The Sentient Corruption (The Sentient Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian Williams

  A fierce pain erupted throughout Stanley as he staggered backwards. He clutched his chest as though his heart were threatening to explode and fought against a sudden urge to vomit. The sensation of burning passed over him while the merging continued, until he could see his skin begin to give off a glow of its own. After only a short while his body had already given a majority of its appearance over to a cruel lie. He no longer looked like a human at all, but he was a whole lot more Sentient looking.

  He now understood exactly what he had missed before then; that he was to take the form of the enemy in order to infiltrate their world and bring it down from the inside, like an infecting virus to a host.

  “Yes, you will fool them all, Stanley,” Isaac said. “They will let you in with their arms and hearts wide open.” He took Stanley by the arms and turned his head at an angle as he studied his spy over. “I hope you understand the gift I have given you here. I would not trust any other with this power over our enemy. In fact, only you could do this for me. Even I could not wear their faces like this.”

  Stanley need not say a word in reply, he already knew his body had changed beyond recognition. It was already too late to stop his metamorphosis. Although, he was yet to see any of it as a gift and not a worrying deviation from his own humanity. That moment would come eventually, he knew. Until then he had to face his own period of hardship before his eventual salvation.

  If he was required to destroy every last Sentient in this strange land, then he would gladly oblige. Perhaps his ultimate reward would be the return of his human image? He did not believe many others would be granted the same when the next phase of Isaac’s war finally began.

  “Go, Stanley, and bring me the heads of all who stand against me. The Sentient monstrosity will cease to exist on this day,” Isaac proclaimed to the rest of the room.

  * * *

  Upon returning to the basement the group immediately disbanded and settled down in their own small areas. Graham stuck close to Phoenix and Rhys, who saw the room where Jack worked as their temporary home. It gave them a degree of isolation that greatly suited them all. For Graham it was now a place to rest while his head throbbed and his imaginary friends continued to talk incessantly between themselves.

  By such a late time in the afternoon it was also Jack’s place of work too. He had been hard at it since they arrived back – as some had noted, without any supplies at all too. This new piece of gadgetry that Jack tinkered with required an even more hectic mess of tools and junk it appeared. His collection had grown considerably in the time he had been alone in there, and now threatened to cover every centimetre of space.

  While sitting against the side wall, his arms resting on his knees, Graham watched the way Jack concentrated solely on the task in hand. The only thought going through his head, with each turn of the screwdriver Jack made, was of how much his own mind had slipped since waking from the coma.

  As the screw tightened even more he considered where the limit would eventually prove to be. Would his mind finally give up and fall apart altogether at some point, or would he be stuck with a concert of voices inside his own head, so many that even his own voice would be lost among them? Two extra voices were already becoming too much, any more would surely break him.

  Phoenix and Rhys had stepped out for a short while to inform the others of the fruitless venture outside. Even though partly true, they told of a worrying run-in with an enemy patrol that had them pinned down for a while. They had not mentioned anything about their meeting with Luke and the other Sentients. The time to discuss that was fast approaching, but had not arrived just yet.

  Proving to the normal everyday families hiding out there the existence of good AIs that wanted to help end the war was looking like an uphill battle. Doing the same with Clement and Captain Rigs, on the other hand, would be a whole mountain to climb in comparison.

  Taking Susan along for the trip was the only real success of the day so far, in Graham’s mind at least. She had recorded everything that happened. Her recording was worth a thousand times what words alone were. He certainly did not like the idea of having to tell them what he had been through to get there, and he expected Phoenix felt the same way too.

  “OK, I get that fixing us is going to be difficult. But don’t they owe it to us to at least try?” the younger Graham said while pacing the room. “I mean, they’re the ones that caused it after all.”

  Graham’s other personality leant against Jack’s table, the latter completely oblivious to the discussion going on around him. “There’s two wars going on against Isaac and winning one will only doom the other to fighting alone. We’re all better off fighting together.”

  “Fine, then we fight together. But what if it all goes wrong? What if we attack together and Isaac wipes us all out? Maybe we should be trying to find a way of breaking Isaac’s control over his soldiers instead.”

  “Will you two please just shut up for a minute,” Graham snapped at them both.

  The outburst brought Jack spinning around in his seat in surprise. He looked to Graham and then to the wall opposite, trying to locate who he talked to. Without the use of the Orb device the two extra Grahams were again invisible to everyone else. Understandably, his reaction after seeing no-one else there was one of confusion. “You OK?” he asked.

  “What?” Graham replied.

  “The voices in your head talking too much?”

  “Oh. I'm fine. They’re just…never mind. What you working on?”

  Jack returned to his work. “Not entirely sure. I think it's some kind of electronic interference device. It's got radio parts and a junk data module. I guess you turn it on and it does its thing. To be honest it could be a bloody music player, for all I know.”

  The younger Graham pointed to the corner of the room and quickly ruined the moment of ease. “Erm, G. It’s happened again.”

  Graham peered across the room to the corner behind Jack’s table. He had not seen anything out of place while listening to the other two chatting away. Yet when he leant to the side he caught a quick sight of another person. I don't believe it, he thought the moment he saw the young child sitting there and playing with a handheld gaming system. It was another him, this time one much younger, he guessed around eight years old.

  “He just appeared,” the older imaginary Graham said.

  The other him, as usual, had a more emotional response. “We’re getting worse. Best we give up now and save anyone the trouble.”

  It was getting too much for Graham to keep under control. Another voice in his head would only complicate things further. At least the child version of him was happy enough to be ignored for now. He only hoped the game he played would keep him occupied for a while yet. The last thing he needed was for another personality to begin interfering.

  He sat back against the wall and allowed the two other versions to again start a lengthy rant about the worrying state of things. They were really only an extension of himself, so the anger they felt was his too. They were just better at voicing their feelings than he ordinarily was.

  A reprise came in through the door a few minutes later, bringing him a little light as well from the lamp just outside the door. Phoenix waited for Graham to look her way before she then spoke. “Hey, how you doing?” she said.

  Graham replied with a stretch of his legs out in front of him. “All things considered, pretty shit really. I’ve gained another new imaginary friend.”

  “So it’s still getting worse. That sucks.”

  “Sucks like a pro…” Graham’s younger friend said.

  The other Grahams all returned a look of ‘really’ to the younger version’s crassness.

  “Come on, Graham. We’re pretty sure Captain Rigs is about to speak to everyone.” Phoenix stood aside to give Graham a clear view of the rest of the basement.

  Captain Rigs was standing halfway up the staircase with Gregson and Watts beside him. They were speaking to themselves in a huddled formation, which to anyone observa
nt enough to have noticed them would have considered conspiratorial in nature.

  “Let’s not get involved,” Graham said. “Just let them all talk it through first, then we can go to the Captain with what we’ve learnt.”

  “You sure it’s even worth talking to him about it? Gregson must have told him what she saw by now. We only need to tell Luke when to launch their attack. We can do that without getting in the Captain’s way and risk pissing him off.”

  “I guess you’re right. Captain Rigs has so far ignored everything I've tried to tell him about Isaac anyway. He’s only interested in the shield and the relays.”

  “He can’t ignore Gregson though, can he?”

  “Let’s hope not.”

  They all turned toward the main room of the basement as Captain Rigs called for everyone’s attention. He stood leaning against the railings of the stairs with Gregson and Watts behind him for support. When a woman tried to pass them on the steps to reach the control room, Watts gently directed her back down again. For now, the stage was theirs to command.

  Now the Captain could begin his recruitment process.

  “Thank you. Now, I know our arrival has caused a few problems here,” Captain Rigs began, “and I want you all to understand that your survival is all we care about. I appreciate that hiding down here is what has kept you alive all this time. But hiding isn’t always going to save you. Some of you have told me how few of you there now are. Only a few days ago another group was found and taken, and that all happened over the course of one night.

  “So, my question is this; do you all believe you could fight off such a thing here, or would you fall as quickly? You all have to ask yourself this question, and don’t let anyone sway your decision. We need to be brutally honest, otherwise we’re leaving our lives to fate alone. And don’t for one second think fate is on our side. It’s not.”

  A door swung open at the top of the stairs and out through it came an outraged Clement. He stopped at the top of the stairs and eyeballed the three soldiers below him. The impromptu meeting called without his knowledge was the first shot in a fight between him and Captain Rigs, one that had now escalated.

  “What are you playing at?” the red faced Clement interrupted with.

  “I’m only speaking the truth. These people will not be safe down here forever,” Captain Rigs replied.

  “You just don’t quit, do you? Whatever you’re planning on doing, you’ll have to do it alone. I thought I’d made that clear to you.”

  “You did. But you’re wrong.” Captain Rigs returned to speaking to the rest of the basement. “My team were sent here to do a job, and hiding underground was not it. All that is keeping the rest of my people out of this fight is that shield. Bringing it down will allow help to arrive. That is why I am here. But I can’t do anything without help. You see, destroying one relay at a time, as you have been doing, is not enough. We need to take them all out, and all at the same time too.”

  “I honestly didn’t believe you were this bloody stupid, Captain,” Clement said. He then took his turn to address the waiting crowd. “Don’t listen to this madness. If we try and take out too many of these newer relays at once we risk exposing ourselves. Destroying all fourteen of them would be damn near impossible, and would certainly end in more deaths. The Captain here will get you killed. Taking them out one by one, guerrilla style, is the only way.”

  “If you’re too afraid to fight then that’s fine. But don’t–”

  “Fuck you!” Clement took a full step toward the Captain only to find himself facing two raised pistols.

  “Back off, mister,” Gregson ordered of him.

  “Don't hide behind those.” Clement appeared unfazed by the apparent threat and stepped closer still. “I’m not afraid of fighting. I wasn’t when I watched my wife being beaten to death in the street, like a fucking animal.” By now Clement was spitting fury. “I wasn’t when those bastards nearly broke my neck trying to hold me back either. Don’t you dare pretend that you’ve a single fucking idea what I or any of these people have been through to make it this far.”

  “She isn’t joking, Clement. Neither am I. So just back off,” Captain Rigs said. He then returned to his speech, leaving Clement to grind his teeth behind them. “Listen to me when I say that fighting back is the only real way you have of getting out of here alive.”

  A single voice called out from the middle of the crowd that brought the Captain’s attention back to them. “We were fine until you came here,” a woman shouted out.

  Then another joined it a second later that said, “You go fight then. We have families to think about.”

  “Please, I know what I propose carries risk, but if you do nothing then it is simply a matter of time before they find you all. We have a real chance of taking the enemy by surprise here. With the shield down, even if for a short while, the rest of our forces will be able to swoop down and take back the city.”

  “Yes, because that worked well the first time, didn’t it, Captain?” Clement took command of the discussion in the same brutish way that had undermined Captain Rigs the last time. “None of you can fight with these people. You aren’t trained to fire a weapon or set up explosives. The relay we destroyed was with the help of the few here that are capable enough. The rest of you have to stay here and protect your families.”

  Someone else shouted from the gathered group listening below. “He’s right, we don't know how to fight back.”

  “But you won’t be alone in this fight,” the Captain said. “We plan on asking for the help of these other survivor groups too. Together we could all succeed.”

  “It’s reckless, that’s what this is,” another called out.

  “Yeah, you’re gonna get us all killed,” yet more said.

  To their surprise the next voice appeared to stand alone. “I want to fight.”

  Everyone froze and searched for this one voice. Eventually a gap formed around a single person. Captain Rigs smiled from ear to ear as he spotted the man too, someone he had no doubt spoken to behind Clement’s back.

  But soon others stepped forward or raised their hands too. The numbers were slowly turning against Clement now. In a short amount of time the Captain had almost twenty volunteers.

  “You can’t be serious,” Clement said, clearly deflated by the sudden betrayal.

  “The Captain is right; we can’t hide like this forever. The sooner we fight back the sooner we can all get out of here,” one of those with their hand raised said.

  “And what about the rest of you, are you going to follow the Captain too?”

  No-one said a word this time. Those who were joining Captain Rigs all lowered their hands and became the ones looking about them for others. From a room filled with almost 90 people, twenty-three were now intending to join the fight. The rest were staying put.

  “Will no-one else step forward?” Captain Rigs asked. His initial positivity had soon evaporated away. The end result was still enough for him to work with though.

  “There you have it then.” Clement had a bigger smile on his face. He had won the war between them by a large margin. “Whatever we can spare is yours to take, Captain Rigs. As soon as you’re ready to set off I suggest you do so quickly, because we don’t want you here anymore.”

  Captain Rigs sent a scathing look of contempt at his rival. He kept his eyes locked on target even as Clement returned back through the door and into the control room. When the door closed again he reformed his huddle with Gregson and Watts, to discuss the next appropriate move. With a team of people under his command once more, he had the pieces he needed to finally carry out his orders.

  “That man is so angry.” Graham looked down between him and Phoenix to find the child version of his personality standing there, the games system hanging by his side. “Are we going with them too, Mister?”

  Unfortunately, yes, he thought in reply.

  Chapter 20

  Inside job

  Graham knocked lightly on the d
oor to the control room and waited to be called inside. He peered through the glass window at the side and saw how much of the room was now dedicated to Captain Rigs’ planning process.

  There were large sheets of paper spread all across the work stations with pencil drawings and rough notes all over them. A collection of old maps sat in a pile in the corner too, ones much less detailed than the relay attack plan really required. They were making do with a woefully lacking set of tools. The usual tech the three soldiers relied on using had never recovered from the EMP blast.

  “Come in,” Captain Rigs called. When he saw Graham enter he straightened up from his hunched position leaning on the table and set down the pencil in his hand. He had been expecting the conversation well before Graham had arrived.

  “Can I have a word?” Graham asked.

  “Give us the room please.”

  Everyone else quickly cleared out to leave only Graham and the three soldiers still there. Gregson remained in the corner by Watts, who kept his attention on the radio system he was using to contact the other survivor groups.

  “So, Mr. Denehey, care to explain what you’re really doing here? And please, no more bullshit,” Captain Rigs said.

  “I assume Gregson told you about our trip out?”

  “She did indeed. She also showed me Susan’s recording.”

  “Then you realise now that there’s more than just our survival at stake here.”

  “Forgive me, but these Sentients, why are they against Isaac? Why don’t they join him in this fight? They are the same as him, after all.”

  “They’re nothing alike, Captain, I promise you. These beings are peaceful and just want to live their lives without interference. They fight because Isaac wants them destroyed too. He’s only interested in complete control, and anything that’s not part of his plan is an obstacle to be overcome. They’ve been fighting Isaac way before this started for the rest of the city.”

  “And how do you know so much about them?”

  “I’ve been in this for a while too. I should have died a few times already. But I didn’t, and that’s down to them. I know it sounds like I’m making this all up, but things aren’t as simple as you and everyone else thinks. The Sentients are in this war with us. Until now they’ve been alone, before I contacted them.”