by J. W. Elliot
“Greyson wants to be captain,” Kaiden said instead.
Birch nodded. “He is two months older than you. But he’s loyal.”
“Loyal to TAP?” Kaiden asked.
“Loyal to his team,” Birch corrected.
“Maybe,” Kaiden said. He hadn’t forgotten how Greyson criticized him. When he was taken off suspension, Kaiden would have Greyson reassigned to another team. He couldn’t have Greyson undermining his authority. It was dangerous. Someone else could get killed.
“Flint is a geek, like Quill,” Birch continued, ignoring Kaiden’s remark. “He’s dang good with computers—the best, even better than Quill. We might need him.”
Kaiden considered Birch. This was crazy. They could all end up like Quill. But everything he thought he had known about TAP, about himself, had been thrown into question. He felt as if he were staring into a dark room, groping for any spark of light.
The only way to find out what had happened to him and where his memories had gone was to help Willow hack into the system and get the Synaptic Download files. If he could, he was going to find a way to get those memories back—all of them. He couldn’t live with this constant confusing flow of contradictory and heartrending memories.
“Okay,” he said. “But just you and Jade for now. We’ll bring in the others as we need them.”
“Best decision you’ve made in a long time,” Birch said.
Kaiden handed Birch two palm-sized DWJs. “Give one to Jade and keep one for yourself. Use it before we gather so we can’t all be traced to the same location. If they see us all going to Willow’s lab, it will raise suspicions.”
Chapter Ten
Lab Rats
Willow raised her eyebrows as Kaiden led Birch and Jade into the small lab. She had expected Birch, but Kaiden was taking risks with anyone else. She gestured for them all to click off their wrist terminals.
“We already did,” Kaiden said, before setting a black box on the counter and handing her a smaller version of it.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A Digital Wireless Jammer,” Kaiden said. “Better use it anytime we’re going to meet so TAP won’t know where we are or who we’re meeting.”
“Does it really work?”
“It’s powerful enough for one person or a small room. The big one boosts the jamming signals quite a bit more.”
“Won’t this draw attention to us?”
Kaiden raised his eyebrows. “Maybe, but with all the training going on around here, they’ll have a hard time knowing if it’s for real or just training. And they would still have to find us.”
Willow agreed. It was good thinking. Just what she’d expect from Kaiden. But why had he brought Birch and Jade with him?
“New recruits?” she asked. She cocked her head at Kaiden. He shot her a grin, his dark skin tugging at the scar where Raven’s bullet had struck him. He may not realize it, but he had a commanding presence about him. That’s one of the reasons she had chosen him.
Willow didn’t know Jade well. She was one of the few Native Americans working in Ararat, and Willow had heard that Jade had a reputation for being quiet and secretive. Some said she had a grudge against the world. There might be good reasons for it, but grudges had a way of messing things up right when you needed them to run smoothly.
Kaiden raised his hands. “Birch insisted on coming.”
“No parties without me,” Birch said. She flipped the bangs out of her eyes and winked at Willow.
“And we’re going to need help,” Kaiden said.
Willow studied Jade. She had light brown skin that was smooth and unblemished. Her high cheekbones gave her an exotic, attractive look. Kaiden’s gaze kept sliding to her, and Willow could understand why. Jade was simply beautiful with her slender figure, black hair, and dark eyes.
This was no accident since TAP was selecting for clones with the most appealing features. They were serious about the slogan the best and the brightest, but they also wanted their clones to look good. Jade stared back at Willow.
Kaiden shifted and glanced between the two women. “We invited Jade,” he said.
“So, I gathered. Can she be trusted?”
Kaiden glanced at Birch for support.
“I’ll vouch for her,” Birch said.
Willow raised her eyebrows. “If we’re discovered,” she said, “we could get killed. They won’t bother with discipline. They’ll just terminate us. You can’t speak of this to anyone—ever.”
“We got it,” Birch said. “We each have our own tooth to pick with TAP.”
Kaiden laughed, and Jade cast her a wry smile. “I think you mean bone,” she said.
Willow ignored Birch, waiting for Jade to acknowledge that she understood. Jade only nodded to her. Willow considered forcing her to verbalize her acceptance of the terms but decided this wasn’t the time for a confrontation. Too much was riding on what Kaiden promised he could do.
Willow tried to smile, though it felt more like a grimace, and faced Kaiden. “So, let’s see them.”
She waited while Kaiden slapped on the wrist terminal and closed his eyes. The WT fastened itself to his wrist, and a little ant appeared on the band. Its head swiveled back and forth before it leaped off the wrist terminal and onto the counter.
“Cool,” Birch said. “How does it work?”
Kaiden pursed his lips. “Quill said it responds to brain waves.”
“You don’t know how to use it?” Birch scoffed.
“Knock it off,” Kaiden said, waving an annoyed hand at her. “How hard can it be?” The ant scampered around in a circle. “I can get the hang of this.” The ant scurried off the edge of the counter and fell to the ground.
“You see what I have to deal with?” Birch said.
“Believe me, I know,” Willow said with a sardonic smile. Kaiden could be headstrong, but he usually got results.
Kaiden grinned up at her as the ant clambered back up to the top of the counter. “See?” he said. “I just had to get used to it. It’s like playing a video game. Did you get the computer set up?” he asked Willow.
“I’m way ahead of you.” Willow tapped the countertop, and the holographic image flashed in mid-air. A map of the Ararat compound materialized with a square in the corner showing what the ant-bot could see. It scanned over them, and their images appeared on the screen.
“The main security computer is not connected to this lab’s computers,” Willow said. “But, you can get in through Rio’s computer.”
“Excellent,” Kaiden said. “Let’s make it look like Rio is messing with the files.”
“So, how do these nano-bots work?” Jade asked.
“Brain waves,” Kaiden said. “I don’t know how Quill did it. I think he used the nervous system somehow. But watch.”
The ant-bot disappeared under the door, and Willow turned to the screen to monitor its progress.
“Dang, that thing cruises,” Birch said. “It can really move.”
“Quill knew what he was doing,” Kaiden said.
Images of TAP personnel in the corridors flashed past as the ant-bot raced along the corner of the wall. In a few minutes, the ant-bot scampered up to the door to Rio’s office, where it stopped.
“What’s the matter?” Birch asked.
“He’s got a firewall set up around his office,” Willow said. “Look, he can’t get through it.”
“What are you hiding, Rio?” Kaiden said thoughtfully.
“Here,” Birch elbowed her way past Willow and keyed in some commands to kill the firewall. The ant-bot started moving again.
“Thanks,” Willow said, not trying to hide her annoyance.
This wasn’t Willow’s first foray into forbidden territory. She had the memories of her other clone lives and the memories of her pre-clone life to go on. Becau
se TAP accelerated the growth of the infants in the Genesis Room, they didn’t have to wait for each clone to mature and be terminated before they could start another. Willow had died the first time forty years ago and had lived through four accelerated clone lives. She knew more about TAP than probably any clone alive, though there were still significant holes in her knowledge. Those forty years of planning had taught her that she needed help, so she swallowed her pride and smiled.
Birch grinned and climbed onto her stool, apparently oblivious to the fact that she had just been rude. The ant-bot slipped under the door to Rio’s office. It was dark, but the ant-bot was equipped with infrared night cameras that cast the room in an eerie green light. Kaiden directed the ant-bot to the top of the desk and synced it with Rio’s computer. It began sending files back with lightning speed. Willow sifted through them, searching for anything that looked classified.
“Quill sure was good,” Birch said. “Not even TAP has nano-bots this sophisticated.”
“Wait.” Kaiden shifted. “Something’s wrong.” He turned the ant-bot around to scan the room. “Do you hear it?”
“Something is moving in there,” Jade said.
Birch gestured to the screen. “Better get him out.”
“Not yet,” Kaiden said. “Look at the name of the file he’s downloading.”
Birch leaned in to read the file name. “The Lash. What’s that?”
“Sounds painful,” Jade said. She stepped up to Kaiden for a better view of the files. Her hair fell onto his shoulder.
Kaiden glanced at her. “Exactly.”
“So?” Birch straightened.
“If it’s painful, it’s probably important,” Kaiden said.
“It’s getting louder,” Willow warned. What or who would be in Rio’s office this time of night? “Do you know how to run the cloaking device?” she asked.
“No,” Kaiden said.
Then, it appeared. Hooked jaws came over the side of the desk first and then the shiny, black body. Its wings fluttered and clicked as it cleared the ledge and scrambled onto the desktop.
“It’s another insect-bot,” Willow breathed.
“Get him out,” Birch said. “It’s a killer-bot.”
Kaiden placed a hand on his head as if that would help the ant-bot move faster. The ant-bot spun to scamper across the desk. The beetle’s wings whirred as it leaped on top of the ant-bot, caught it in its jaws, and squeezed. The ant-bot crumpled and then exploded with a flash of light and a puff of smoke. The screen blinked out.
“Holy––” Kaiden began.
“Why did it explode?” Birch interrupted.
“Self-destruct mechanism, maybe?” Willow said. She kept her eyes on the screen, watching to see if the file had come through.
“I hope you have more insect-bots to play with,” Birch said.
“They were waiting for you,” Jade said. She flipped her long, black hair behind her ear.
Willow glanced at her. That much had been obvious. The computer beeped, and she swung back to the screen.
“Can they trace that ant-bot back to us?” Birch asked. She stood and placed her hands on her hips. “I mean, there’s gonna be little bits of it scattered all over Rio’s desk.”
Willow knew Birch was considering whether she should prepare herself for discipline. The file flashed onto the screen.
“We got them,” Willow said.
“What?” Kaiden asked.
“What did we go through all of this for?” Willow asked. “The files, of course.”
“Well?” Kaiden came off his stool, oblivious to the fact that he was invading her space, and pressed in close. She could smell the sharp scent of his aftershave lotion.
“Give me a sec.” Willow scanned the file. Kaiden straightened and faced the others. Willow divided her attention between the conversation behind her and the screen. She tried not to show how excited she was. She had theories about what TAP was doing, but she’d never dared hack into the main computer like this.
“Wait a minute,” Kaiden said to Jade and Birch. “You both know about the clones?”
“You’re not the only one with weird memories,” Birch said.
“What do you remember?” Kaiden asked.
Birch grunted and a stool creaked as she sat down. “A teddy bear,” she said. “I remember an old teddy bear sitting in a corner and a woman’s voice pleading with someone not to take me away.”
“Dang,” Kaiden said. “Jade?”
She was silent for a long minute. “I just figured it out,” she said.
“Do you mind sharing?” Kaiden asked.
“Yes,” Jade replied. “It’s personal.”
“Right, okay,” Kaiden said.
Willow chanced a glance at Kaiden. He had been confused by Jade’s refusal. But Willow didn’t trust Jade. There was something about her that seemed off. She would have to check Jade’s background.
Kaiden perched on a stool. “I want to find out what’s going on,” he said, “and I want to know who I was.”
“What if you don’t like who you were?” Jade asked.
Willow shot Jade a quick glance. Did Jade know something? But the candid look Jade gave Kaiden didn’t seem to hide any ulterior motives. Kaiden had obviously never considered that possibility because he just stared at Jade in silence. Willow had considered it. She knew more about Kaiden than he knew about himself, though she hadn’t been able to figure out who he had been before TAP, not yet. But she would make that a priority now. She was beginning to think she had been wrong about him. He was more important than she had thought.
“I’ll deal with it,” Kaiden said.
Willow spun on the stool to face them.
“All right,” she said. “Nothing I’ve read so far looks like top secret stuff, but, with what I already know, we can answer a few questions.”
“We’re all eyes,” Birch said. She settled back on her stool and leaned both elbows on the lab table.
Jade glanced at her with a confused scowl.
“What?” Birch said.
“Don’t you mean ears?” Jade asked. “We’re all ears?”
Birch waved her away. “It’s all the same.”
“Um, no. It really isn’t,” Jade said.
“Forget it,” Kaiden interrupted. Once Jade was around Birch long enough, she’d get used to her verbal hiccups.
“It’s about Cognitive Redesign,” Willow said, “otherwise known as Neuro-Reconditioning. TAP has to harvest memories from real people because complete, realistic memories are difficult or impossible to write effectively. TAP can tweak or add memories to a memory file set but can’t create a complete and realistic memory set as of yet.”
“Why not?” Kaiden asked. He slipped off the nano-bot wrist terminal and set it on the counter.
“They’re too complex,” Willow said. “And they’re tied into all of the other memories and emotions that form a human personality.”
“How would you know if a memory was real or added by the programmer?” Birch asked.
“An added memory would be less rich in detail,” Willow said. “I have both kinds of memories, and the ones from my real past are full of sights and emotions, sounds and feelings. The ones of the orphanage are less vibrant, less real.”
“You have a memory of an orphanage?” Kaiden asked.
“Many do,” Willow said, nodding. “It’s a standard memory. Some have memories of hovercraft crashes, airship accidents, political violence, famine, etc.”
“In mine,” Kaiden said, “we had to fight for our food.”
Birch waved an impatient hand at them. “Keep going,” she said.
“Well,” Willow continued, “the problem with these memory files is that they’re tied to the structure of the originator’s brain. That’s why TAP needs clones of the people from whom th
ey harvested the memories. Otherwise, strange things can happen—like serious brain damage and violent, erratic behavior.”
“Hang on,” Kaiden said. “TAP has been doing this for, what, twenty years?”
“More like fifty or sixty,” Willow said.
“So what?” Jade said. She drew one foot up onto the rung of the stool.
They all looked at her.
“So, what if TAP took our memories and created better bodies for them?”
Willow stared at her. She had to resist the desire to reach out and slap her. The arrogance of the TAP program and the suffering it caused were intolerable. Especially for someone like Willow, who remembered everything they had done to her.
“Because,” Willow said, trying to keep her voice even, “it is an immoral invasion of human dignity and an abuse of science.”
“But we’ve already ruined this planet,” Jade scoffed. “Our only hope is to find a new homeland in the stars.”
“Why?” Birch said. “So we can invade somebody else’s homeland like we invaded yours?”
Jade pinched her lips tight and glared at them.
“Let me tell you something,” Willow said. The heat rose in her chest, and she clasped her hands in front of her. “When I died, I experienced indescribable agony. I felt my heart stop beating, my lungs stop breathing, and the whole world became very still. I heard the doctor tell the nurse I was dead. I heard my mother sobbing. I wanted to tell her that I was all right—that I was still there. But I wasn’t in my body anymore.”
The other three stared at her. But Jade didn’t back down.
“I remember,” Willow continued, “being downloaded into a computer, having new memories shoved into my mind, and then being uploaded into my child self—not once, but four times. They tried to corrupt my other memories, but it didn’t work. I remembered everything. I used to get terrible headaches and flashes of two contradictory memories simultaneously. I thought I was going mad. No one should have to experience that kind of torture. Not once and certainly not over and over again.”
Jade shifted on her stool. “I don’t remember it,” she said as if her lack of memory meant it didn’t matter that others had suffered.