Resistance

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  +++

  Android Base, Orion Sector

  Bentley awakened suddenly, sweat staining her clothing despite the sleeping pad’s pleasantly cool temperature. The lights were still dim. She couldn’t tell what time it was.

  QX849-LF.

  The sequence was burned into her brain, but it wasn’t alone. It was the eye at the center of a whirlwind of memories and ideas. She remembered being a little girl, swimming in a lake while her mother and father watched. She remembered a pine needle strewn path, and her mother clutching her hand as they moved along it. She remembered her mother telling her she must always be brave, that she must always stand up for what she knew to be right, no matter how difficult it might be or how easy another path might seem. She remembered her mother being taken away by men in uniforms.

  She remembered Legba...

  She frowned. Ever since she’d recovered from the amnesia her memories had been returning in gap-filled chunks, and no part was less complete than her memories of Legba. She still couldn’t quite recall how they met, only that he was very important to her, and she needed to keep him alive.

  He was alive, and to keep him that way, she needed to find him.

  A small red light winked in the darkness, bringing her out of her reverie. Bentley sat up and waited until she saw it again, and then climbed out of bed and moved cautiously across the room. She could feel her damp clothing clinging to her body as if she was afraid.

  As she got closer she could see the red light was a small LED, flashing just next to the door.

  That’s strange. She swiped her palm across the access pad. The LED winked, and the pad beeped.

  ACCESS DENIED.

  “What the hell?” she said out loud, instinctively punching the door.

  As if cued by the violence, the wall to her right shimmered and became perfectly transparent. Bentley had to remind herself that the wall was still very much physically there in order to prevent herself from leaping at the people she saw. Captains Blackfriar and Shango stood next to one another like a pair of proud roosters atop a barn.

  “What is this?” she yelled, realizing what was happening. “You’re caging me like an animal? Why, Shango? Because I want something a little different than you? Or because, because your damn robot buddy wants to run experiments on me?”

  Shango frowned, his eyebrows forming a bushy V. “That’s pretty uncalled for, Bentley. We’re just trying to protect you. Captain Blackfriar wants what is best for you, and so do I. If you just let me explain-”

  “Explain what? Why you locked me up while I was sleeping? Real sneaky Shango. Next thing you’ll tell me that you were - you my god, were you spying on me last night? I thought I felt someone’s eyes when I was tossing and turning. You’re all a bunch of rats!”

  The lwa and the android shared a glance, and then Shango cast his gaze into the room. “Bentley, we’re worried about the effect the retinal scanner may have had on your mind. It could have done any number of things including implanting false memories. We need to run some tests to determine whether you’re okay, and the androids have all the equipment we could possibly need here, not to mention incredible expertise-”

  “Oh, so you do want to run tests on me! I knew it!” Bentley could feel the hysteria rising in her voice and the blood pounding in her face as more sweat soaked into her clothing.

  “Of course not. Not like that,” Shango said patiently, but Blackfriar held up a hand.

  “Bentley,” he called through the wall, “I want you to listen carefully to me. Your mind has likely been partially compromised by a machine. You are not thinking clearly, and by that, I mean you are not aware that you are not thinking clearly. Your captain cares about you. I care about you. Everyone on this base is concerned for your wellbeing, but before we can let you out of that room, we need your promise of cooperation.”

  “We don’t have time for this!” Bentley sat down on the floor with her back against the bed and put her head in her hands. “Legba needs us. Why won’t you listen to me Shango? You say you care. If you do, then you’ve got to trust me! I know where to find him...” she trailed off and looked up at them almost begging for any sign of agreement.

  Shango’s mouth had formed a firm line. “We can’t let you go chasing those coordinates. They’re just numbers provided by a damaged mind. You’ll draw Amroth to us and put the entire base in danger.”

  Bentley recoiled as if he’d struck her. “Damaged mind?” She buried her face in her hands in case she started crying, but no tears came. She felt broken, beaten, bruised, and battered but before she could hit absolute bottom, her mother’s voice came back to her. It was a sound she barely recognized, speaking words that were familiar and yet distant.

  You’re stronger than you’ll ever know. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you can get through anything.

  The words bolstered her and comforted her and reminded her that only her heart could show her the right path to follow. Only she knew the right thing for her to do.

  Like a panther springing on its prey she stood up and leaped to the door, prying open the panel above the intercom with her fingernails.

  “Bentley, it’s no use, please stop damaging my base.” Blackfriar’s patient tone bored through the transparent wall.

  “No, fuck, she’s-” Shango’s voice cut off as Bentley pulled out the wire which connected their intercom. The next one that she yanked away from its terminals was for the door’s safety locks, and the double portals sagged open a few inches as they powered down.

  Now I just need to- before she could even think about crossing the main power feed with the smoke detector wire to force the doors open, a crew of security personnel showed up outside and shoved the door shut.

  Shitty pooh. It was no use.

  She didn’t want to get out there only to hurt the very people who were on her side.

  She paced back to the bed, shooting the captains behind their transparent wall a scowl. She was far from free, but at least she’d put up a fight. At least she’d shown them she wasn’t helpless, and that she knew she was right.

  The wall returned to its original neutral opacity, concealing the outside world once again.

  A strange feeling of triumph blazed in her chest followed by sorrow and disappointment by having been let down by her friends. She couldn’t believe Shango would do this, but had Olofi agreed to it? And Jelly Bean? Even Loco might have had his own opinion about it. He was always all for leaving her behind.

  Would he go along with locking her up like this? she wondered.

  Bentley took a deep breath and stood up again. She moved to the folding modesty screen and dragged it over in front of the bed, curving it around to create a little area where they would not be able to see in. She took the pillow off the bed and put it on the floor behind the screen and sat on it, feeling like she could relax for the first time since she’d arrived on the damned planet.

  She did her best to use Shango’s training to keep her mind calm and clear but thinking of the training made her think of Shango’s betrayal. Even so, it helped a little. Helped her to sort through the mess of thoughts and feelings that plagued her.

  Finally, hot tears began to spill down her cheeks. They poured from her eyes like water from a warm mountain spring on a summer’s day. She tried to wipe them away with a sleeve but more poured forth to replace those she’d just vanquished, and she felt her sinuses begin to moisten.

  Damn it, Bentley, pull yourself together! She felt like she couldn’t afford the tears, couldn’t afford to be weak… and yet the more she cried, the more she felt like some poison had left her body. Shango’s teachings came back to her again, and this time she recognized that although he had taught her, it was not his wisdom. The truth just was. The technique just was. And so, she journeyed elsewhere in her mind. The captains and their lackeys could contain her body, but her mind would always be free.

  She was a little girl again, out in the lake being watched by her parents. She
swam powerfully, stroke after stroke, travelling a great distance and yet going nowhere. She exulted in the warm water, in the fresh air, in the vibrant sunshine. She bathed in her parent’s love. She walked along that woodland path, feeling the pine needles between her toes, and she listened to her mother’s words.

  They were on the woodland path, walking, and then running, clinging to each other’s’ hands. Then her mother was letting her go, and telling her to keep moving.

  You’re stronger than you’ll ever know. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you can get through anything.

  She was running, and the men in uniforms took her mother away.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Android Base, Orion Sector

  Bentley had fallen asleep curled into a ball behind the screen at the foot of her bed. She woke up in a cold sweat, and felt like she’d been ironed by a giant but the act of defiance had been worth it.

  Then she realized that she’d been woken by the sound of a door opening. Footsteps trailed inside, probably belonging to someone sent to clean up after her, or bring fresh food, or maybe even sedate her.

  One thing was certain: whoever had come in, regardless of their task, would not have an easy time fulfilling it. She would fight to her last damn breath.

  The footsteps came around the screen, but she kept her head bowed and her eyes closed. A hand landed on her arm. She knew that she had to act at that moment, else she would lose her chance.

  She grabbed a tight hold of the wrist attached to the hand on her arm and hugged the arm against her body as she spun her hips. She was about to finish the armbar by sweeping her assailant over onto his back when a familiar voice penetrated her fervor.

  “Wait, wait, Bentley, it’s me!”

  Svend.

  Bentley opened her eyes to look up at his face, and as soon as she saw him she knew. He was not there to clean, feed, or sedate her. He was her rescue. It was all in those beautiful, too-perfect eyes of his.

  He pulled Bentley to her feet.

  “I tried to talk some sense into Captain Blackfriar, but he just kept going on about ‘the greater good’.” His hand was still holding hers. “I couldn’t just stand by while you were imprisoned.”

  She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, and then pulled back slightly and grabbed his ears and kissed him on the lips.

  She didn’t need to ask. He believed her, believed that she could be right. He believed that they needed to pursue the coordinates. Legba’s coordinates. More than anyone else, in that moment she needed him. Needed his respect, his validation, and his touch.

  At first, he tried to pull away, trying to remain mission oriented, but then he relaxed and took her face between his hands. She’d almost been afraid he would taste somehow synthetic, but he didn’t.

  He tasted real.

  The kiss did not last long, but it answered a thousand questions that had been nagging at them. Her hands slid off his immaculate ears and over his lightly stubbled cheeks as his palms caressed her hair and slid down to the small of her back.

  Svend pulled away, breaking the kiss and leaving Bentley gasping.

  He smiled with his eyes twinkling. “No time.” He clutched her hand, led her to the doorway, before looking back at her. She took a deep breath and nodded as he nodded back then they plunged out into the hallway together.

  The three lwa and Jade were all having lunch just around the corner. Bentley could hear them: the sound of chatter, forks clattering on plates, and water sluicing into cups. A look of concern creased her face and she cast her eyes at Svend.

  What can we do? she wondered.

  Stay here. He made a firm gesture with both hands as he mouthed the words before he turned and walked casually into the dining room.

  “How’d it go?” Shango’s urgent tone sent a pang of guilt through Bentley’s body, but she shoved it away. If he was so concerned he shouldn’t have had her locked away.

  “Not so well,” Svend reported. His footsteps encircled the table and then a chair scraped back as he sat down. “She wouldn’t talk to me, which I imagine is the same problem the rest of you are having?”

  “More or less,” Shango confirmed.

  “What can we do?” Jade piped up. This time Bentley felt a flash of anger. That little bitch had probably sold her out. It was only after their “heart to heart” outside the feast that the others had thought it necessary to treat her like a criminal. Maybe I should talk to her? Bentley barely suppressed a snort at the idea of that helping.

  “I think we just need to give her a little time.” Svend offered. “Why don’t we all just enjoy the meal, and afterwards I'll try again. Maybe if I show her some of my android tricks, she’ll open up.”

  “Android tricks?” Loco pressed, somewhat predictably. “What are you, an old-timey magician?”

  “What’s a magician?” Jade asked, her mouth full of food.

  “They were these dumb guys in top hats who existed before techno-wizards started doing shows,” Loco clarified.

  “Hey, I happen to have been a fan of magic!” Olofi protested. “Sleight of hand takes some real skill and practice, you know.”

  “So does punching with your hand, but I’m plenty practiced at that,” Loco chuckled. “I want to see the android boy do a trick though. Can you pull a rabbit from Olofi’s giant ear?”

  “Not exactly.” Svend’s chair scraped again as he stood up. “See this little sandwich? Most people would masticate it with their mouth, jaws, and teeth. But next-generation androids such as myself-”

  “And only yourself.” Shango pointed out.

  “Quite so. Next-gen androids are capable of consuming food using any part of the body. For example, if I simply close my hands around this sandwich and crush it…” There was a silence, and then Svend clapped his hands and everyone gasped.

  “Where’d the sandwich go?” Jade asked.

  “Into my stomach,” Svend replied. “And it was delicious.”

  A general hubbub broke out at the table, and Bentley saw an opportunity. She crept up to the corner, got down on all fours, and crawled across the open space to the other hallway.

  “Do it again!” she heard Loco say. “I want to see it again!”

  “Why don’t you always eat that way?” Jade was asking.

  “Why does your design feature such a system?” came Shango’s curious voice.

  “Can you eat soup that way?” Olofi wanted to know.

  “I promise I will show you again,” came Svend’s voice, “but I just recalled I need to see to a task for Captain Blackfriar. I’ll return shortly.”

  “Huh, a forgetful android,” Loco snorted. “Interesting.”

  Svend came around the corner and gestured for Bentley to go, and they hurried down the hall to the large elevator together.

  “We must be quick,” Svend muttered, “there are cameras built into all of the walls in these hallways. They aren’t regularly monitored, but you never know when someone might happen to notice. We have a fairly large attention span as a people.” He pressed the button to call the elevator and stood back patiently as if unaffected by the circumstances.

  A spike of adrenaline flooded Bentley’s veins, giving her all the energy she would need for the escape and sharpening her focus. She fidgeted as they waited for the elevator, glancing down the hall at regular intervals, but no one followed them. She could scarcely stop her thoughts from racing, so she concentrated on concrete things in the area like the artwork hanging from a steel nail; the tall elegant potted plant in a ceramic bowl bigger than her; and the shiny sprinkler head peering down from the ceiling in case of fire.

  The elevator arrived and Svend stepped in.

  His voice came back off just as quickly. “Hello, Captain Blackfriar!”

  Bentley turned and dove frantically, sliding across the polished floor and swinging behind the huge potted plant.

  “Hello, Svend,” came the captain’s voice. “Pardon me.” It sounded as though they’d bu
mped into each other. “How did your talk with Bentley go? I was just coming down to check on you, I thought you’d still be in with her.”

  “Ah yes, that’s - she wouldn’t speak with me. I was just going to prepare a special food I know that she likes. Have you heard of moose cake?”

  “I think you mean chocolate mousse, Svend, and our kitchens may have trouble with such a feat, but feel free to inquire. Perhaps I’ll try my hand at communicating with Miss Bentley.” His firm footsteps progressed down the hall. Bentley tucked into a ball in case he saw one of her feet sticking out. She held her breath.

  “Careful going in there,” Svend called. “They might press you for some android tricks.”

  Blackfriar chuckled. “Which one did you show them?”

  “The hungry hands.”

  “Ha! Well that’ll have to satisfy them for now, I’m no tech-wizard. I’ll see you shortly.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  Bentley waited until Blackfriar was inside the crew’s common area and then crept over to the elevator. Svend pulled her inside and hit the button to close the door.

  “We won’t have long before they discover you’re gone, now. We’ll have to be quick. There isn’t much security on the main floor, so we should be able to take a spacecraft. Most of them don’t have keys or anything, you just need an android’s biometric imprint and you’re good to fly.”

  The elevator door closed and it began its rapid ascent. They kept the walls opaque just in case anyone recognized her, and then stepped off onto the main floor triumphantly.

  “Shit,” Bentley muttered when she saw what faced them.

  “Yeah,” Svend agreed.

  The decontamination airlock blocked their path. There was no way around it. They had to go through.

  “Okay, but I can just do it, right?” Bentley stepped toward the first white door.

  “No, you can't,” Svend assured her. “The first time you went through that it didn’t just decontaminate you, it also catalogued your biosignature for later identification. If Blackfriar is as thorough as I know he is, your DNA passing through this security point will trigger an alarm.”