7
When Lacuna and Boomer entered holo-room one, they stopped in shock.
“Kevin?”
Kevin was standing in the middle of the room with Ziron hovering next to him.
“Hey, guys,” said Kevin.
Lacuna’s heart started beating faster than a speed metal march, and her instincts kicked in. She ran into his arms and passed through him and fell to the floor.
“Ouch!” she said.
Boomer darted in front of Kevin and barked multiple times. “You’re not Kevin!”
“Guys,” said Ziron. “It’s only an interface of the brain patterns I have from our friend.”
“Oh,” said Boomer.
Lacuna got up and dusted herself off. “A little head’s up would have been nice.”
“Uh…you’re in the holo-room,” said Ziron. “I assumed that was enough information for you to arrive at the conclusion that this Kevin was holographic.”
“Touché,” said Lacuna.
“I’m sorry, I hope you didn’t hurt yourself,” said Kevin’s hologram.
She smiled. “I’ll live.”
Which right now, she thought, is more than I can say for you. But hang in there, my love, we’ll rescue you.
“How may I help you?” asked Kevin. “Though if you’re asking a holographic version of me, it makes me wonder about the fate of the real Kevin.”
“You’re fine,” said Ziron.
“More or less,” added Boomer.
“I see,” said Kevin.
“Look,” said Lacuna. “We need a plan to help rescue you.”
“I will require a little more parameters to help you with your question.”
“Here,” said Ziron as he entered commands on his floating holo-screen.
Kevin’s hologram made slightly robotic head gestures for a second.
“Okay,” said Kevin. “That’s a tricky situation. Looks like time is running out too.”
“Which is why we came to you,” said Ziron. “If anyone can devise a plan under pressure, it’s you.”
“I’m honored by the trust you put in me. I’ll try not to disappoint you.”
“How long will it take you to come up with one?” asked Boomer.
“Not long. I have one already, but the chances of success aren’t the best. Unfortunately, even with the faster computation power my holographic mind holds over my organic counterpart, I don’t believe any other plan would work.”
“We’re all ears,” said Lacuna.
* * *
“I don’t like this,” said Boomer.
“I think that’s the consensus,” said Lacuna.
“We don’t have a choice,” said Ziron. “For better or for worse, it’s our only shot. Do you think you guys are up to the task?”
“We’ll do our part,” said Lacuna for the pair. “What about you, Zee?”
“I’ll be fine, providing you manage the diversion for long enough. Hopefully, we’ll all see each other very soon.”
“Even if we don’t,” said Lacuna, “you need to get Kevin to Myrianna, no matter what. Is that understood?”
Ziron cringed. “I…I suppose.”
Boomer barked. “No! That’s not good enough. The priority is Kevin, if we’re not there at the agreed-upon time, you leave without us, or I’ll eat you for dinner.”
Lacuna suppressed a chuckle.
“Threatening me is not necessary,” said Ziron. “I understand the plan.”
“And we used to have a cat in the family, and I always wanted to taste it,” said Boomer with a smile and a playful bark.
“Not funny!” protested Ziron as he licked his paw. “And I’m not a cat.”
“Could have fooled me,” said Boomer.
“What’s a cat?” asked Lacuna.
Boomer pointed toward Ziron. “That, but they don’t talk, at least not on Earth.”
“May I remind you dogs don’t talk either, so perhaps a little gratitude for your ability to speak instead of threatening to eat me every occasion you get wouldn’t be misplaced.”
“Right…” admitted Boomer. “And just like human cats, Ziron lacks a sense of humor.”
Lacuna smiled but was worried that this playful banter could very well be their last. Holographic Kevin’s plan was not a sure thing, and there was a tremendous amount of margin for error. Lacuna didn’t care about putting her life in danger, as long as they had a chance, no matter how slim, to help Kevin get free of the evil AI inside his brain.
8
Once the Osiris touched down on the surface of Arcadia Prime, it was time to put their plan into action.
“Good luck, everyone. Be careful,” said Ziron, “and hopefully, see you soon.”
Lacuna flashed a thumbs-up. “You too.”
Boomer barked. “What she said.”
“They’ll enter the ship any time now,” said Ziron. “When they breach, it will trigger automatic transport to the location we’ve discussed. Kevin’s pod and I will be transported into my secret lab, which I suspect won’t be secret anymore after that, and they will investigate the transport energy signal. We have twenty-five minutes to reach our transport zone, and anyone outside the zone at that point won’t be transported back into the ship. But, hopefully, they won’t find the lab before then, and even if they do, I’ll have enough security in place so they don’t get their hands on Kevin and he’s beamed back on board the ship.”
“We know the plan,” said Boomer. “All that matters is we get Kevin out of there and back to Myrianna.”
An intense noise nearby informed the party their time aboard the ship was up.
“Here we go. Good luck,” said Lacuna as green streaks of light enveloped her and the rest of the crew, and they vanished from the Osiris.
* * *
Kevin felt disoriented. His mind was blurry, and he could barely feel anything in his body.
What’s going on? Did we arrive?
I’m afraid not, said 8-3-9-6’s voice.
Kevin hated this voice more than anything in the world. The AI embedded in his skull had made him do and see things he wished he never did and things he would never forget.
It mattered little to Kevin that he hadn’t been in control of his body when murders were committed because even if he didn’t want to do them, he felt every minute of the vile acts.
Kevin tried to open his eyelids, but they refused to budge. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t feel anything or move a single muscle in his body. The only thing that seemed to work was his mind.
I guess your time is up soon, said Kevin.
I’m not so sure. Doesn’t look like you’re being reanimated, just transferred.
What the hell are you talking about?
I’ve recovered just enough power to scan around the pod thanks to the lowering of your body temperature. We’re no longer on the ship. So it tells me things didn’t go according to your plan.
Maybe they’ve transferred us down to the planet where Myrianna will remove you from my mind.
Why would she do that? My master 0-0-1 is controlling her. Also, I’m detecting a lot of Arcadian wireless signals around us. I think we’re on their territory.
If that were true and not one of 8-3-9-6’s mind games, then something had gone wrong. Something unexpected must have happened after Kevin was put in suspended animation.
Which meant Kevin’s friends were most likely in danger. There’s no way Ziron, Lacuna, and Boomer would have deviated from the plan willingly.
Kevin’s first thought was to ask 8-3-9-6 if he could help free them, but it didn’t seem like a good idea. The reason Kevin was in here was to make sure he got rid of the AI, not give it more power and control over his body.
Kevin didn’t understand if the AI picked up on his train of thought or if it was just a coincidence, but the surrounding darkness turned into a bright landscape. It felt like Earth, a beautiful meadow bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight.
Kevin could hear the sweet rustling of the le
aves from a nearby tree as intricate melodies of chirping birds traveled in the wind.
He took a deep breath. He knew this wasn’t real, but it felt good to be reminded of the place he’d left behind when he departed the solar system—his planet and his entire world in search of intergalactic adventure.
Perhaps ignorance is bliss after all.
“Why have you brought me here?” asked Kevin.
“Well, technically, you have brought us here. I looked for a fond place in your mind, and that’s what created this construct,” said 8-3-9-6.
It intrigued Kevin, so he looked around, and soon he saw the lake and beyond it a mountain which reflected in the water. This was one of Kevin’s favorite holiday camping trips. So much so that he would pester his parents every year to return to this exact spot, something his dad was really against.
But Kevin’s mom was the only one who could make Kevin’s father change his mind, and she could be very convincing. The thought made Kevin smile.
“Then I suppose,” said Kevin, “the question is why would you bring me to a place I’m fond of?”
“Why else? To kill you.”
9
The shit hit the fan faster than Lacuna could say oops. The moment they beamed out of the Osiris and into the Arcadian Royal Palace, hordes of Arcadian security chased after them.
“How long are we supposed to run like this,” said Boomer, catching his breath in between a few words. “I can’t do this forever.”
“I’m just as tired as you are, but you know the plan, we create a diversion so Ziron can set up everything, and then we get out of here.”
“I don’t remember the part of the plan saying we had to run from every guard. I thought we’d shoot some of them.”
“And we very well might, but as long as they don’t have us cornered, it’s a more efficient use of time. The moment we start firing, we’ll have to take cover, and they can flank us.”
“Yeah, well, I have tiny legs and I already took a million steps.”
“Not exaggerating at all, I see.”
Boomer growled and barked twice.
“Yeah, yeah, up yours too, buddy,” said Lacuna with a smile.
* * *
Ziron had never worked on anything as fast as he was now.
He first interfaced with some tech in his hidden lab and set some emitters to scramble both lifesign readings and transporter locks. If the Arcadian could identify their lifesigns and beam them to the brig, it would be game over.
The second and just as important task was to reconnect Kevin’s pod to a power source in order to reactivate the suspended animation process.
In theory, the pod could be offline for about ten minutes before it put its occupant’s life in danger, but these pods had been designed for Arcadians, and while human physiology seemed quite similar to theirs, DNA differences were still significant.
So Ziron did intend to play it safe and made sure he could reconnect the pod as fast as Arcadianly possible.
Ziron thought he would have a heart attack when one of the proximity sensors installed in his secret lab triggered.
He brought up the corresponding holo-camera feed on his holo-screen and was horrified to see three Arcadian guards armed to the teeth enter the room adjacent to his secret lab. One of them was holding a scanner.
“The signal of the transport beam led to this place,” said the guard with the scanner.
Ziron swore in his mind. He thought he had scrambled the transport beam signature well enough to avoid tracking, but the fact that guards had arrived at his location so quickly clearly told him he failed.
“There’s nothing here,” answered the guard’s colleague.
Yes, just get out and keep looking elsewhere. I don’t need this right now.
“I can see that.”
“Let’s keep searching the adjacent rooms.”
The guard lowered his scanner and sighed. “Yeah, okay.”
Ziron let a sigh of relief escape his tiny lungs.
But then three bleeps followed by a holo-transmission made the guards freeze.
“Why are you leaving the area?” said a voice Ziron thought he recognized.
Ziron couldn’t see who was on the other side of the call from the way his holo-cam was positioned. So he switched to another holo-cam. His blood froze when he saw the face of the Sphynx calling the guards.
It was Tizon, his nemesis in the engineering field.
“We haven’t found anything here, perhaps you’ve miscalculated the location?” said the guard.
Ziron and Tizon hated each other with a vengeance, ever since they competed to become the lead engineer for the Arcadian Palace, her majesty, and the Arcadian fleet. A fierce rivalry that ended with Tizon being sent to prison. So why was he free and part of the search?
Because they don’t trust me anymore, so who better than my worst enemy to lead the search against me.
The implications were way worse than any surprise Ziron prepared for when they cooked up this plan. Tizon had no morals, would cheat and be dishonest to his bones to achieve his goals. This was very, very bad news for Ziron, Kevin, and his friends. Now that he was given a chance, Tizon would stop at nothing to secure his place as the new lead engineer, even if that meant killing Ziron and his friends.
“Or perhaps you’re not looking closely enough,” snarled Tizon. “I’m uploading a sub-routine to your scanner that should punch through most interference and allow you to see past its current limitations.”
Tizon had clearly been learning tricks of his own, which was bad news. Ziron could not take the chance of being detected, especially not until Kevin’s suspended animation pod was back online fully, something the Sphynx was still working on.
The ante had just been amped up, and Ziron needed to bring his A game in order for Kevin to survive.
10
Lacuna pushed Boomer out of the way with an unceremonious kick when she heard the all too familiar blaster rifle pulse. And just in time too, as the floor where Boomer stood an instant ago became scorched.
Boomer bounced off the wall with a yelp, and he barked.
“What the hell,” he growled, but then he saw the burnt floor. “Never mind, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Lacuna. “You wanted us to stop running, well, you got your wish.”
“I’ve changed my mind, let’s run.”
More blaster fire streaked past them from behind.
“Well, tell them that.”
Lacuna grabbed a metallic circular gizmo on her belt and activated it before throwing it in front of her. Just before impacting with the ground, the tech slowed to less than a centimeter above its impact point and hovered there. It blinked twice, and a shield raised and covered the entire area, allowing Lacuna only to worry and deal with what was in front of her.
“Get behind me!” said Lacuna.
“You’re not made of metal.”
“But I wear a tough armor, just do it!”
When enemy fire nearly blew Boomer’s head off, he darted behind Lacuna as instructed.
Lacuna pointed her own blaster rifle and aimed at the approaching attackers.
“Why aren’t you firing back?”
“Patience.”
Another blast screamed past the beagle’s ear.
“Not my forte, just shoot them!”
Lacuna smiled, long squeezed the trigger, and her weapon hummed loudly with each passing moment.
“Why isn’t it working?” complained Boomer.
“Oh, it’s working alright,” said Lacuna before releasing the trigger.
A large plasma shot escaped from the muzzle of her blaster rifle and split in five, hitting each of the guards. Upon impact, dozens of small purple lightning bolts sizzled all around them, and they collapsed on the ground.
“What the hell was that?” asked Boomer.
“Ziron’s ingenious design.”
“Figures…I miss my smart armor.”
* * *
&
nbsp; A physical representation of 8-3-9-6 appeared in the meadow. He was a tall, dark humanoid silhouette with no distinct features. An all-dark skin, from head to toe, with no genitals, though Kevin wondered why he cared about that.
The only feature that stood out was the red glowing eyes.
So cliché, thought Kevin.
“If I die, so will you!” said Kevin.
“We both know that’s not true,” said 8-3-9-6. “And I wasn’t referring to the physical act of dying. In fact, I expect this body to serve me for eons.”
“Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble but humans only live about one hundred years, if we’re very lucky. Eighty is more likely.”
“Perhaps on Earth, where your medical knowledge still can’t take care of simple afflictions. I can have this body reconstructed over and over again until I decide to find another, more efficient one.”
“Then why don’t you find another one and leave me be? Better yet, why don’t you go frak yourself.”
8-3-9-6 laughed out loud. “Anatomically impossible.”
“I bet I can find a way to kick your ass to oblivion if given a chance.”
“And maybe you will, but not today. I can already feel the temperature lowering in the pod.”
Kevin thought about what 8-3-9-6 just said and realized that it had been a rather long discussion, and he wondered how long the pod had been disconnected and if that meant he risked dying.
“How long has it been since the pod’s temperature rose?”
“In the outside world, about six minutes. It’s come dangerously close to killing us, in fact.”
“There’s no us, just me!” protested Kevin.
“Whatever you say.”
“It seemed longer than that.”
“We’re inside my matrix at the moment; time doesn’t pass at the same rate.”
Kevin smiled. “The same matrix I almost killed you in?”
“The very same, but don’t get ideas, I can kill you any time I want.”
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 39