Aurora Resonant: The Complete Collection (Amaranthe Collections Book 3)

by G. S. Jennsen

  An elbow to the spine woke Morgan. She blinked a couple of times, disoriented, because the berths looked the same on all of the variety of ships she periodically called home. Tonight they were on the…Tamao. Maybe.

  She was halfway to rolling over when Harper’s forearm slapped hard against her shoulder. Now awake enough to realize why she was awake, she quickly shifted the rest of the way around and placed a hand on Harper’s upper arm. It was slick with sweat and trembling.

  “You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, Brook. Come on—”

  Harper gasped and bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide with shock.

  The woman’s body was a deadly weapon even without the deadly weapons on the bedside table, so Morgan made sure to move slowly and carefully. She leaned in closer to stroke Harper’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You were having a nightmare.”

  Harper’s head jerked around to stare at her, first in terror then, gradually, in recognition. Awareness dawned on her features, and she collapsed onto the sheets. “Shit.”

  Morgan lowered onto an elbow and let her other hand rest on Harper’s sweat-soaked abdomen. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Harper dragged her hands down her face, and finally the rigid tension straining her muscles began easing. “It wasn’t a nightmare. It was a memory.”

  Everyone who’d served in the military for any length of time had a stack of memories that would qualify as nightmares, even fighter pilots but certainly Marines. Still, she asked. “Of?”

  Harper’s eyes closed; her lips twitched.

  In something of a surprise, Morgan’s first, instinctual response wasn’t to want to let it drop and hope they could just go back to sleep.

  Stanley, if you say a damn word about how I’m growing as a person, I will…crap, there’s basically nothing I can do to you.

  True. But I need not say anything. You already know.

  She tried again. “Will you tell me?”

  “Why not. It was of O’Connell shooting Kone in the head, and it was on repeat.”

  Morgan immediately scowled. “This is because of what happened with Jenner. I swear, I am going to go kick his sanctimonious, rod-stiffened ass all the way back to the Presidio—”

  “No. It’s not his fault. Jenner’s a good man trying to follow his conscience in a screwed-up world. I simply didn’t…it’s been more than a year. I didn’t expect for this to rear up and fuck with my head so badly after so long.” Harper banged her head on the pillow a few times. “Ugh…. I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”

  Harper rarely talked about what had happened on the Akagi, and when she did it was in short, expletive-laden declarations. Obviously it had been a waking nightmare, and it didn’t take a genius or a Prevo to deduce the experience had shaken her faith in military leadership at a minimum, and possibly in a lot more.

  “No. This is bothering you, so talk to me.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. O’Connell was a monster, and he’s dead the way monsters should be. End of story.”

  Clearly it wasn’t the end of the story. Morgan wanted to help, but what should she say? A therapist she was not.

  I, however, have previously analyzed a number of treatises on human psychology. Given recent events, it is possible this is not about General O’Connell, but rather concerns her own repressed guilt.

  Oh.

  She drew closer and brought her hand up to Harper’s jaw. “You don’t blame yourself for Kone’s death, do you?”

  “Only in that I was stupidly naïve. Even after all the despicable things O’Connell had already done, I didn’t imagine he’d go so far. After all the bad people I’d killed over the years to stop them from doing worse, I still didn’t think anyone could be so evil they would….

  “We’re playing the noble heroes here in Amaranthe, but how can we be the good guys when there are monsters like that walking among us? When humans count among their number people like O’Connell and Jude Winslow?”

  “Because there are also people like you—people who call the monsters out and take them down.”

  Harper rolled her eyes. “And because we have people like Jenner to call us out when we go too far in doing it?”

  “Eh, I don’t know. I guess somebody has to police the boundaries. Jenner could use a healthy dose of discretion, though.”

  “He has discretion. If he didn’t, I’d be sitting in a cell on the detention deck of the Thames right now.”

  “Well.” Morgan decided the worst of the existential crisis had passed and let her hand trail lazily down Harper’s chest. “Then I’d have to break you out. Smuggle you away and hide you.”

  “Keep me as your plaything?”

  “That is such an excellent, inspired idea.”

  “I’d break out of my new, more plush prison inside of thirty seconds. Likely lock you up in it just to ensure you wouldn’t stop me, at least until I’d put hands on weapons and come up with a plan to either clear my name or disappear off the grid.”

  Morgan paused, her lips hovering a centimeter above the damp skin below Harper’s collarbone. Her eyes cut upward. “You have got to be the single least romantic person I have ever met. I adore you.”

  34

  PALAEMON

  ANARCH POST EPSILON

  * * *

  THE MORNING SUN REFLECTED BRIGHTLY off the water as Alex crossed the complex toward the labs.

  She shot Kennedy a pulse asking her to head up to the AFS Tamao, where the Eidolons were docked. Then she reached out to Mia, under the theory that Morgan liked Mia better—or at least knew her better.

  Hey, can you do me a favor and tell Morgan she needs to pick an Eidolon that can do without a Dimensional Rifter?

  She still hadn’t gotten a response by the time she reached the Research Building. With a sigh, she slouched against the façade outside and contacted Morgan herself.

  Hi, Lekkas. Sorry you missed our little soiree yesterday, but I expect you’ve gotten the download by now.

  I got it. Didn’t understand it for shit, but I got it.

  Good. My mother’s approved us moving forward, so Kennedy and I need to borrow a small Dimensional Rifter to try to see if this will actually work—proof of concept, if you will. The Eidolons’ Rifters are the smallest ones we have, and since we don’t want to accidentally blow up Post Epsilon after the anarchs were so nice as to let us visit it, we should use an Eidolon Rifter for testing.

  You’re kidding, right?

  I’m not. Hopefully, we’ll only need the one.

  Hopefully? And what does ‘borrow’ mean? Borrow for how long?

  Is everyone going to ask that? Probably forever. Sorry.

  You’re not sorry in the slightest. You’re getting a new toy to play with. Fine, but if the Eidolon requires therapy as a result, AEGIS is providing it.

  I’m certain there’s a psychiatrist or two on staff.

  Ugh.

  Kennedy will be on the way up to the Tamao shortly to pick up the module and bring it back down here. Thanks.

  Alex signed off before Lekkas could spin up any more complaints. One task down, and a few hours bought to work on her other project. One of. She took a deep breath and headed inside.

  Just another average, ordinary day in Amaranthe.

  Dimou ela-Erevna blinked at Alex, then again. “Do you realize what you are asking?”

  “Quite well. But—”

  “You want to give a SAI a body?”

  “No, not a SAI. A human. It simply happens to be a human who currently exists solely within a quantum neural network.”

  “Like a SAI.”

  Alex opened her mouth to retort. Closed it. Pursed her lips. “I understand how they could appear similar on a superficial level. But you’re a scientist—I suspect a brilliant one, or you wouldn’t have this job—who specializes in the transfer of consciousnesses from one body to another. If anyone can appreciate the difference between a digitized human consciousness and a sentient artificial intelli
gence, it’s you.”

  He continued to give her an unimpressed stare, and she searched for a different tack. “When an Anaden anarch dies, the last thing their functioning brain does is send their consciousness to your servers, here or at another post, via a quantum connection their neural cybernetics maintained to those servers, yes?”

  He nodded.

  “While the consciousness is making the journey, and while it’s stored on your servers until a cloned body is ready to receive it, is it still fundamentally that person? Does it represent the essence of who they are, lacking only physicality?” She wanted to throw ‘soul’ in as well, but there was no telling his theological beliefs, and she didn’t want to complicate the issue more than it already was. Which was to say crazy complicated.

  His eyes began to narrow…then he gave her a classic ‘haughty scientist’ smirk. “I will accept your premise, in principle. But assuming for argument’s sake that this should be done, the question becomes whether it can be done.”

  “Based on what we know about the process of regenesis, we think it can work. I realize adjustments will have to be made, but—”

  “Adjustments? Yes, you could say so. For all our genetic similarities, Human bodies are not Anaden bodies. I admit, the concept is intriguing, and I do enjoy a scientific challenge. But you must understand. This is our most valued technology. Whatever you believe you know about regenesis, you do not know enough, and we are not in the habit of passing out those details to visitors at the entrance.”

  She tried not to groan in annoyance. “I’m not asking you to share the innermost workings with us—I’m asking you to use them. Please. This is a very specific, unique case. I promise we don’t intend to flood your labs if it works.”

  She was using ‘we’ liberally here; technically it only meant more than herself alone—say, her and Valkyrie—but if he interpreted it to mean AEGIS or even humanity as a whole, well, she wasn’t going to go out of her way to correct his perception. He didn’t need to be told how far off-mission she was.

  His gaze fell to the floor; he picked at the collar of his overcoat. “This is not a matter I can authorize on my own. You will have to seek Sator Nisi’s permission.”

  She’d expected the ultimatum, while hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. “I understand. But if the Sator gives his approval, you’ll help us?”

  “I will try.”

  “Thank you. I’ll get back to you soon.” She departed the lab and headed for the maze of interconnected landing platforms.

  As luck would have it, Caleb was currently with Nisi. His dramatic use of diati on Akeso’s behalf was worth sharing and talking through with the Sator. But he’d been on Satus for over an hour, so odds were she wasn’t interrupting too horribly. She sent him a pulse.

  There’s something I need you to do for me.

  Anything.

  Really? We’ll revisit the topic later then. The director of the regenesis lab won’t help me without Nisi’s approval. I need you to convince him to give it.

  You’ve decided to go ahead with your plan.

  It’s not up to me—it’s up to Dad. But I can’t offer him the choice until I know it’s a real one. To offer this then snatch it away would be the highest form of cruelty. So I need to know I can make it happen.

  All right, I get that. I’ll make your case, but wait for me before you do anything you can’t undo?

  Deal.

  SIYANE

  Alex was sitting atop the back of the couch when Caleb walked into the cabin, her legs swinging against the frame. She eyed him speculatively. “He said yes.”

  Caleb huffed a breath as he came over to stand between her legs and drop his hands onto her hips. “What makes you think so?”

  “You look troubled. If he’d said no, you’d look regretful and slightly pained as you prepared to break the news to me and provide a sympathetic shoulder. Instead, you’re concerned about whether I’m making the right decision and unsure how strongly you should challenge me on it.”

  His brow furrowed all the way into the straight line she adored. “Valkyrie, did you wire a transmitter into my brain one night while I slept?”

  ‘I did not. However, I will be happy to do so—you only have to ask.’

  “I’ll keep it in mind. So this is marriage, then?”

  She grinned and grabbed his shirt to tug him closer. “If you get super lucky. You can see my naked and bared soul, but maybe I can see yours, too.”

  “And I love you all the more for it.” His nose tickled her skin as his lips grazed hers. “So let me say what I need to say? Even if you know all of it, I’ll feel better for having said it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Alex, I would never deny you this. I won’t try to stop you, and I’m on your side no matter what comes of it. But before you cross the Rubicon here, are you absolutely sure? The consequences if this goes badly could be worse than you’re prepared for.”

  She rolled her eyes. “The consequences if it goes well might suck, too. Believe me, I recognize the shitstorm this will kick off.”

  “Good. Now, you said it wasn’t your decision. You’ve never been one to evade responsibility, but I don’t see how that can be true.”

  “Valkyrie, do you want to explain it to him?”

  ‘I think I’ll leave this one to you.’

  “Figures.” She sighed. “Valkyrie made the decision to load my father’s neural imprint into her processes—and thus into my mind—without asking my permission. But, yes, I’ve been in the driver’s seat since then. I made the decision to box him when his tenuous consciousness started fracturing, then to allow Vii to use the advances Abigail had achieved to try to not merely salvage it but maybe, just maybe, create something more whole.

  “Vii having done so beyond my wildest dreams, I made the decision to pursue adapting this incredible Anaden technology to do what no human has done before but the Anadens do every day.

  “I wouldn’t dare wash my hands of responsibility now, centimeters from the finish line.” She paused. “But it’s time we let him make a decision for himself.”

  He studied her, as if searching for some sign, any inkling, of insanity. “The decision of whether to live again.”

  “No. For good or ill, I made that decision for him. It might not have been my right to do so, but I was the only one who could. He’s already alive. His decision to make is whether he wants to walk in the sun again.”

  “Alex….”

  “You’re skeptical. You’re not certain he’s as alive as Valkyrie, or as alive as Akeso. You’re worried I’m seeing only what I so desperately want to see.” She smiled. “It so happens I have a question I need to ask him, so grab an external interface and come with me to see for yourself. Caleb, come meet my father.”

  PART VI:

  LAWS OF MOTION

  “The sane man knows that he has a touch of the beast, a touch of the devil, a touch of the saint, a touch of the citizen. The really sane man knows that he has a touch of the madman.”

  — G. K. Chesterton

  35

  PALAEMON

  ANARCH POST EPSILON

  * * *

  “DO IT.”

  Dimou eyed Alex as he studied a report from one of the technicians. “Yes, I understand Sator Nisi has given his blessing to your project.”

  ‘Blessing’ might be a strong word. “He has. Valkyrie will provide you comprehensive background information on human physiology, biology and genetics, as well as the specific data pertaining to this individual. If we’ve left anything out that you need, please don’t hesitate to ask for it.”

  “Valkyrie being your SAI.”

  Oh my god, these Anadens and their synthetic phobia. “Correct.”

  “Very well. It will take time.”

  “Keep me updated on your progress.”

  “And the consciousness? What, or how, should I expect to be receiving in that regard, if or when the time comes?”

  She met his gaze with as much assur
ance as she could muster. “It’s quantized data. It’ll transfer the same way as an Anaden consciousness. So craft a human body capable of receiving it.”

  Alex found Kennedy out on one of the far landing platforms, a good distance from the main cluster of buildings.

  The platforms were elevated several meters above the walkways—high enough that most of the waves didn’t crest over the platforms during calm weather—but the damp breeze meant the air was quite cool nonetheless. Alex hugged her fleece tighter against her before ascending the steps to the platform.

  Her mind and her skin hummed. She was excited and nervous and anxious and terrified, and this was all before she considered what she was about to do on the platform. But she had to put all that aside, because she had work to do. A lot of work, and most of it mattered to more than solely her family—possibly a couple of billion or trillion more. She couldn’t be selfish.

  Also, the personal work was now out of her hands for a time, so she might as well direct the pent-up energy into making herself useful.

  Kennedy was sitting cross-legged in the center the platform, wearing an oversized beige cable knit sweater and woolen leggings. A large rectangular box sat in front of her, a power amp off to the side.

  Alex squatted beside the box. “Interesting choice of testing location.”

  “Not my choice. Your mother decided it would be unwise to run any tests inside the hold of the Stalwart II—rightfully so I think—and Administrator Latro balked at letting me run tests inside any of their labs. I suggested one of the dining rooms, but he didn’t care for that idea, either, and I was banished out here.”

  “I guess there is a small chance of nearby objects blowing up, or being pulled into a supradimensional vortex then blowing up.”

  “Let’s just try to make sure it isn’t us.”

  “Noted. So, no Devon?”

  “He’s in the main tech lab geeking out with one of the Barisan analysts, so he’s close if we need him. But I doubt we will.”