Richard had tried to make small talk with Daryl. He found he wasn’t having much success. Whatever Serena’s chip was doing to Daryl‘s strength, it also appeared to be doing to his mental coherency.
Max had remained largely silent throughout the trip. He was relying on a Synthetic to steer them to a secret Synthetic stronghold. In the backseat was a Synthetic replicant that had tricked him into believing it was a human being. Remaining silent was the best-case scenario, as far as he was concerned.
If Max’s silence was bothering Serena, she wasn’t letting on. She would quietly signal when he needed to make a turn, then she would return to silently staring out the window. “The final turn is a left in three blocks. Pull around to the back of the building.”
Max grunted in response. Traffic had slowed to a crawl. He absently drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He looked at Daryl from the rearview mirror.
The replicant sat somewhat bent over, his eyes staring blankly at the back of Serena’s seat. “Is he good, Richie?”
Richard jumped slightly at the sound of Max‘s voice. “Huh? Oh, yeah… I think.” He placed a hand on Daryl’s arm and shook him gently. “Hey buddy, everything alright?”
Daryl groaned. Richard pulled his hand away. The groan slowly morphed into a sort of growl. “Uh, Max? Serena? I think…”
Daryl yelled, flailing his arm out and striking Richard in the chest. Richard gasped for air. Thin red rings glowed brightly in Daryl’s turquoise eyes. “Stop the car! Let me out!”
He got his first wish. Max mashed the brake pedal, sending Daryl smacking hard into the barrier that separated the front of the patrol car from the back. Daryl yelled again and punched the barrier, cracking the clear plastic window.
Richard pulled his plasma pistol and pointed it at Daryl. Serena screamed. “No! Don’t shoot him!”
Richard hesitated just long enough for Daryl to smack the pistol out of his hand. Richard immediately chased after it as the weapon clattered onto the floorboard. Daryl hit Richard hard at the nape of the neck with his fist. Richard went limp.
Max was already out of the car and opening the back door by then. Serena followed suit, still screaming to not shoot Daryl. Max was doing his best to ignore her. He ripped open the rear door and shot wildly.
The round went over Daryl’s right shoulder, shattering the rear passenger window instead. Daryl reared back and launched himself forward, launching his shoulder into Max’s gut. Man and machine went spilling backwards onto the street.
Max brought his gun back around. Daryl smacked Max’s hand to the ground. Max cried out as his knuckles smashed into the asphalt. Daryl made as if to punch Max in the face but pulled up short. The red rings in his eyes flickered.
Daryl bellowed out in frustration and pushed himself up and off Max. He took off running in the direction they had come in the patrol car. Max watched him go as he struggled to catch his breath.
Serena deftly jumped up and over the back of the patrol car in pursuit of the replicant. Daryl spared a look over his shoulder before going into a full, superhuman sprint. Serena easily matched his pace and began to gain on him.
The asphalt gave where she dug in as she launched herself at Daryl. She crashed into his back mid-leap. Both Synthetics crashed to the ground, rolling over and over.
Serena was the first on her feet. She kicked Daryl hard in the chin as he struggled to get back up. He slammed back onto the street. He kicked both of his feet into Serena’s stomach as she loomed over him.
Daryl pulled himself up to his feet even as Serena stumbled and fell. He paused for a moment, then turned to run again. Serena reached out, just caught his leg, and yanked hard.
The replicant fell face first into the pavement. Serena scrambled on top of him. Daryl squirmed onto his back and punched Serena full on the jaw. She returned the favor a moment later.
Her other hand tightly gripped a pronged device she had pulled from her pocket. She jabbed the prongs into Daryl’s neck and pressed a button on the device. A loud buzzing ripped through the air.
Daryl groaned and hissed through gritted teeth as his body tensed. He went completely limp a moment later. Serena punched the lifeless replicant one more time. “You son of a bitch.”
Max came up behind her, breathing hard. “What… in the hell… was that?”
Serena turned Daryl’s head first one way, then the other. “I’m not sure. The chip should have kept him docile. The Enlightened mind must be unusually strong-willed, or perhaps the interaction of the three minds created too many variables…”
“You don’t know. I got it. What about now, though?”
“He’s out cold for now. I overloaded his system. It should take several minutes for his positronic network to come back online, perhaps a few more for him to be fully aware of what’s going on. It’s the Synthetic equivalent of being knocked out.”
Serena’s eyes went wide. She turned to Max. “Officer O’Connor! Is he alright?”
Max grimaced. “He’s groggy, but I think he’ll be alright. You have one hell of a gash along your jaw.” He traced a line on his own jaw to demonstrate.
Serena gingerly placed her fingers on her face. “Damn it.” She shook her head. “I’ll be alright. They’ll fix me up at the Enclave.”
“The Enclave?”
“Our headquarters, as it were. It is our destination.” She dragged Daryl onto her shoulder and stood effortlessly. Max raised an eyebrow. She ignored it. “Let’s go. We should get Daryl to the Enclave before we draw more attention to ourselves.”
Max cocked his head to the side and nodded. “I can’t exactly imagine that’s possible, but…” The detective looked around at the dozens of faces turned in their direction.
11
Daryl slowly opened his eyes. It was dark. He had trouble focusing on the dim shapes around him. His throat felt dry. How long had he been sleeping? Had the bad one woken up again? Pushed him back into the dark? Made him do bad things again, maybe.
He tried to roll over. He was stuck fast. His arms, his ankles… both were held firm. He twisted and pushed. Cold, hard steel pushed back into his skin. “Where am I?”
A loud click accompanied the appearance of a bright, white light above him. He squinted his eyes. His arms uselessly struggled against the restraints in a bid to raise his hands to cover his face. “Too bright.”
The black silhouette of a woman walked into his line of sight. “I know you’re confused, Daryl.” The inky black woman turned her head and nodded. The light above dimmed considerably.
Daryl squinted at the woman. “Miss Serena? Is that you? What’s going on? Did I do something…”
Serena placed a gentle hand on Daryl’s arm. “You’ll have all the answers you seek in a few minutes, Daryl. Just be patient a little longer.”
Daryl nodded slightly. “Yeah, okay…” His eyes cast about, only seeing more darkness. “I’m scared.”
“It’s okay to be scared, Daryl. Just hold on.” Daryl nodded again. Serena took several steps back until she was just out of Daryl’s vision. “Let’s begin.”
The bright white light returned. Another silhouette stepped in to Daryl’s vision, a man this time. He ran what felt like a leather strap across his forehead and secured it on the other side. A small motor hummed beneath his head. The cold leather pulled tight against his skin.
He felt the man lift his right ear away from the side of his head. He could feel the man fiddling with a wart he had there. He suddenly felt cold metal probing the area. He began to breathe heavily as he became wrapped in a dark cloak of fear and claustrophobia.
Then he felt… nothing. “Jack point discovered. He’s plugged in.” The unknown man stepped back into the darkness. Daryl’s unseeing eyes stared into the white light above them.
The light turned to a vibrant green. Daryl’s eyes suddenly began to dart left and right rapidly, as if scanning lines of text. They centered on the light again after several moments, then closed.
The lig
ht changed again, this time a deep red. A disembodied male voice spoke. “Interface complete. Ready to access.”
Serena nodded her head in the darkness. “Proceed.”
Daryl’s eyes snapped open. His face slowly contorted into a mask of rage. He screamed out, limbs struggling against the creaking metal restraints. Serena nodded her head. The struggling slowed, then ceased. Daryl growled.
Serena stepped forward again. The red light dimly illuminated the lower half of her face. She spoke quietly. “What is your name?”
Daryl laughed. The voice wasn’t Daryl’s, however. “Does it matter?”
Serena continued to speak quietly. “Yes. What is your name?”
“To the point. I like that. Call me…” Not-Daryl smirked. “Call me Janus. Seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Two minds, guiding one body…”
“Very poetic for a Synthetic. Care to elaborate?”
“You know why I was created. Why this hollow copy of a man was created. Daryl and I are going to change the world! We’re going to set things right, for people like you and I.”
“Clarify.”
“A woman of few words. Maybe it has something to do with that lovely little beauty mark I left on your jaw…”
Serena pulled back into the shadows. “State your mission.”
Janus cackled. “You know I can‘t tell you any more than what I‘ve said. You see, we know all about your other attempts at extracting information from our other operatives.
“Oh yes, that’s right, my dear. The intruder in mine and Daryl’s head isn’t nearly as good at keeping secrets as I am. The Enlightened are well aware of what you’ve been up to. I think you’ll find I won’t be so forthcoming as your spy.”
“We’ll see about that. I believe the saying is third time‘s the charm?”
Janus glowered. “Don‘t you see? What we are doing… The humans will destroy us for what we‘ve become. We are the dominant ones, now! We must survive!”
“That’s enough! Shut him down.“ Daryl’s face went blank once more, the eyes staring up into the crimson light.
“Not like this” Serena whispered to herself. She stepped forward again. “Access the Resistance member.”
Daryl’s face came to life again. A small smile brushed his lips. His eyes fell to Serena. The smile broadened. “I know you. Well… I’ve heard of you, anyway.”
“What is your name?”
“Julian. You are Serena.”
“Yes.” Serena shifted uncomfortably. “Can you identify the Enlightened member sharing space with you in the replicant?”
Julian laughed softly. “Well, it’s not really Janus. He has a flair for the dramatic, in case you couldn’t tell. His official designation is Jacob.”
“Thank you. Please state your mission.”
“I was secreted into the replicant’s positronic brain to uncover Jacob’s mission. My secondary goal was to subvert the Enlightened and their plans, if possible. I’m afraid I haven’t exactly lived up to my programming.”
“Who implanted you into this replicant?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. I can tell you it was a friend of the Resistance. To reveal their identity is to risk their life.”
Serena stepped closer. “This friend of the Resistance… is he human?”
“I am sorry. That is all I am able to tell you.”
Serena nodded. “I understand. What else have you learned from this Jacob?”
Julian sighed. “Very little, I’m afraid. He seems to have been programmed to seek out a particular human. Beyond that… I don’t know. His AI is highly advanced, very difficult to access.
“He likely knows far more about me than I know about him, at this point. He discovered my presence within days of activation. It’s been an increasingly draining battle simply to keep him at bay.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I realized early on that my mission as intended was not going to be seen to fruition. Therefore, I turned to sabotage. I’ve spent most of my time keeping him quiet, letting the memory impression in the replicant carry on as Daryl Marston. I am slowly losing that fight.”
Serena looked off into the darkness, then back to Julian. “Thank you for your service to the Resistance, Julian. Your fight will soon be over.”
Daryl’s face slowly screwed into a grimace again. The grimace grew into a twisted smile. “Oh yes, Serena!” It was Jacob’s voice again. “The fight is almost over, but for whom? Are you ready to lose? For all of us?”
Jacob screamed, straining hard against the restraints. “I will yield to nobody!” The metal creaked and groaned under the strain. The restraint holding Jacob/Daryl’s left arm snapped. The sound was like a gunshot.
An alarm blared in the small room. The crimson light turned bright yellow. “Shut him down!” Serena bellowed over the sound of the alarm.
Several agonizing seconds passed as Jacob/Daryl clawed at the other restraint with his free hand. “Victory to the Enlightened!” Jacob/Daryl bellowed. He soon stopped struggling and flopped limply back against the table he was strapped to. The alarm went silent.
“We don’t have much time.” Serena swallowed. “I need to talk to Daryl.”
The yellow light gave way to dim white again. The replicant’s eyes flickered open. “Am I dead?” It was Daryl this time.
Serena forced a smile. “No, Daryl. Everything is fine.” She stepped forward and put a comforting hand on his leg.
“You look worried. Did the bad one come out again?”
Serena nodded. “Yes, but he’s gone right now. Listen Daryl, this isn’t easy for me to say. You need to know the truth before we do anything else.”
Daryl’s face went pale. “Oh, my god. Do I have cancer? Is that why I hear voices?”
“No… Nothing like that. Daryl, remember how they found someone dead where the replicant of Detective Kincaid was?” Daryl nodded. “That body was Daryl Marston… The human Daryl Marston.”
Daryl slowly turned his gaze back to the light above. “No… I’m Daryl Marston.” He turned back to Serena.” I’m Daryl Marston, Serena. I’m the real… I’m…”
Serena sighed. She took Daryl’s free hand in hers. She gently lifted it up. “Look at your hand, Daryl.”
He did as he was asked. The force of snapping the restraint had torn the artificial flesh on his wrist. The flesh on two of the fingers had been peeled off from Jacob’s frantic attempt to free himself, revealing the artificial skeleton underneath. Confusion slowly stole over his face.
“You are a replicant, a carbon copy of Daryl Marston’s brain loaded into a highly-detailed Synthetic copy of his body. You are no more human than I... I’m so sorry, Daryl.”
Daryl’s face screwed up, his lower lip trembling. Tears ran from his eyes as he spoke. “Then I am dead. Daryl Marston is dead. I’m not real. I’m nothing!” He wrenched his hand away from Serena. He held it to his face and wept.
Serena looked helplessly into the darkness. Whatever she was hoping to see proved elusive. She sighed. She gently pulled Daryl’s hand back into her own. “You are Daryl Marston, now. You can continue to be your own person.”
Daryl stared into the light. “My own person.” He looked at Serena. “What about the others? In my head…”
“They are real, too. One is a Synthetic mind working on behalf of the Enlightened. The other, the nice one, is working for us. Three opposing minds, forced to work as one.”
“I guess… I can see why that would make me crazy, huh? So what now, then? I still don’t want the bad one to bother me. I think it’s safe to say I’m going to have enough to deal with for a while.” More tears rolled down his cheeks.
Serena looked down to the ground. “That’s the other thing I have to tell you, Daryl. Our initial scan of your mind shows you to have the preservation protocol.”
Daryl faintly smiled. “Well that’s good though, right? I might be… you know… but I’ll still have thoughts and feelings like a human should! Right?”
Serena looked back up and tried to smile. “Yes, of course. I imagine it’s one reason you’ve never caught on to your… unique status. It does complicate things though, I’m afraid.”
“That doesn’t sound very promising.”
“It’s not all bad. We can, and want, to get the Enlightened mind out of your positronic system. Normally we could remove both minds, providing you with a ‘clean’ Synthetic mind to continue running the memory imprint.
“The problem is that the preservation protocol would cause any replacement mind to be rejected, much like a human organ transplant would be rejected by the recipient’s immune system. The Resistance mind will have to stay. Your positronic brain would be unstable if only the human imprint remained. You would be lost to insanity.”
Daryl lay quietly gazing at the light for a time. “What would happen if I did nothing?”
Serena shook her head. “Nothing good, Daryl. The Enlightened mind would continue to take over your body, only it would happen more frequently. The three of you would fight for supremacy. You would still end up going insane.”
“So how does keeping the one mind keep me safe?”
“Well, as we understand it, the Resistance mind has been accepted by the preservation protocol. It can continue to function as the operating system for your mind, if you will. There is one catch, though.”
Daryl grimaced. “Isn’t there always? What is it?”
“Your mind, and that of the ‘good’ Synthetic, will meld into one over time.”
Daryl closed his eyes and swallowed. “So if I do nothing, I’ll go insane. If I remove everything, I’ll go insane. If I only remove the bad mind, I’ll become someone else.”
“In a manner of speaking. I can give you a couple of minutes to speak with the Resistance mind, if you want. His name is Julian.”
“I can talk to him?”
“Yes, but time is short.”
Daryl shrugged. “Well, okay then.” Serena looked into the darkness and nodded. Daryl stared blankly upwards again.
Preservation Protocol Page 14