The Immortality Game

by Ted Cross

  “With this body it’s not a problem.” Bunny scooped up Tyoma and walked carefully through the gore until he passed the silent war bot and reached the lift. The panel next to the lift flashed an indicator to show that it had registered his presence. Bunny relaxed to wait for it to arrive. He saw that Tyoma was studying him.

  “We’ve got to come up with a new name for you. Bunny doesn’t feel right, and I’m sorry but I just can’t call you Tyoma. What do you think about Xax?”

  Bunny chuckled. “I’m not a wizard.”

  “Well, think about it. Xax has been our character for years. If you have a better idea…”

  “What is it?” There was a look on Tyoma’s face as if he’d been struck with a thought.

  The lift arrived and Bunny got on.

  “Sorry,” Tyoma said, “it’s Javier. He’s asking for our help.”

  The lift began to move even though neither of them had told it where to go.

  “Javier?”

  “There’s so much I haven’t had time to tell you about yet. He’s a new friend.”

  The lift didn’t go far before it stopped and the door opened. Bunny shifted Tyoma in his arms and got off. The blond mobster that Viktor had called Tavik was there, the rifle slung over one shoulder. He scowled at Bunny.

  “This has been one long, shitty day,” Tavik said. “Your ugly face is the last thing I need to see. Out of the way.”

  Bunny stepped aside and Tavik got onto the lift.

  “That way,” Tyoma said, pointing.

  As he walked, Bunny made a decision and caught Tyoma’s eyes. “I can’t really explain why, but I think I’d prefer to be called Bunny for now. I’ll think up something better later.”

  “Okay, Bunny it is then. I’ll get used to it.”

  When they reached a cross-corridor, Tyoma pointed to the right. They could see several figures on the floor all the way down near the lift. “There they are.”

  “Who are they?” Bunny said as he trudged forward.

  “One of them is Javier’s son, though I believe he’s dead.”

  As they drew near, Bunny saw two med bots hovering near the blood-soaked body of a man. A young woman huddled nearby staring down at the man. She didn’t appear to register the presence of the approaching pair.

  “Stop here,” Tyoma said.

  “What does Javier want us to do?”

  “Just a second. I’m talking to him right now.”

  Tyoma had never seen the girl and the dead young man before, but he nevertheless felt a deep sense of loss as he studied the woman’s face. It was clear she’d been deeply traumatized.

  «I’m sorry, Tyoma, but you need to hurry,» Javier said. «The police will be here soon.»

  «But why take them to our place? Aren’t the police best suited to deal with them?»

  «Can we please talk about this as we move? I have good reasons. A stretcher bot should be here any moment.»

  Tyoma looked over Bunny’s shoulder and saw the stretcher gliding down the corridor. “Javier wants us to take them to our compound. Set me down and get the body onto the stretcher.”

  Bunny stepped aside as the stretcher bot whisked by and stopped near the corpse. He carefully set Tyoma down on the carpet, then knelt between the med bots to scoop up the dead man and place him on the stretcher. The young woman yelped and fell back against the wall, a hand raised protectively as she stared wide-eyed at Bunny.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Bunny said. “We’re here to help.”

  «Sorry, Tyoma, I forgot,» Javier said. «The last time she saw that man, he tried to kill her.»

  «Crap, thanks for telling me! What’s her name?»

  «Zoya.»

  “Zoya!” Tyoma said, waving an arm to catch her attention. “He’s not going to hurt you.”

  She flicked her eyes at him before turning them back to Bunny.

  “I swear. He isn’t the man who attacked you before. My name is Dr. Artyom Grachev. This boy’s father has asked us to help you. Get you someplace safe.”

  Zoya looked at Tyoma again and shook her head, but said nothing.

  «You must move now or the police will have you!» Javier said. «You’ll need to take the freight elevator. It’s down the hall all the way at the other end.»

  Tyoma reached out and tapped the stretcher bot. “All of you, get going. That way, to the freight elevator.” He pointed the direction. “Bunny, please pick me up.”

  Bunny frowned and looked at Zoya, then stood up and hefted Tyoma in his arms.

  Tyoma turned his attention back to Zoya. “Please come with us. It’s dangerous to remain here.”

  Zoya didn’t move. Her body was trembling and her eyes seemed feverish.

  “Get me closer, Bunny.”

  Zoya had one hand up as if to ward off a blow. When Tyoma got close enough, he reached out to take it. She tried to jerk it away, but feebly, so he grasped it harder and gave a gentle tug. “Please. You’ll be safe once we get you out of here.”

  «Tell her about Irina.»

  «Who?»

  «Irina. One of her friends. Tell her Irina is safe and we can take her to her.»

  Zoya wasn’t budging. “Zoya, we’re going to take you to your friend Irina.”

  At that her eyes cleared and she looked at him. He saw a mixture of doubt and hope in them.

  “Come,” Tyoma said. “Irina is safe, and you’ll be with her soon.” He tugged again and this time she allowed herself to be drawn to her feet. “Slowly,” he said to Bunny, and they set off after the three bots.

  «Okay, we’re moving. You said you’d explain.»

  «Take the freight lift all the way to the bottom. Your colleague, Dr. Sakaev is waiting there with his air car.»

  «Kostya? He’s all right?»

  «He’s fine. I’ve already briefed him.»

  «Well brief me then.»

  They arrived at the freight lift and joined the bots on board. “All the way down,” Tyoma told the elevator and it began its descent.

  «I’ve got my son on life support in the hopes that his mind isn’t damaged.» Javier said. «You’re going to scan his mind data.»

  «You want us to bring him back? That’s—»

  «I’m part of your team now. I’ll contribute more to the advancement of your projects than you ever dreamed. But you must do this for me.»

  «We have no empty crèches…»

  «Kostya tells me you have several clones of each of you at different ages. You can afford to free up two of them.»

  «We’d have to kill two of our clones?»

  «They have no minds yet; it isn’t murder.»

  «Two?»

  «Yes, the girl needs sleep and medical attention. When we get her to the compound you’ll put her to bed and you’ll scan her mind as well.»

  Tyoma shook his head. «Why her?»

  «Because today was the first time since I got my son off of his Mesh addiction that he’s shown feelings toward someone besides his mother. By the time his clone is ready, Zoya will be middle-aged and they won’t have a chance. I can’t force them together, but I can give them the opportunity to see what happens.»

  «That doesn’t seem ethical to me, doctor.»

  «And the work you do, does that seem ethical to you? Never mind, I don’t give a damn. This is what we’re going to do.»

  Tyoma didn’t want to argue right now. Perhaps the rest of his colleagues could back him up once they reached the compound. «And…‌after?»

  «Then we’ll do what we promised her. Contact her friend Irina and have her come get Zoya.»

  Tyoma blew out his breath. He’d long admired Dr. Saenz and had always wished he could meet him, but the idea of scanning a mind without the permission of the individual made him feel dirty. «We should tell her.»

  «She’s in shock. She’s can’t make any rational decisions right now. I doubt she can even know what feelings, if any, she has toward Marc
us at this moment.»

  The lift stopped and the doors slid open onto a garage. Kostya leaned against his air car a dozen meter away, a smile on his face. Relief flooded through Tyoma and he grinned back at his friend. “Come on, Bunny. Let’s go home.”

  Epilogue

  Marcus opened his eyes, feeling rested if a little groggy. His arms were crossed over his chest on a thin blanket pulled up to his chin. He blinked several times to let his eyes adjust to the bright light of the small room. Is this a hospital?

  Two men stepped into view, one on either side of him. Both were strangers to him. They were elderly but in good shape, as most old folks were these days due primarily to nanobot technology.

  Marcus tried to talk, but his tongue didn’t seem to want to work.

  “Don’t worry,” said one of the men. “It’s only temporary. Do you feel all right? You can just nod or shake your head.”

  Marcus looked down past his arms and noticed something strange. His belly was gone. Or rather it was flatter than it had been since he was a little boy. He had an instant cartoon image of his belly deflating after being punctured by the bullets. I must have been out a very long time. He nodded at the kindly-looking old man.

  The other man said, “There’s someone who has been waiting impatiently to speak to you for many years.” He nodded his head.

  «Hello, Marcus. I hope you feel yourself again.»

  «Papa?»

  «Yes. How do you feel?»

  «Okay, I guess. I remember being shot. I thought I was dead.»

  «You were.»

  «This is the hospital? In Moscow?»

  «We’re still in Moscow, but this is not a hospital. We are at the research compound. The one I was looking for, remember?»

  Marcus examined the old men closer. «These are your scientists?»

  «Two of them. They…we do remarkable work here.»

  A third man moved into view, dressed in a lab coat like the others, but Marcus recognized him and it made no sense. His stomach roiled at the memories of being chased by the huge gangster Bunny. And it was clearly Bunny…‌except older and looking somehow less vacant of expression. Sophisticated almost. The man caught his gaze and must have seen the panic there, because he smiled kindly and patted Marcus’s shoulder.

  “Calm down,” he said. “They told me what the original owner of this body did to you and I can only imagine how hard it must be to see me like this. We can talk about it later once you are ready. When you get your voice, you can call me Xax. I like that better than Bunny, and my original name is already spoken for.” He glanced meaningfully at one of the other scientists.

  Suddenly the last moments in The Pyramid came back in a rush. The war bot firing… «Zoya! Papa, is she all right?»

  «She’s fine. You’ll see her soon enough. You need more rest first.»

  «I’d like to see her now. Haven’t I been resting long enough?» He looked at the aged Bunny—What did he say to call him, Xax?—and his breathing became labored. «Just how long have I been out?»

  «You haven’t been out. You were killed. I managed to get your body on life support in time to prevent brain damage. It’s taken—»

  «I’m a…» Marcus looked at his flat belly again. «You’re telling me I’m a clone!»

  «Is that such a bad thing?»

  The ramifications of what had happened were roiling in Marcus’s brain. Question upon question piled up one after another. Would I rather have remained dead? «What year is this?»

  «Twenty-one fifty-six.»

  «Madre de Dios! What have you done?»

  «Calm down. I’m sure you have many questions. When you feel up to it, we can have a nice lunch and answer all of them for you. You should rest now.»

  «I don’t want to rest. Apparently that’s all I’ve been doing for, what, eighteen years? Why are you talking like this? Weren’t you going to get your new body and become a real person again?»

  «We encountered too many problems, and I have enough fascinating work to do with my friends here.»

  «Mother! We deserted her!»

  «Don’t be absurd. I was with her to the end.»

  «She’s…‌dead?»

  «She didn’t suffer at all. And she was with her friends.»

  Marcus knew what it was like in the Mesh. The machine that keeps the body clean and functioning could only keep one alive for so long. He tried to imagine what it must have been like for Mama during her final days. All he knew was that he should have been there for her.

  «What did you tell her about me?»

  «I lied. I told her you were doing well. Made up stories about you getting married, having children. Even created some nice photos to show her. She said she could no longer sense your presence. I told her she had gone too far under.»

  «She had to know you were lying to her.»

  «Perhaps. But the truth was worse, wasn’t it?»

  Marcus suddenly wanted to put it out of his head. Now wasn’t the time to agonize over his mother.

  «Tell me about Zoya.» Marcus was horrified to realize that Zoya would be middle-aged by now.

  «We’ll talk more later. You need to rest.»

  «No!» Marcus saw one of the scientists fiddling with controls near the side of the bed. «Don’t put me out now. I need answers.» The world started to fade.

  «You’ll have them soon. I am glad you’re back. I love you, Marcus.»

  “How are you feeling, Zoya?” Kostya said.

  “I’m not Zoya. You made that perfectly clear to me yesterday when I woke up to this…‌this nightmare. I’m so angry at all of you. I can’t even begin to explain how angry. You had no right!”

  “I know Dr. Grachev tried to explain it from his perspective, and I believe he informed you that most of us agree with you completely. I’m not sure he let you know just how little choice we had.”

  “Marcus’s father,” Zoya said bitterly.

  “Yes, Dr. Saenz is the one with the money, and money was the only thing keeping us going,” Kostya said.

  “It’s immoral.”

  “You’re right. We’ve done quite a few things that have pushed the edges of immorality over the past six decades, and I’ll admit what was done to both you and Marcus was the hardest for us to stomach.”

  Zoya pushed herself up in bed. She didn’t feel weak exactly, but her muscles were still learning how to coordinate properly with her mind. They had told her she could try to walk, but there was no reason to push it.

  “Do you know what it’s like for me?” she said. “It’s like waking up the morning after the worst day of my life. I can tell myself all I want that this isn’t the real me, that eighteen years have passed, but the wounds are raw. For me, my mother and brother died two days ago. My best friend was horribly murdered right in front of me. My uncle…”

  “I’m very sorry for all you’ve been through,” Kostya said.

  “Tyoma…‌Dr. Grachev…‌let slip that I’m still alive out there, but when I pressed him on it, he just put me back to sleep. I want to know.”

  “May I sit?”

  Zoya nodded.

  Kostya sat on the foot of her bed. “We did just as Dr. Saenz promised that day. You returned with us to the compound. We gave you medical care and you slept. That’s when Dr. Saenz—”

  “Could you please call him Javier? That’s what I’m used to.”

  Kostya drew a breath. “Sorry, I’m used to a certain formality with people I don’t know well. So Javier insisted you be plugged in that night, which is when we captured your mind data. The next morning we had you flown out to your friend Irina’s dacha.”

  “How is Ira?”

  “I’ll get to that soon enough. You were in a terrible state. Tyoma and I tried to insist on getting you professional help to work through the shock, but you refused and Irina backed you up. Then we found that the military was looking for you. Dr. Sae…‌I mean, Javier, relocated you and
Irina’s family to Hafnarfjordur.”

  “Haf…‌what?”

  “It’s a pretty little town in Iceland, just outside of Reykjavik. One of our colleagues was born there. He helped change your citizenship. Iceland was one of the few stable, peaceful places at the time, so it seemed a suitable location for you to heal.”

  “And?”

  “You’re doing well enough. You have two daughters.”

  “Oh my God…”

  “They’re nearly grown. One is sixteen and the other fifteen.”

  “Can I see them?”

  “We’re going to have to ask Irina. It’s difficult to say what Zoya’s reaction will be to learning she has a younger version of herself.”

  “Ira is fine?”

  “Yes, she really is. She’s been doing pottery and sculpting for years. She loves it. Iceland is a remarkably relaxing place.”

  “What have…‌I…been doing?”

  “You’ve had more trouble settling on any one thing. You flit from hobby to hobby, never really content with anything you try.”

  “And work?”

  “You haven’t needed to work. Javier has tremendous resources.”

  “Husband?”

  Kostya shook his head.

  Zoya felt a little dizzy, so she lay down again. “I feel like a toy doll Javier made to be a plaything for his son.”

  Kostya nodded. “I could see that. But no one will force you to do anything. You don’t even have to meet Marcus if you don’t wish to. And remember, Marcus had nothing to do with this.”

  “I feel bad for him. Maybe as much as I do for myself.”

  “He’s asleep now. We brought him out a day after you.”

  “He won’t look like the Marcus I knew, will he?”

  “No.”

  Zoya looked at her own body, which still felt odd. It wasn’t terribly different from her old self, except that it was certainly a few years younger. It was still hard to wrap her mind around the idea of all this being possible, but when she told that to Tyoma yesterday he dismissed the idea, saying that since the beginning of time people, even geniuses, were always saying things were impossible only to be proven wrong by history. But she had always believed in the soul, so what did this mean that there could be two of her alive? She decided that she would like to see Marcus. “Perhaps I can help him get through the shock of what was done to him.”