The Quantum Gate Trilogy

by Eric Warren

  “How deep is this Gate?” Max asked, following behind them.

  “It’s in the other building, on the far side of the production floor. Past all the equipment.”

  Max grumbled something but Arista didn’t catch it. She wasn’t even sure it was in English.

  “Do you speak Japanese?” she asked Frees.

  “No, but I’m sure I can learn quickly.” He looked away for a moment as they walked then turned back to her. “Motto yoku?”

  The Device automatically translated the words to “Better?”, feeding the information into her cortex.

  “At least I won’t have any trouble understanding anyone,” Arista said. “Let’s just hope I don’t have to speak it. I’ll probably end up butchering the language.”

  They made their way across the glass bridge to the other side of the facility, the area where they’d first seen Jonn. Where Charlie had brought all the husks to life at once.

  It was just as they’d left it. Without Charlie directing things nothing had been turned back on and all the bodies in various states of construction lay strewn all over the place. It had the air of a place long since abandoned, even though it had only been a few weeks.

  Arista shuddered. “I’m surprised the Peacekeepers didn’t start everything back up again.”

  Frees glanced around. “They’re probably too preoccupied with finding us, since that was their last directive. But it means our numbers will continue to dwindle. With machines dying off every day and no more to replace them we could soon have a population problem.”

  “Can we figure out a way to insert the conscious minds from Central without Charlie? Get the units running again?”

  “I don’t know,” Frees said. “Once we’re done with this I want to explore it. Find out if we can make autonomous machines from the start. If we can do it without needing you to change them over.”

  “That would be a lot easier on everyone,” Arista said. She glanced over to the mechanical arm that had pinned Jonn to the ground. She didn’t think of him often, but when she did she wondered if he’d managed to come to his senses after they destroyed Charlie.

  “Thinking about him?” Frees asked.

  She turned away, embarrassed like she shouldn’t have been looking in the first place. “Just if we have to worry about him.”

  Moving past the main floor they entered what Frees had called the corral. It was a long and wide room designed to hold hundreds of pre-production machines all at once until it was time to be sent to the Cadre for activation by Charlie. Now only a few stray machines they’d fought off getting in here remained.

  On the far side of the room was a giant wall outlined by a frame built right onto the concrete. Off to the side was a small control panel which allowed someone to activate the Gate, sending them over five miles in only a few seconds. Now they were going to use it to get halfway around the world.

  “Wait.” Max stepped in front of them and drew her knife. “Someone has been here. Look.”

  Arista scanned the ground, spare parts she didn’t recognize were laid out around the control pad and someone had already removed the face. Behind them came a whooshing sound that made them all turn in unison.

  “Hi. I wasn’t sure it was you so I thought I should be safe rather than sorry,” Sy said, appearing out of thin air as the refractor dropped.

  “How long have you been here?” Frees asked.

  “I came here last night in anticipation of Arista agreeing to help us. To get started on modifying the Gate. I knew it would take some time. After all, I don’t want to send you to the wrong exit point.”

  Frees lowered his gaze, staring at her. “How did you know she would agree?”

  “I didn’t. And if she hadn’t I would have had to go in her place. Which wouldn’t be ideal. But it all worked out in the end. I’m surprised to see you here.”

  Frees glanced over to them. Max still hadn’t sheathed her knife. “We didn’t want to send her in alone. I’m going through the gate with her. Max will stay here with you in case you need…assistance.”

  Sy lifted her head as if to say something but nodded. “Very well. I’m sure it will make the work go quicker. I have no doubt Arista could do this by herself, but with you by her side you cannot fail.” She turned to Arista. “I have a surprise for you.”

  Arista’s heart leaped. She’d felt better the moment she saw Sy and realized she wasn’t as nervous as the first time. The connection was still there, there was no doubt about it.

  “Is this the weapon you referred to?”

  Sy nodded again, walking over to the parts strewn all over the floor. “Take a look…at this.”

  She held out a piece of shiny metal, to which Arista had to move closer to get a good look. As soon as she saw what it was she gasped and took a step back. “Is that…does it work?”

  Sy smiled. “It will. It takes a few minutes to hardwire into your system. There are better ways but we don’t have the equipment. But once you get the hang of it, it’ll be like you never lost anything.”

  Arista stared at the metal hand Sy held. It was petite, like her own hand. In fact, it looked like it would match perfectly. “How?”

  “Back in the colony I’m something of a roboticist. We deal with injuries and replacement limbs all the time. I scanned your hand last night and built you this one based on those measurements. All I had to do was mirror them.”

  Her throat had gone dry. “I can’t…will I be able to…feel?”

  “We’ve gotten pretty good at integrating sensations through these prosthetics. It won’t be exactly like your old hand, but it will be close. And you’ll have a built-in advantage. I’ve installed a weapon inside that’s a lot like Frees’ felp, though not as sophisticated I’m afraid.” She turned to Frees. “You must show me how you built that one day.” He didn’t respond, only returned his gaze to the hand.

  “Isn’t it great, Frees?” Arista asked. She couldn’t believe it. She’d get her hand back! And all because of this human they hadn’t wanted to trust! How could they say no to her now?

  “It is…impressive,” Frees said.

  “Max?” Arista turned, looking for some kind of reaction, but Max stood there impassively, as if nothing had happened. Arista didn’t know why she bothered asking. She was done trying to mend that bridge. “How do we install it?”

  “It will take some minor surgery and about twenty minutes. I’ll need to make the connections to your nervous system so you can control it like any other part of your body. Then we’ll test the connections and you’ll be good to go.”

  “Have you ever installed anything like this before?” Frees asked.

  “Of course! I have plenty of training on human anatomy, it’s sort of required where I come from.”

  “I would like to watch the installation,” he said.

  Sy frowned as she thought it over. “I don’t see why not. Interested in seeing what humans can come up with?”

  “Something like that.”

  “May I hold it?” Arista asked. Sy held the hand out to her and she took it. It was lightweight but had some density to it and a small amount of give. It seemed to be made of a similar polymorphic covering that all the machines were made of. She turned it over, looking for any kind of emitter port where a projectile or blast might come from. “Where’s the…?”

  “Weapon?” Sy replied. “It’s built into the coating itself. Instead of a single point that could be damaged, there are microscopic emitters covering the entire glove. So that way if part of it gets torn or otherwise incapacitated, you can still use it. Even just the fingers.”

  “I can’t wait to try it out.”

  “I will caution you, though. It emits a high level of concussive blast. I wouldn’t use it in these cramped quarters. Try it somewhere more open.”

  Cramped quarters? This place is huge. But Arista didn’t protest. She just wanted to get started.

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s get this thing on.”

  E
leven

  It hadn’t been as gruesome as Frees had expected, but he’d turned away regardless. The smell of the blood and sight of Sy opening up Arista’s wrist was too much for him, despite her keeping everything clean. Sy had given Arista something for the pain, something she assured would wear off quickly once she was done.

  “Still can’t take it, huh?” Arista’s weak voice asked from behind him.

  “How does it feel?” He didn’t turn back around.

  “Hurts. But this painkiller helps. Frees.” He turned just enough to see her face. “Can you believe it?” Her eyes betrayed her excitement, they were wild and bright despite whatever she’d taken to dull the pain.

  “It’s amazing.” Free didn’t bring up the fact he’d suggested something similar when they’d first come to the production floor: steal a hand from one of the husks and figure out a way to connect it. She’d outright rejected the idea. Though he had to admit, he had no clue how to make it work with her central nervous system. Which was why he’d insisted on watching. He wanted to understand exactly how Sy was going to make the connection and all that was involved. Frees steeled himself, forcing his gaze all the way back to watch what Sy was doing.

  “How much longer?” he asked.

  Sy had a mask covering half her face and gloves on, using small tools Frees didn’t recognize. She’d spread out a type of light blanket and Arista had laid down, extending her arm out to the side so Sy could work on it uninterrupted. She was in the middle of making some internal connections inside the structure. Frees watched as she took a wire from the hand itself and embedded into Arista’s soft tissue, finishing the job with a tool that sprayed a compound on the connection. “Not too much longer. Maybe ten-fifteen minutes. It’s going beautifully.”

  “How are you compensating for signal degradation from the mechanical limb to her organic nervous system?”

  “There’s very little signal loss at all,” Sy said, not looking up. “The key is matching the electrical impulses to the same frequency and intensity; you’d be surprised how different it is for every person. Then it’s just a matter of making the connection and sealing it. The bigger job is getting the muscles to grow around the new appendage, which is what the muscular regenerator is for.” She indicated to another small device beside her.

  “How advanced is your medicine?” Frees asked.

  “Pretty advanced. We haven’t just been sitting on our butts for the past hundred years.” She winked at Frees, then returned to the arm.

  He watched for a few more minutes, willing himself to not turn away, to examine each connection as she made it. Every so often she would give Arista a command such as to try moving one finger or another. Surprisingly, the hand responded. She was really going to do it.

  Arisa winced.

  He sat up straighter. “What? Are you okay?” Frees asked.

  “It just…pinches a little.”

  “Sorry about that, necessary evil I’m afraid. Your injury is still tender in some areas. I’m doing my best to dull the exposed nerve receptors.”

  “You said you were a roboticist. But are you also a doctor? Back at the colony?” Arista asked, her voice still low.

  “No. But I am the primary party responsible for augmented humans. I’ve worked my entire life to restore people back to their pre-injury selves.”

  “Is that why they sent you?” Frees asked. “Because you knew about her injury?”

  “No, they sent me because I have experience with the Gates. We got hold of one once, here in Chicago. The machines were building them in different places, testing out the technology. We managed to get in and steal one of their control panels. It was a few years ago. We’ve been studying it ever since. Replicating the results in our labs.”

  “Seems like you do a lot over there.”

  Sy smiled underneath the mask, the edges of her mouth appearing beyond the covering itself. But kept her eyes trained on Arista’s wrist. “We all do. When there’s a limited number of people everyone has to pick up the slack.”

  “Why only seven hundred? Is there a disease or something?” Frees asked.

  “Resource allocation. We can’t afford to have many more than that otherwise we would run out of food and supplies very quickly. We’ve found a way to make it sustainable for the time being, but our long-term projections indicate we can’t hold on to that forever. A couple of bad crop years in a row and we could have serious problems.”

  “A population crisis.”

  “Exactly.”

  Frees nodded, though he doubted Sy saw. She was too focused on Arista and completing the implant. She finished making all the connections and laid Arista’s skin back over the edge of the hand so it would transition seamlessly. The skin looked inflamed but with one shot of spray from one of Sy’s devices it pulled itself tight against the hand and returned to a light pink color. Sy ran another device over the connection, all the way around the wrist.

  “There. Arista, do me a favor. Make a fist.”

  Arista looked down at the hand as if she were unsure it would work. Frees couldn’t blame her. She was just starting to get used to doing things one-handed. If it didn’t work, she’d be devastated. “I…I’m not sure—”

  “Don’t think about it too hard,” Sy said. “Just remember what it was like to form a fist and that’s all you have to do. Pretend you want to punch Frees here for saying something stupid.”

  “That’s not hard to imagine.” She smiled. The hand clenched into a fist. “I did it!”

  “Now, relax the hand.”

  The fist opened up into a neutral position, a more natural hold than when it had been installed.

  “And give me a flat palm.”

  The hand flattened out, the mechanics under the polymorphic coating undulating beneath the surface.

  “Now. Use it like normal. Push yourself up.”

  Frees stared at her as she used the hand like it had never been removed. She got up onto her elbows then pushed herself up, using the palm of the hand to push against the floor beneath them.

  “It feels so natural. Like it was never gone in the first place.” Frees saw her eyes glisten as she turned to Sy. “I can never repay you for this.”

  Sy waved her away. “You don’t have to. It was my pleasure. Just don’t go losing anything else.”

  Arista looked at it a moment again, then launched herself toward Sy and pulled her into a hug. Frees tensed up, not sure why he was doing it, and forced himself to relax his shoulders. But when he heard Arista whisper to Sy she was the best it took all his willpower to keep from tearing her away and he couldn’t understand why. He had no claim to Arista and there was no exclusivity on their friendship. So why did he feel like he was losing her?

  “Okay,” Sy said as soon as Arista let her go. “Let’s give you about fifteen minutes for that painkiller to wear off and we’ll go over some strategy. Frees, you up for it?”

  He looked her dead in the eye. “Always.”

  “Does she know?” Jill asked. Frees had gone off to the other side of the Gate to pretend like he was inspecting the structure. Sy had already finished working on the new coordinates for the exit and Arista felt more awake. She and Sy chatted while Max stood behind them, examining Sy’s tools and instruments.

  “No. Are you sure we shouldn’t tell her?” Frees asked.

  “Yes. She doesn’t need to know I’m monitoring; she’s at a delicate place right now. You just keep this comm open between you and me at all times. I need to know you’re both okay when you get there.”

  “Sy seems to think we’ll be in and out. Especially with Arista’s new ‘weapon’.”

  “How is she faring with it?”

  “Like she never lost it at all. She’s so happy, Jill. You should see her.”

  “I will. Max has been instructed to bring you both back the minute something looks amiss. I told her to incapacitate Sy but that was as far as she was to go. As to what she’ll actually do, I have no idea.”

  “Le
t’s just hope we don’t have to find out.”

  “Just keep her safe. Whatever you do keep her safe.”

  Frees nodded even though he knew Jill couldn’t see him. It was an internal audio-only connection. That way Frees didn’t even have to say anything to arouse suspicion. He made his way back over to the group.

  “What do you think, Frees?” Sy asked.

  “Impressive. I didn’t get a good look the first time we were here.”

  “We were being chased by a couple hundred husks.” Arista grinned. Her new hand had removed any dour mood she’d been in before.

  “Are we ready then?”

  Arista perked up. “I am.” She turned to Frees. “You?”

  He nodded, shooting a glance to Max, who returned it.

  “Splendid. The exit gate should be in the Osaka HQ just like the one here in Chicago. I don’t know exactly where the AI will be housed but I imagine it won’t be far from the gate. You get in, destroy its housing just like you did here, get out of the way, let it self-destruct, whatever. Just make sure it is destroyed. And then you reactivate the gate on your end and I’ll bring you back here. Simple?”

  “Last time we ran into a contingent of Peacekeepers,” Frees said. “Same deal?”

  “There’s a good chance. But with both of you going I think you’ll be in a better position to do this. Arista can keep an eye out for Peacekeepers while you take them out just like last time.”

  “What about my weapon?” Arista looked at her hand.

  “Wait until you’re ready to destroy Hogo-sha before using it. It’s quite powerful and using it on Peacekeepers or anyone else would be like swatting a fly with a rail gun. Then get back as soon as you can. We’ll shut down the gate and be on our way.” She turned to Arista. “By the way, thank you for that information on your parents. I sent it to the colony and they’ve already begun the search.”

  She let out a huge breath. “Thank goodness,” Arista said.

  “Everybody ready? Max, are you sure you don’t want to go too?” Sy asked.

  Max stared the woman down. “I’m good here.”