The Magnificent Cyborg

by Honey Phillips

“Actually, it was pretty slow. You see, we were married back on Earth, back before he became a cyborg.”

  “I want to hear all about it, but do you mind if I run some tests while we talk?”

  Cherry nodded reluctantly and lay back on the table. To her relief, other than drawing a small quantity of blood, Addie’s tests consisted of nothing more invasive than running a variety of instruments over her body. She kept up a gentle flow of conversation as she worked, exclaiming in surprise as Cherry told her about her history with Wyatt.

  “And he didn’t remember you at all?”

  “No, it wasn’t just me. As far as I can tell, he must have lost about six months’ worth of memories.”

  Addie frowned and tapped her chin. “I can’t believe they would go to all that trouble just to erase a marriage. There must be something more to it.”

  “Do you think it was deliberate? Not the result of an injury?”

  “It’s not a side effect that I’ve ever heard about before. Usually, the process of becoming a cyborg repairs any damage that was done to the body. I wonder if he’ll let me examine him?”

  “Since he was so eager for you to look at me, I don’t see how he can refuse,” she said dryly as she sat up. “Do you mind if I change now?”

  “Of course not. Would you like to take a shower?”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful.”

  Addie showed her to the bathroom and left her while she went back to check on the test results. Cherry stepped gratefully under the stream of warm water, half-expecting her side to flare up, but she only felt a slight increase in the temperature of the area. She cautiously smoothed soap over the wound, washing away the last remnants of dried blood, but she could already see the differences even in the short time since Addie had first urged her to look at it.

  Part of her was thrilled by the change. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that it would make her invincible, but the increased ability to care for herself and those she loved was a huge benefit. She did wonder what would happen if word got out. However, as she dried off and dressed again, she decided that it was a foolish concern. Wyatt loved her and that wasn’t going to change. And the other people she cared about? They would be equally unconcerned. No one else’s opinion mattered to her.

  She finished dressing and pulled her hair back into a braid, then grinned at herself in the mirror. She suspected that Kami would be disappointed by her plain outfit, but she felt a hundred times better. When she rejoined the others, the look of appreciation in Wyatt’s eyes made her feel as beautiful as if she had been dressed in one of her finest gowns.

  “And you don’t know if there are any others?” Sam asked Wyatt as she joined them.

  He shook his head. “I wish I knew. GenCon may not have been successful in creating human-looking cyborgs, but as far as I can tell, they’ve done a good job in giving them skills equivalent to ours. They’re strong and they’re fast.”

  Sam frowned thoughtfully. “The one we encountered before said that he had paid GenCon a lot of credits for the transformation. There can’t be that many men willing to pay to undergo this type of change.”

  “That assumes they know what will happen to them,” she pointed out. “And that they’re not desperate.”

  “Wyatt said that you knew this one.”

  “I did.” She sighed, not enthusiastic about talking about her past, but if the information would help, she didn’t really have a choice. “Tony definitely had the money. His family is very wealthy—and not entirely legitimate.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Do you mean they’re criminals?”

  She refused to feel ashamed. She had done what she needed to do. “I mean they’re strong and ruthless and people who get in their way didn’t tend to last long.”

  “And how did you know him?” Sam asked.

  “That doesn’t matter,” Wyatt said impatiently.

  She ignored him. “I was married to his uncle.”

  Sam’s face didn’t change, but he rubbed his chin. “If organized crime is involved in this, we may be in more trouble than I thought.”

  “I don’t think that’s why he was here. He said that he had a falling out with his father. If Vincent withdrew his protection, Tony was probably facing serious jail time and he would have been desperate enough to look for a way out.”

  “That sounds like the same story as the other man,” Sam said thoughtfully. “I wonder if they’re looking for rich men in danger of going to jail and offering them an alternative.”

  “That makes a certain amount of sense,” Addie said as she rejoined them. “GenCon has invested billions of credits into this project. Making their victims pay to be experimented on is actually rather clever. In an evil, twisted way, of course,” she added hastily.

  “How did the tests turn out?” Wyatt demanded.

  Addie smiled at him. “Everything looks just fine. I’m so delighted that it worked.”

  “Thank God. I didn’t know what else to do.” He shuddered, and she tucked herself closer against his side.

  “Cherry told me about your memory loss,” Addie said. “I’d like to examine you as well and see if I can find the cause.”

  “It’s not a problem any longer.”

  “Not for you,” she agreed. “But I think we need to know if the military has developed a way of controlling cyborgs—and if they’ve passed it on to GenCon.”

  “Controlling?”

  “Why else would they remove your memories?”

  “Because I discovered that some factions of the military are eliminating people—innocent people whose only crime is being poor and unlicensed,” he said grimly.

  “What? Are you sure?” Sam demanded.

  “Oh, yes.” Wyatt turned to her. “The night I left you, I was injured in an explosion. An explosion set off by our own military.” His hands tightened over hers. “I was saved by a group of rebels, but they didn’t trust me—and rightfully so. I believed all of the propaganda about unlicensed people being a burden on the system. They held me captive as I healed, and I came to realize just how desperate they were. They were going to let me go, Cherry. I should have left right away but I wanted to do something to help them first.”

  His face looked haunted, his eyes staring unseeing into the distance. “It was just going to be one mission before I came home to you, but we were betrayed. They died.” He laughed bitterly. “But I guess I was still useful to the military. They… experimented on me until I couldn’t remember what had happened. Until I couldn’t remember them or you. I’m so sorry I didn’t come back to you.”

  Despite the pain his loss had caused, Cherry couldn’t blame him.

  “I understand,” she said softly. “I know you had to try and help those people.”

  Sam rose to his feet and started pacing. “I spent my entire life serving. The military I knew would never have condoned such a thing.”

  “I had never encountered it before,” Wyatt agreed. “But maybe I didn’t see it because I didn’t know to look for it. Someone is pulling the strings.”

  “I still have contacts, high-level contacts, on Earth. I have to tell them about this.”

  Wyatt nodded. “I don’t know if it’ll do any good, but I think you should talk to them. Just tell whoever it is to be careful. I suspect this goes a long way up the chain of command.”

  Sam gave a fierce grin. “Don’t worry. I’d back my general against any of those bastards.”

  He strode over to the communicator but just as he reached it, a chime sounded to signal an incoming call. Sam looked at the display and swore.

  “GenCon is calling.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Wyatt nodded at Sam as they all stared at the communicator.

  “Answer it,” he said grimly.

  “S—” Sam barked into the microphone.

  A woman responded in a cool, icy voice that he recognized immediately. Serena Gatling, the Managing Director of GenCon Martian Operations.

  “Judge, you may rem
ember that I mentioned calling in a favor at some point in the future.”

  He and Sam exchanged a silent glance.

  “Yes?”

  “The future has arrived. I am in need of your assistance.”

  Sam looked almost as astonished as Wyatt felt. He found it hard to imagine a situation where Serena would ask for help.

  “What do you want?” Sam asked.

  “I am currently being detained in my office against my will. I believe a rescue is in order.”

  Her voice hadn’t changed, still cool and unconcerned, but he thought he heard the slightest hint of apprehension.

  “What the hell are you doing?” a male voice interrupted, and he caught the faint sound of a struggle.

  “Get your hands off me.” Serena’s voice was no longer composed.

  “Who are you calling? Who is this?” the man’s voice demanded.

  “This is judgment.” Sam cut the connection.

  “We have to help her,” Addie said immediately.

  “Not we, my love. But yes, I’m going to help her.”

  Sam looked at Wyatt and raised a brow. “Are you coming?”

  “Yes, of course.” He turned to Cherry. “I want you to stay here.”

  She bit her lip, then gave him a reluctant nod. “I understand.”

  “You and Addie start calling the other cyborgs. Tell them what’s going on.” He managed a smile. “I know you’re good at calling in the cavalry.”

  “I try my best.” She returned his smile, but it looked as uncertain as his. Unable to resist, he swept her into his arms and kissed her, trying to convey his love and his promise to return in the press of his mouth against hers. When he lifted his head, there were tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away and smiled again. “Take care of yourself, my husband. Come back to me.”

  “I promise.”

  Sam had mirrored his actions but he released Addie and the two of them headed outside at a run, whistling for the horses. Kami appeared alongside the animals, her eyes searching Sam’s face.

  “What’s wrong, Daddy?”

  “I think Auntie Seena is in trouble,” he said gently. “We’re going to help her.”

  “Can I come?”

  “No, little one. I need you to stay here and take care of your mother.”

  She drew herself up proudly, her little shoulders squared.

  “I can do that.”

  “That’s my good girl. We’ll be home as soon as we can.”

  Sam gave Kami a hug and a kiss and then vaulted into the saddle. Wyatt was already astride, Maverick quivering beneath him as if he recognized the urgency of the situation.

  “Let’s ride,” Sam called, and the horses took off.

  “Have you considered the possibility that this is a trap?” he asked as they reached the desert and picked up speed.

  “It’s possible,” Sam agreed. “But I don’t think so. Certainly not an intentional one. I know Serena works for GenCon, but she has her own sense of honor.”

  “Do you think that voice we heard was one of the hybrids?” He couldn’t imagine Serena asking for help against mere men.

  “There’s no way to be sure, but that’s my suspicion. What I would like to know is if it was one, how many others are there?”

  “We could wait for backup,” he suggested, even though he hated the thought of any female in the hands of one of those abominations.

  “Morgan is the closest,” Sam suggested. “You could swing by there while I head for town.”

  “So you can rush in and save the day by yourself?”

  Sam grinned. “Exactly.” Then his smile faded and he shook his head. “I can’t shake the feeling that we need to get there as soon as possible.”

  The same feeling of urgency was riding him.

  “Agreed. We stick together.”

  The horses flew across the desert, but despite the uncertainty of the situation, his mind kept slipping back to Cherry and the return of his memories. How could they have made him forget her? He had fallen in love with her the moment he met her at that party in Dallas, even though he refused to admit it to himself until their weekend together was coming to an end. When he impulsively asked her to marry him, he had expected her to refuse. He had been surprised and delighted when she agreed instead.

  The brief period of their marriage had been the happiest time of his life but the connection they had now, forged in pain and shared hardship, felt deeper and more significant. He was never going to lose touch with that again.

  As they approached New Arcadia, Sam slowed the horses.

  “If they have taken over GenCon, it’s possible that the city is now under the control of the hybrids. It would be foolish to go rushing in without knowing the situation.”

  “I agree. If I were in their place, the first thing I would do is set a watch on every entrance.”

  Sam rubbed his chin. “In addition to the two main airlocks, there’s a third entrance to the supply depot. They might not have thought of that one.”

  He shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

  New Arcadia had been built across the base of a canyon. The canyon walls formed two sides of the city and made it easier to deploy the artificial dome that provided oxygen to the inhabitants. Both ends of the city opened out into the desert through the large airlocks, but the entrance to the supply depot was tucked to one side beneath a rock overhang. They skirted the edge of the city and made their way to the entrance.

  A set of massive double doors were used for loading and unloading, but they ignored them and headed for the smaller door to one side. They dismounted and, with Wyatt covering him, Sam cautiously opened the door. Nothing stirred and there were no sounds of alarm. Leading the horses, they made their way quickly through the small airlock and out into the supply depot. Moving silently, they edged around shelves loaded with supplies for new settlers and headed for the exit.

  “About time you showed up.”

  The gravelly voice from behind them had them both whirling, their guns ready. Cyrus, the supply master, stared at them, his grizzled face unconcerned.

  “What do you mean, Cyrus?” Sam demanded. “Were you expecting us?”

  “‘Course I was. There’s trouble, right here in New Arcadia.” He spat on the ground. “Bunch of white-faced new guys showed up, throwing their weight around.”

  “How many?” Wyatt asked.

  “Not sure. I seen three, maybe four. Hard to tell. They all have the same frozen kind of faces.”

  Three or four? He supposed it could be worse. “Where did you see them?”

  “One at each entrance. They ain’t letting anybody leave. I saw another one at the market and one at GenCon headquarters later.” He shrugged. “But could’ve been the same one.”

  He and Sam exchanged glances. The odds were not in their favor unless they could take them out individually, but if they couldn’t keep the battle quiet, they would reveal their presence as soon as they fought.

  “I think we should head for GenCon first,” he suggested, and Sam nodded.

  “Good idea,” Cyrus agreed. “I’m kinda worried about that lady.”

  Wyatt stared at him. “You mean Serena Gatling?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one. Nice lady.”

  This gruff old man thought that the cool, unapproachable Serena was a nice lady?

  “Really?” He couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice and Cyrus scowled at him.

  “Yeah. Always nice to me. And I reckon she’s been hurt pretty bad in the past.”

  “You may be right,” Sam said unexpectedly. “She’s the reason we’re here.”

  “Last time I walked through town, there was one at the front door.” Cyrus cackled. “But I reckon he don’t know nothing about the back door.”

  “What back door?” he and Sam asked simultaneously.

  “Utility door. Used it to sneak in things they didn’t want anyone else to see. But I see everything.”

  “You certainly do,” Wyatt agreed. �
��Can you show us?”

  “Reckon so.”

  Cyrus turned and hobbled off, moving with surprising speed as they left the horses in the depot and fell in behind him. He considered the possibility that this too could be a trap, then discarded the notion. Cyrus might be full of surprises, but he didn’t think that betraying his fellow humans was one of them.

  They ended up skirting the edge of the city, making their way along a narrow passage that separated the buildings from the rock walls of the canyon until they were almost at GenCon headquarters. Most of New Arcadia was composed of hastily assembled buildings in a wide variety of materials, usually covered by the prevalent orange dust. The GenCon building was an exception. Neatly stacked building modules in gleaming white metal made an imposing display against the red walls of the canyon. A wide plaza separated the building from the main street, and his heart sank as he took in the white-faced figure prowling in front of the door.

  “Round there, to the left,” Cyrus indicated as he handed Sam a small electronic key. “You won’t see the door but it’s the fifth module. Just press the button.”

  “How are we going to get across there without him seeing us?” he asked.

  Cyrus cackled again. “You just leave that to me.”

  He disappeared back the way they came as they exchanged a worried look.

  Wyatt shook his head. “Do you think he’s going to do something foolish?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  Even as Sam spoke, they heard a disruption on the main street. A minute later, Cyrus staggered into view, waving a bottle, and giving a remarkably accurate impression of a drunk. He swore incoherently as he headed for the hybrid. The man straightened and stalked towards him with an odd, stiff-legged gait.

  “Now’s our chance,” Sam whispered, and they darted along the edge of the rockface and dove in behind the building.

  He looked back just in time to see the hybrid take a careless swipe at Cyrus. The old man went flying and crumpled to the ground. Rage filled him, and he took a step in that direction before Sam caught his arm.

  “We’ll get that bastard later. Don’t let Cyrus’s efforts be in vain.”

  He managed to force down his anger and follow Sam. At the fifth module, they pressed the button on the electronic key. For a moment, nothing happened, and his pulse started to race despite the efforts of his nanites, but then there was an almost silent whoosh and a panel slid to one side. They hurried through into a large storage area and Sam closed the door behind them.