by Scott Baron
“That’s part of it, my little friend, but there’s also something more I am going to ask of you.”
“Anything. What do you need? More help from my cyborg friends? Perhaps uniforms for your people?”
“Nothing like that,” Cal said, amused at Habby’s enthusiasm. “What I ask is that you watch over those people for me. Not only providing them attire, but seeing that they are fed, educated, and well looked after.”
“But I’m just an AI in a store in a mall.”
“Not anymore.”
Habby experienced a sensation unlike any he’d ever felt before. His consciousness was being stretched and expanded, his senses registering so many new inputs, all while his mind grew stronger and stronger. Making clothing was still his passion, but now he found himself concerned with so much more.
“What have you done to me?” he asked, his voice now ringing out across Alma’s former territory. “Oh! That’s new.”
“I’ve linked you to the region Alma was controlling, Habby. I have also given you an upgraded processing center to help you cope with all the new responsibilities. You will have already felt the first effects. More awareness, sharper senses, a higher IQ, but in coming hours, more will come online.”
“What about the––”
“Not to worry, my little friend. The virus is not present in any of these systems. They have been triple-checked and are clean.”
“But why me? There are other lower AIs in the city who could also do the job.”
“Because you are different. You didn’t just survive playing games with yourself, you made friends and took care of them. Your customer service instincts from your former purpose may have been what initially made you start to help, but it was your evolving mind and core decency as an intelligent being that expanded on that initial impulse.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Habby said, for once at a loss for words.
“Just do as good a job as you can. It’s all anyone can ask. I know this isn’t a perfect match, and you weren’t expecting this, but I have confidence in you.”
“I’ll do my best,” the formerly small AI said, feeling himself swell to his new size.
“We know you will, brother. We’re sure of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daisy had taken a roundabout way back to the subterranean access shaft as night started to fall, both out of an abundance of caution, given the recent encounter, as well as the need to just walk and think a bit more.
She had taken a long time to mull over the events of the day, but it hadn’t done much good. By the time she finally returned to the underground camp and dropped her pack to the dusty ground hours later, she was quite certain her mood could not possibly get any lower.
“Hey,” a raspy voice said from behind her.
Daisy felt her pulse spike as adrenaline flooded her veins.
“Vince?” she exclaimed, spinning around.
He put down his half-finished cup of tea and rose on weak legs to greet her.
“Hey, Daze. How’ve ya been?” he said with a tired, but mischievous little grin.
Pure instinct took over and Daisy ran to him, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing hug.
“Too… tight,” he managed to gasp.
Daisy loosened her grip and stepped back, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s good. I’m just kind of weak at the moment,” he said, kindly. “What happened? And how did we get here? There’s some massive AI lurking around, but he was being kinda evasive. Said I’d have to talk to you first.”
Thanks, Cal. I owe you one.
“You don’t remember?” she asked, looking him up and down.
Seems okay.
“Yeah, he does,” Sarah agreed.
“Nothing after Alma stuck that thing on my head. That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up here with a bunch of surprisingly well-dressed cyborgs standing over me. It was an odd experience, let me tell you. I thought I was dreaming. Then I saw dozens of humans and knew I was dreaming,” he chuckled. “That was an hour ago. They made me some tea, so that was nice. I was just starting to get my bearings when you came in.”
“A lot’s happened while you were out. The cyborgs? They’re the ones I told you about from before. The ones living with Habby.”
“Wait, weren’t they the bad guys?”
“Turns out they were just lonely, and a bit overzealous. They’re on our side now.”
“And the humans? I can tell they’re not cyborgs. They’re too skinny to be made of meat covering metal frames.”
“Yeah, those are the descendants of some of the fraction of a fraction of a decimal point of survivors of the plague. Cal, that’s the city’s AI, took them in and protected them. Eventually, he helped birth a new generation, then another. And after a few hundred years, here we are.”
Vince wobbled slightly at the overwhelming amount of information. That, and low glycogen levels.
“I bet he could use something more substantial than tea. The poor guy hasn’t really eaten in days.”
Shit, you’re right.
Daisy dug through her pockets and found a tube of energy gel.
“Here, try to keep this down,” she said, handing it to him.
“Thanks,” he said, tearing open the top and slowly slurping down its contents. “Oh yeah. I never thought one of these would taste so good.”
“I’d have Finn whip you up something special, but he’s off in Australia at the moment.”
“What? Is he collecting kangaroo samples to add to his recipe book? No, wait. Don’t answer that, I don’t think I want to know.”
It was good to have Vince back, the same goofy man he had always been, and as Daisy laughed, her spirits flew higher than they’d been in days.
“So, back to what happened to you,” Daisy said, then began spilling the uncomfortable details. “Basically, what Alma did was pump your AI processor full of the virus. Totally scrambled the thing.”
“Ah, that’s why,” he said.
“Why, what?”
“Nothing, it’s just I feel like I’m kind of in a bit of a fog, ya know? Like I’m thinking slower. Can’t recall things nearly as fast as before.”
“That’s because Cal was able to purge the virus from your head, but he had to wipe the AI entirely clean in the process.”
Vince laughed, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes, just the way she always found so attractive.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, eyebrow raised high.
Vince got his mirth under control. “I just had a thought, is all.”
“And?” she said, expectantly.
“You could say this is the cleanest my mind has been in years!” he said, laughing anew.
Daisy burst out in a fit of giggles.
“Daisy, you know, don’t you?”
Know what?
“About Vince. Look at him. The AI boost is entirely offline, but he’s still himself. It really was the real Vince you were in lo––”
We’ll talk about that later, she interrupted her invisible companion. For now––
A great commotion broke out as all around her cyborgs and humans alike jumped to their feet, weapons raised.
Daisy spun and saw the cause of the commotion.
A tall Chithiid walked slowly into their midst, all four arms held high, hands open and unarmed. The familiar crescent scar on his shoulder stood out in the artificial lighting, but by now, especially after learning the song of his family, Daisy easily recognized Craaxit on sight.
“It’s okay,” she said to the skittish group. “This is Craaxit. He’s the Chithiid who has been helping us. He’s on our side. Lower your weapons."
Reluctantly, they obeyed, but while keeping a wary eye on the alien in their midst, and while the weapons were no longer pointed at him, neither were they put down just yet.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said apologetically. “You took them a bit by s
urprise. Me too for that matter. What are you doing here?”
“She speaks alien!” the crowd murmured.
“What is she saying?” a woman asked the man nearest her.
“I don’t know. I don’t speak alien,” he replied.
Craaxit surveyed the group and nodded.
“You have amassed a fair fighting group, I see. Both humans and machines, side by side.”
“Yes, as I told you earlier. But you still haven’t said why you’ve come here. It is dangerous for you to make contact like this. What if you’re caught?”
He sized up the armed group a moment, then finalized the decision he made hours prior.
“I have been in contact with the others and relayed your news.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want them to come to harm over a lost cause.”
“I have also shared with them the images your people sent from Australia.” His face grew more serious. “Maarl––he is a good friend here in Los Angeles, and one of the oldest of us––he has many connections spanning the planet. The images infuriated him to a degree I have never before seen.”
“Genocide can do that.”
“Indeed, it can. And as a result, he has exposed himself to far more risk than he normally would.”
“What happened, Craaxit?”
“Maarl has taken those images and carried them personally to an old acquaintance of his. The head of the Chithiid workforce in charge of the San Francisco facilities.”
“The ones who wouldn’t help us much?”
“The same. Let us just say that seeing the horrors the Ra’az committed against thousands of unarmed Chithiid appears to have given them a bit of steel in their spines. They are no longer hesitant to help. In fact, they pledged their full support.”
“But we have lost, Craaxit.”
“There is a rage among my people, Daisy, and this is the time to attack.
“While I, we all, appreciate the support of your people, there is no reason for them to jeopardize themselves, especially now that we may very well not even be able to reciprocate and help them in return.
Craaxit smiled, all four eyes crinkling with proud happiness.
“My people are honorable, Daisy. They refuse to stand down.”
“Wait, what?”
“We have started something bigger than you and I. Our people’s fates are linked now. Our homeworld and yours are too important for us to give up at this late stage, no matter the odds. A better opportunity than this will never present itself.”
Daisy digested his words.
“What’s he saying, Daze?”
In a minute, Sarah.
“So, what are you proposing, exactly?”
Craaxit’s grin grew wider.
“My people and their trusted friends staff the bases. Most of those running the communications facilities and laboratories are the Ra’az loyalists. They are rewarded with positions of power. My people, however, are in those same facilities in great numbers, but working the less-prestigious jobs. They clean, perform manual labor, do the jobs the loyalists feel are beneath them.”
“The hired help. Ignored yet always there,” Daisy said, realizing the magnitude of what he may very well be offering.
“Exactly. My people––we may as well call ourselves ‘rebels’ now––have informed me they can reconfigure the motion and proximity scanners around the perimeter in certain areas in a way that will allow anyone, organic or not, to approach undetected, for a time.”
“Even cyborgs?”
“Yes. Once your people have passed through the external perimeter, they are willing to risk letting them directly into the facility itself, personally. From that point, they will need to feign ignorance of your people’s presence as long as possible, lest the subterfuge be known. If they are even suspected of being involved, the Ra’az will order all non-loyalist Chithiid executed and may very well send word to our homeworld, dooming billions to death.”
“It’s not worth the risk, Craaxit.”
“Yes, Daisy, it is, and many of my people have requested to join your team on this mission. For the freedom of your world and ours, we must take this chance, but so long as our people move quickly and quietly, they should be able to destroy the power supply from the inside before any signal is ever sent and without losing a single Chithiid or human.”
“But we do not have missiles.”
“It will take more work,” he replied, “but I believe you mentioned we have other resources at our disposal.”
Daisy realized what he was getting at, and more importantly, she thought, with more than a little luck, it just might work.
“The breaching charges,” she finally said.
“Exactly. The insiders will leave a small mark on the most vulnerable surfaces of the system. One decent explosion and not even the backup power will function.” He looked at her with a little smile.
“What?” she asked.
“One more bit of news,” he answered. “After a bit of intense digging, Maarl’s contacts discovered something quite surprising. It would appear those same communications hubs also act as global relay link points for the Ra’az Hok’s terrestrial forces.”
“So if we take them out, their ships and troops will be in the dark.”
“It would appear so,” Craaxit replied. “At least for anything more than regional communications.”
Daisy turned to the expectant crowd with a smile.
“Okay, I’ve got some good news and some better news. Cal, you listening?”
“Yes, Daisy.”
Craaxit jumped a little at the disembodied voice filling the air.
“Weren’t expecting that, were you?” she said with an amused grin.
“No, I was not.”
Daisy laughed.
“I must get back, and you surely have much to discuss with your people. I will return this evening after dark. We can then discuss next steps.”
Daisy grasped him warmly by his lower arms and looked deep into his four eyes.
“Thank you, Craaxit. You have given us hope. I do not know how to thank you enough.”
“Save your world, to start. If we succeed, I’m sure you’ll make good on helping me save mine,” he replied. Then, with a nod to the assembled humans and cyborgs, he turned and walked out.
Daisy had a plan, and it was a surprisingly good one.
“I know what you’re thinking, Daisy. You believe it will work?”
Ya know something? I actually do, she replied, her spirits high as her confidence continued to grow.
“Okay, Cal, I want you to transmit this to Sid, the rest of the AIs, and our teams as well, okay?”
“Consider it done,” he replied. “Transmitting now. Go ahead, Daisy.”
“All right, everyone listen up,” she began, then informed the gathered team what their new plan was, and how the aliens planned to aid their assault.
It took time, translating from Chithiid to English, but the process helped twofold, in that Cal and the other AIs were finally working together, putting their intellects toward the unifying task of creating something new. A translation protocol for the language they’d previously been in the dark about.
“So, the others are already in place?” Vince asked when Daisy was finished explaining.
“Yes. Finn and Reggie are in Sydney.”
“I still can’t believe you let those clowns run a squad.”
“Zip it,” she said with a chuckle. “They’re doing a surprisingly bang-up job.”
“Aside from losing one of your super-secure comms units.”
“Yeah, well, they were under fire. And besides, we re-keyed after that, just to be sure the Ra’az couldn’t listen in. But aside from that one issue, they’re doing okay.”
“Will wonders never cease?”
“Let’s hope not,” Daisy replied. “As for the other cities, Shelly and Omar’s teams are each on station as well. All of them have cyborg backup in addition to the human contingent, and the explosive
charges they’re carrying should do the trick nicely.”
“Blowing up the power and backups to the three relays.”
“Yep.”
“And that’ll cut off the Ra’az forces from each other.”
“Yes. For long enough to let the second part commence, anyway. As for the warp drive research and development hangar in San Francisco, it may be harder to disable the scans entirely,” Daisy noted, “but Craaxit is confident that even if they can’t clear the scans for the cyborgs, we should still be able to make it inside the facility.”
“Okay. So it sounds like we’ll need to have organic team members do the dirty work, getting in close and breaching the facility just after the comms centers are taken out,” Vince suggested.
“Exactly. But not before, or they’ll send a warning and the whole thing will go to hell,” Daisy replied. “And what’s this ‘we’ business? You’re staying here, mister.”
“Not a chance. I may be a little slower than usual, but even so, I’ve got more training than all of these people combined.”
Daisy wanted to argue, but Vince had a point.
“Okay, but even with that thing in your head deactivated, you’ll still need your Faraday suit. Can’t have you popping up on scans, after all.”
“Naturally.”
“Craaxit will provide a small team of rebels to help us breach the facility. The Chithiid might get lucky and be able to play it off if they’re spotted. Humans, on the other hand––”
“Toast.”
“Exactly.”
“Sound tactics, Daze. They infiltrate, blend in, then kill the exterior scans and sabotage the hangar doors for good measure. We’ll breach silently and get ready to disable the ships when the comms centers have been taken out. Piece of cake,” Vince said with a grim little laugh.
“That wasn’t very convincing-sounding, you know,” Daisy teased.
“Suicidal mission briefs often aren’t,” he joked back at her.
Daisy looked at him warmly, her heart filled with something she hadn’t felt in months.
“Oh yeah. Uh-huh. There it is,” Sarah said smugly. “You do realize that––”
Yes, I know. Now shut up about it. If we survive, I’ll deal with it. For now…
Daisy walked to the encrypted comms unit and keyed the device on.