. She is watching over Nathaniel but doesn't know his location. She said that he has also lost his memory."
"Hunters! He has been neuralyzed and memory wiped. Can you tell me anything about his location? Anything may help no matter how trivial."
"I only know that he spends most of the day breaking rocks with a hammer, with little time to rest, and no food or water. His implants are keeping him alive, but won't do so much longer without nourishment and time to rest. He is still part human."
"He must be in one of our ore processing facilities. They are operated largely by machine. I think hunters may have mistaken him as a rogue droid. I will get our men on it right away."
****
We were past midday, and I only had seven of our ore cars filled. I was running out of energy but didn't know why. I was a machine, wasn't I? I had an empty feeling inside of me, a need for something, but I didn't know what. I only knew that If I didn't catch up, there would be no break for me or Persephone.
"Unit, you are working much to slow. Perhaps you need another taste of the collars incentive?"
"No Overseer, I will do what is needed to make my quota."
"I will help."
Blue arcs and electric fire erupted from my collar. My body reacted with spasms and convulsions. I tried screaming, but couldn't. Smoke filled the air around the collar as
my skin burned. Pain filled me for what seemed an eternity, before suddenly stopping.
"The next time, I catch you dallying, it will be off to the scrap pile with you. At least there your parts may continue to be of service. Now get up and back to work! These cars must be filled on schedule."
"Damage superficial, releasing nanites, estimated time for repair is 67 minutes. Energy levels low. Fluid level low. Seek nourishment and hydration." I got back to work breaking up the ore, trying to work double time.
"Persephone, I am in need of hydration and nourishment. I do not know what these things are or how to seek them. I am afraid I will cease to function shortly."
"I will do what I can to help you."
She filled one of her buckets partway with hydraulic fluid, for the jackhammers, and added powdered ore to it. She mixed the contents with her hands, forming a fluid sludge.
"It will not taste very good, but it may help. "They use this ore to power their artificial sun, perhaps it can power you too. It is mostly tritium. I will do what I can to make it more appealing."
A goblet appeared in her hand. She poured the foul sludge into it and handed it to me.
"Drink this." I took the goblet, inside was pure clean water, not the brown sludge she poured into it. I drank the refreshing water greedily. It seemed to satisfy my needs for now.
"Help is coming, we will soon be free."
I resumed breaking up the ore, working as fast as I could. I didn't want another one of the overseer's encouragements. The thought of my components being used as spare parts for other machines horrified me. The liquid nourishment that I drank helped me to keep working at a furious pace.
"That is the unit we seek, free him and bring him to me," Gordon ordered. The overseer removed my collar and dragged me to Mr, Gordon. I was only partway through my rest cycle and still exhausted. I dropped to my knees, as I was programmed, "Service to Nevis is my pleasure."
"You are the one called Nathaniel?"
"This unit does not have a designation," I responded.
"You have been mind wiped. I am afraid there is little I can do to help. Your companions are worried about your well being. Come with me."
I followed, as ordered, strangely I felt concerned about my partner not being allowed to come with us. I was led to an air car and taken to a starship. Two Human females were there waiting to greet me. I bowed and knelt before them.
"Service to Nevis," I gave the programmed greeting.
"What is wrong with Nathaniel?"
"The hunters who captured him, mind wiped him and reprogrammed him. I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done to restore his memory. I will make the appropriate compensation for his unfortunate erasure."
Amber and Jewel rushed me to sickbay, Doc placed me in an autodoc and began running diagnostics, I was in the machine for a very long time, before he let me back out.
"I've treated Nathaniel for dehydration and malnourishment. He needs to eat and drink plenty of fluids. His cybernetic digestive system was able to process the ore and hydraulic fluid that Persephone fed him, and use it to fuel him. His nanites have been replenished, and injuries healed. There is nothing I can do for his memory loss." Hopefully, he will recover some of his memories in time."
Jewel and Amber took me to our quarters, where they cleaned me, changed my clothing, and put me in bed. I didn't feel tired, but still quickly fell asleep. The next morning, Amber and Jewel were excitedly talking to Persephone. I didn't know how she got here, but I was glad she wasn't in the ore processing facility any longer. I hadn't been given any instructions, so continued to lay in bed.
"Nathaniel, Persephone has an idea on how she may be able to restore your memory," I stared at Amber and Jewel blankly. They hadn't given me any commands yet.
"We thought we might have lost you forever."
They showed me their birth control crystals. They were white, indicating that they had been deactivated.
"Doc gave us a hormone boost to ensure we would ovulate and get pregnant. He can't wait to be a grandfather. He's the happiest we have ever seen him. Ready or not, its time to make some babies, twin boys, and twin girls. Don't screw it up, or we will have to do it all over again."
This time I was given an instruction. "Service to Nevis is my pleasure," I gave the appropriate response.
"Service will be made to us, not Nevis."
"As you command."
"Amber, Jewel, you two are absolutely glowing," Persephone remarked. "Are you ready to begin restoring Nathaniel's memory?"
"He can't dodge the bullet any longer. We're pregnant."
"I am so happy for the two of you. Let's begin his restoration process."
Time froze around our cabin. Amber and Jewel were allowed to watch but prevented from any interference. "Astrea, Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, come to me," Persephone called.
Astrea appeared, along with three other women; one old, one middle-aged, and one young and beautiful. A tall heavily muscled man, with black hair, mustache and beard, dressed in a simple dark blue robe also appeared.
"Hades, I did not call upon you."
"But, I still heard your voice. It has been a long time since I last saw you, or heard your lovely voice. Will you be returning home soon?"
"Alas, for now, I am bound to the mortal world. The Sirens three murdered me and destroyed my body. I have only recently come back from death, in the form of this starship's AI."
"A story I wish to hear in more detail when you return. For now, the sisters will feel my wrath." He vanished.
Clotho took a handful of chaos from her bucket. It was a thread like substance of every color, constantly changing and swirling. She took the chaos and began pulling and dividing it until she was satisfied with its quantity. She pulled the mass thinner and began twisting it into a thread, which she fastened onto the bobbin of her spinning wheel. She pumped its pedals, making the spinning wheel turn faster, and faster. As the thread was twisted, she pulled it into the thickness she desired and allowed it to spool onto the bobbin. When her spinning was complete she handed the thread to her sister fate.
Atropos took the thread and eyed it carefully, looking between Nathaniel, Amber, and Persephone. She measured the thread checking it twice over before making a cut.
<
br /> "That is quite a long thread," Astrea commented.
"For a mortal, it is quite long, for a god, it is short, for Nathaniel, it is just right."
She handed the string to Lachesis. "Normally I would weave this thread into the tapestry of life, where it would remain until returned to chaos after mankind has ended. This is a unique situation, and requires something different, I think. Nathaniel lives, yet he isn't alive. He was born Human, yet is more machine. It is hoped that with this new thread, he will live again."
She reached into Nathaniel, and placed the string of life within him. The three aspects of fate vanished. Persephone was next.
"I hold most of Nathaniel's memories within me. When I merge with him, we will become as one, sharing all of my thoughts and memories. With Astrea's help, we will try to make those memories, that are his permanent, restoring him."
Persephone laid on the bed with me. Her body joined mine, and we merged as one. Astrea placed her hand on my forehead, concentrating on making the memories that flowed into me permanent. Synapses that had been cut when my memory was erased, were restored, and many new connections were made.
Memories flowed into me. I saw my life, being replayed in my mind. I absorbed each memory, remembering it. Many of the memories were my own, but not all of them. Some were ancient, belonging to Persephone. I felt her joy, when she walked amongst my ancestors, helping those who both needed and deserved her aid. I also felt her sorrow, as man turned away from the gods to worship a new one god. She and Astrea were the last of the gods to leave the Earth and humanity.
I also relived the memory of her death. The three Sirens, who were once her companions and protectors turned on her and murdered her. They used Zeus's thunderbolt, stolen from him, to reduce her to nothingness. I felt the pain she felt as her body was consumed by its energy.
My memory was restored, and much more. I now knew things that no mortal should. Persephone and Astrea tried to filter out those memories, but couldn't. Both of our lifetimes flashed before my eyes, I recorded every memory, much like she was able to. I was Nathaniel once again, and I was more. I now held all of Persephone's memories as well as my own. This time they were permanent and would not leave me.