by Ryan Rinsler
He knew that for anybody who would recognize Aaron Voss, seeing Connor would strike fear into their souls so deep that they would be utterly vulnerable. It was this fear that would become the catalyst for the reemergence of the resistance in Black Alpha. It was this fear that would command respect and motivate the weak, and Stanley was excited to be a part of it. A rush of excitement tingled the back of his neck as he considered the possibilities, the future of Black Alpha and the progress they could make. His mind raced with thoughts of what was to come.
The Gyro curved to the left as they exited the main lane and descended to lower levels, at which point Sonny tapped his wrist and held up his hand, indicating three minutes to go. They readied themselves as the Gyro pulled into a small Gyro terminal, and once the doors opened they both climbed out onto the platform. Sonny held up his hand at a man about to climb aboard their vacated Gyro and shook his head, before reaching in and pressing the keypad with what Stanley knew was the bloody severed finger. The doors closed in front of them and the empty Gyro zoomed off.
Rain tapped against his face as he stood on the platform, waiting for Sonny’s next move. It came quickly — he marched to a nearby stall and purchased two single-use raincoats, handed one to Stanley and said, “Cover your face, quickly.”
Stanley held the semi-opaque bag over his head and followed Sonny as closely as possible. “Do you know where we’re going?” he asked, able to speak loudly due to the background noise of the incoming rain.
“Yeah, keep walking.”
“Why here?” he asked, skipping to keep up.
“Minimal surveillance,” Sonny replied, glancing around. “We’re close.”
“Are we on time?”
“We’re late, but it doesn’t matter.”
They headed down a stairway and into a quiet area below the Gyro tracks, and took cover in a small alcove in the echoey, concrete maze. Backs to the wall, they peered around the pillars, checking for any indication they’d been followed or their location been given away.
“I think we’re clear,” said Sonny. “We’d have someone on us by now if they knew we’d come here. We’ll wait here a few minutes.”
“So, you got to Connor?” he whispered excitedly.
“Um-hmm.”
“How?”
“Wasn’t it you who sent him to Red Oscar?”
Stanley beamed. “Yes it was!” he exclaimed, before catching himself and quickly checking around the pillars again. “Yes. And he got to Mana?”
“Yep.”
“What does he know?”
“You’ll have to ask Mana,” replied Sonny. “I’m just here to get you.”
“But why though? Why me?”
“Let’s go.”
He headed out from cover and Stanley jogged behind him, approaching the entrance to an underground parking lot.
“But you’ve spoken to him?” continued Stanley. “You’ve spoken to Connor yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Is he the one who sent you? What’s happening?”
Sonny looked at him sharply. “I don’t have any answers for you. If you want to know anything you’ll have to get it from him or Mana.”
They entered the dark parking lot and looked around.
“From Connor? How can I do that?”
Sonny pointed to a dimly lit pickup truck at the rear of the parking lot.
“He’s here. Ask him yourself.”
46
“Oh my god, is that them?” asked Kate.
With Matt fast asleep in the driver’s seat, Connor woke himself up and cast a weary eye out of the window. Upon seeing Sonny and Stanley, he sat up sharply and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, I think it is.”
As they began walking toward the truck, Connor slid across the seat and clicked open the door. Before he could open it to climb out, Sonny, striding toward them, held up his hand and shook his head.
“Maybe there’s cameras or something,” whispered Kate.
The rear door opened and the two of them climbed in. Stanley’s eyes were wide as he stared at Connor in the front seat.
“Hello again, Dr. Chen.”
Stanley took a breath. “Hello Mr. Cooper.”
Connor laughed. “Call me Connor. Matt you’ve met, and this is Kate. Everything go OK?”
“We met some resistance but it was pretty smooth,” said Sonny. “Are we leaving or not?”
Kate nudged Matt, who opened his eyes and glared at her for doing so. “Hello,” he said, sleepily, his hair even more unkempt that usual. “Are we going?”
“Yeah, we’ll drop Sonny, well, Andrew, off, then head back to the ranch.”
“The ranch?” asked Stanley, as they set off. “What’s the ranch?”
“It’s our safe place,” replied Connor. “It was never meant to be, it just kind of happened. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, no eyes, hardly any electronics. Ideal.”
“I, um, I can’t believe I’m sat here,” said Stanley, looking at the four of them. “I thought I was dead for sure. Or worse. Thank you.”
“It’s you who deserves thanks,” replied Connor. “If it weren’t for you I’d have never met Mana.”
“So it worked then? Getting you in there?”
“Yeah,” Connor said with a laugh, “about that.”
“What?” asked Stanley, returning the smile, out of curiosity more than humor.
“You dropped me right into a building that’d been taken over by Scouts.”
“M-Scouts, actually,” said Sonny.
“M-Scouts?” asked Kate.
“Military Scouts,” replied Sonny. “Like normal Scouts, but even more dumb.”
“I had no idea,” said Stanley. “All I could see were the health stats of the hosts I had access to, and those two were the only ones available. So what happened?”
“I managed to escape the building I woke up in, but I was picked up a bit after that by Scouts on the streets and taken in.”
“What? Taken in where?”
“I dunno, some medical facility. They hit me in my spine with something which meant they could control my body. After that they ran tests on me and then this asshole interrogated me.”
Stanley nodded. “I know that feeling.”
“Luckily, Mana’s team came in time and broke me out.”
“And he told you everything? Mana?”
“He told me enough. There’s a lot to learn.”
“So, is there a plan? What’s next?”
“Right now, we’re building,” said Connor. “There’s nothing, nobody here to push things forward, at least there wasn’t. I’m putting all the pieces back together, slowly, and hopefully we’ll get a team together who can actually start to make a difference.”
“You’re building a team?” asked Stanley, excitedly. “Like an army?”
Connor smiled. “That’ll come,” he said. “At the moment it’s just you and another tech. We’re building from the ground up, getting the people we need to start understanding what’s going on here. I spent a long time talking to Mana and his guys over there, and there are huge gaps in what they know and what they can achieve. The resistance in Red Oscar is stretched thin and those they do have are either foot soldiers, under-qualified techs or just civilians doing their best. I came into this thinking that they’d know all the answers, but really they have as many questions as I do. No, the time for action will come, and when it does then we’ll need strength in numbers, but for now we need to know what we’re dealing with. We’re hoping you can help shed some light on the technology behind what they’re doing, and if not, we’ll get you the tools to find out.”
“I know I can help,” blurted Stanley, the excitement growing in his expression. “Even though I haven’t been involved in the project for years I know the foundation and, I was... you know... oh I’m not saying anything right.”
Connor laughed. “It’s OK Stanley,” he said. “I’ve been told you’re the greatest mind ever to have graced neuroscience. You don’
t need to justify you being here.”
The rain was falling heavier now as darkness crept in. Matt drove slowly and cautiously, avoiding major highways and keeping distance from other vehicles, while Connor and Stanley discussed the next steps.
“Have you been over there already?” asked Connor. “To one of the default timelines?”
“Once. Many years ago. It wasn’t Red Oscar, but it was the same of course.”
“I remember you saying you don’t use Pure Reality anymore. I understand now why that is,” said Connor. “I look back on how much of a game it was to me. If I’d known then what I know now obviously I’d be the same as you.” He looked Stanley in the eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why did you carry on working at Pure Reality if you knew what was really going on? I mean, if you know people die when they’re taken over, why be there to help it happen?”
Stanley eyes showed a slight smile, if not a little uncomfortable. “It’s a good question,” he said. “A few reasons. Firstly, they’d do it whether I worked there or not. Me being in that department meant I had eyes on the ground. It was what led me to you of course. Secondly, where ninety-nine percent of the Pure Reality worlds are all the same, there are some that have, well, different endings, if you know what I mean. There were calculations I could do based on the brain patterns of the intended hosts which would tell me whether or not there was a chance they’d die from a terminal disease. With a virtually limitless number of universes I nearly always found a relevant host who would have died within a couple of years at most, so I was able to limit the damage done, at least a little bit. It was as much as I could do.”
“That’s… wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“The money was good too,” he said, causing everyone to break the tension with a burst of laughter. “Am I going to be able to contact my family?” he asked after it had died down. “I’d like to let them know I’ll be safe.”
“Yes, of course,” said Connor. He suddenly had a pang of guilt. “I’ve not even asked you if you’re OK coming with us!” he said, blushing.
“Don’t be silly,” replied Stanley. “For the last three weeks I’ve been contemplating death. Anything is better than that right now.”
“You’ve not smelled Matt’s farts.”
“Hey, shut it, asshole,” shouted Matt.
“Seriously though,” said Connor, “I need you to be sure you want to be a part of this. I don’t know where it’s going to take us yet, but it’s not gonna be a walk in the park, I’m sure.”
“I’ve seen more action and excitement in the last month than I have in my whole life put together.”
I know exactly what you mean, thought Connor.
“It’s been hard, traumatic, I guess, but I’m excited to carry on and be a part of what you’re creating. I don’t know you, not yet, but I believe in you.”
Connor smiled. He was touched by Stanley’s words of encouragement, and they worked. Every passing minute gave him the feeling he was on the right path, and having Stanley onboard would be a morale boost for everyone involved.
“I appreciate that,” he said. “I’m excited to get you over to Red Oscar to see what you can do. In fact, it’s the first thing we’ll do when we get back. When you’re ready, of course.”
“That’d be good,” replied Stanley. “I’ll need some sleep first. And a change of clothes.”
“My dad will go into town tomorrow and get you fixed up. Denver’s pretty low-key when it comes to Silk presence but I don’t want to risk you going out in public and getting FaceRec’d.”
“Denver? That’s where we’re going?”
“My dad’s place, yeah. It’s quite a way from here. We’re dropping Sonny off at Andrew’s house first, but don’t feel you need to stay awake.”
Connor looked at Sonny. “I appreciate you getting him through this. It looks like you didn’t get a scratch.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Like I said, completing the mission meant keeping this asshole alive.”
“And you’ve still got the Primer?”
“I guess so,” he said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the small black box.
“That’s it,” said Connor.
“What?” asked Sonny, examining it closer.
“Is there a problem?”
“That’s not a Primer,” said Stanley, taking it from Sonny. “Primers don’t look like this here. They don’t even look like this in the defaults.”
Sonny took it back from Stanley. “Switch on the light.”
Kate reached and flicked on the interior light.
“I’ve seen one of these before,” said Sonny. “I’m sure my dad used to have one of these in his study, like it was my grandad’s or something. What are they?” he asked, appearing to search his memory.
Matt glanced over his shoulder. “That looks like an old pager,” he said.
“A what?” asked Connor.
“A pager. They used to have these things in the twentieth century, kinda like a phone but not.”
Connor grabbed it from Sonny’s palm. “You’re telling me this isn’t a Primer?” he exclaimed. His heart was racing, his mind searching for answers. “Couldn’t it just be, you know, a Primer in disguise or something?”
“No, they’re bigger than that here,” said Stanley.
“It’s not possible,” said Connor to himself. There was a moment of silence in the truck. “He must have known.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kate.
Connor gritted his teeth and breathed heavily. “He must have known. He knew I wasn’t going to use him as a host if I thought he didn’t have a Primer.” He paused for a few seconds. “It’s my fault.”
“No,” said Kate. “If he did know then it was his decision.”
“I pushed him to it.”
“He could have backed out,” she replied. “It sounds like you gave him the option.”
“I… I don’t think I did. Not really.”
“Look, man,” said Sonny, “I wouldn’t feel bad. He made his choices in this world and the rest, none of them good.”
“That’s not the point,” said Connor. “He sacrificed himself for us and I didn’t even have the chance to acknowledge it.”
“You wouldn’t have let him do it,” said Kate. “You said it yourself.”
His throat was tightening, his breathing becoming heavier. “He has a wife and kid. What are we supposed to tell them?”
“Don’t tell them anything,” said Sonny. “I’ll go in, make sure I see them both so they know you weren’t involved, then go and sit in that room you were in. You wait twenty minutes then call it into your guys who can get me disconnected. Easy. Brain hemorrhage.”
Connor had a flash of rage. “Easy? How can you even say that?”
“Look, asshole,” said Sonny, returning Connor’s fire, “this guy doesn’t deserve any sympathy. If it was up to me I’d have thrown the god damn Primer out the window, real or not.”
They took a moment to cool off. “It doesn’t matter now,” said Connor, calmly. “What’s done is done. Just do what you have to.”
“We’re coming up on his house now,” said Matt.
Connor took a long look at Sonny, but pictured Andrew behind those eyes. It felt like he could still save him, like he was still in the truck with them, but he knew deep down he’d been gone since the moment Sonny connected. He couldn’t expect Sonny or anyone else to have sympathy for the man, but he’d seen a side of Andrew that he would assume not many had. He’d performed the most selfless act imaginable, sacrificing his life for a complete stranger. Casting his mind back to their final moments, he remembered an air of satisfaction from Andrew, which at the time he’d assumed was borne from his willingness to help, but it was becoming clear that the satisfaction could have been closure for him; a way of escaping the world and being able to make a difference at the same time, even pay for some of the sins that he made obvious he felt he was carrying. Either way, there weren’t many sins Connor
could think of that should cost the ultimate price. Andrew’s sacrifice was worthy of remembrance.
As Sonny stepped out of the car he turned to Connor and nodded, the rain pouring down his forehead. Connor couldn’t think of the right words to say, so simply nodded back as he closed the door. The four of them sat in silence as they watched him walk to the entrance of his apartment block, before disappearing inside.
“OK, let’s go.”
47
It was mid-afternoon before they made it to the ranch, having stopped for a few hours rest in a PodMotel on the way back from California. The sight of Jacob’s beaming smile as they pulled up in front of the house was comforting beyond measure, the feeling of being home warming him from head to toe.
Jacob organized a room for Stanley, providing him with bathrobes and slippers, and a tray of pies and snacks so he could enjoy some peaceful alone time to gather his thoughts after such an ordeal. Stanley couldn’t be more grateful, constantly shaking Jacob’s hand and smiling, thanking him at least once every ten seconds.
Nolan was in the morning room fiddling with his technology, and Matt justifiably sloped off to his room, having taken it upon himself to drive the whole twenty hour journey from California.
Connor stood in Kate’s bedroom doorway as she unpacked a few of her belongings. “You got everything you need?” he asked.
She stopped what she was doing and smiled at him. “Yeah I think so.”
“You can stay here as long as you like, you know. I mean, I hope you do.”
Her cheeks flushed a little as she looked away, focusing even more on emptying her bag. “I like it here. Your dad, he’s nice. As long as you don’t mind having me. I don’t have any real way of paying you for stuff, but I can do things, you know? Help out?”
