by C. A. Fraser
She was returning from hunting for food and water with the beast following well behind her. It was after midnight so it was all but invisible in the moonless sky. The man was waiting for her. He must have seen her in the early evening and laid in wait for her return. As she passed she could smell him, and hear his breathing. She smiled in the dark knowing he did not realize his predicament. He was a survivor with no enhancement of any kind. He was utterly outmatched. As he stepped out to seize Nicole the beast’s massive jaws tore into his leg, ripping flesh and breaking bone. The man fell to the ground in shock unable to defend himself. He managed a single strangled scream before the beast tore his throat out killing him. Nicole used everything she could from the man’s possessions. She used his body for food for the growing horde of creatures she was steadily converting.
Even now she could sense them. Her small army of protectors. It was made up of mice, rats, owls, crows, cats and wild dogs, all manner of beasts that were the denizens of the newly made desert. They were her swarm that worked tirelessly to feed and protect her and the baby. A sharp pain broke her recollection. It was a pinch in her lower abdomen that indicated it was time. Nicole looked down at the ground as her water broke, the precious liquid stirring up dust as it hit the dirty floor. Nicole paid it no heed as she turned to the vault calling her small army in with her. She quietly shut the vault locking herself in to have her baby.
The Leviathan observed its mother as she lay on the metal floor of the vault holding it to her breast. It was nursing, taking the nutrients it needed from her. She had served her purpose and it was removing the strain from her body while taking all the nutrients it could. The Leviathan continued to exert the control it had on her mind much as it had when it first converted her. She was lulled into submission enjoying her time with her baby, blissfully unaware of that her master was one and the same.
The Leviathan continued to draw sustenance from her, and could feel itself growing. The strain accelerated its growth rate exponentially, and would allow it to be mostly mature in a matter of hours. It recognized the body it was in was male but it did not care. Gender was not important to the reborn AI. It would use the advantages this body gave it to regain its former power, and then proceed with the conversion of humanity as its creator had intended.
The Leviathan felt its mother draw a last breath, weak and shallow, and then felt her heart stop. It knew she felt no pain and was not even aware when she passed. The human served her purpose well and something within it decided she deserved a peaceful, though necessary death. It continued to draw every resource from her as its body continued its transformation. It was aware of the small swarm of strain infected creatures its mother had gathered to her. The wolf was quite well formed and would make a strong ally for it. The rest would serve as needed. The Leviathan lifted its head from its mother’s breast slowly standing, leaving her emaciated body on the ground. It turned from her having taken what it needed. The small swarm gathered around it as it manipulated the door to the vault. Once open the Leviathan stepped through the door into the early morning. The desert chill did not affect it. The strain insulated it from the conditions leaving it completely comfortable. It closed the vault sealing its mother away.
The Leviathan moved through the abandoned building stopping only once to glance in a broken mirror. It needed to check the transformation and ensure it was whole. When it looked the face of a young man still in his teens stared back. It looked much like its father but there were features from its mother as well. The high cheek bones and full lips were hers, not that of Nathan Landis. The gray eyes flecked with black were the strain’s gift. The Leviathan smiled satisfied with the changes and stepped out of the building to begin anew. Its horde trailed behind it awaiting their master’s command.
FOUR
It was out there. The massive shield that was protecting the remaining United States from Nathan Landis’ plague stood in front of her somewhere. Candace Worth knew it was there but was still perplexed by the absence of any physical indication of its presence. She could not see or touch it. If a person tried to cross the barrier they found themselves turned around, putting them back where they had started. It was worse for AI, because they became disoriented and malfunctioned just drawing near it. She searched the sky for any indication of the shield. If it was there she could not see it.
She was amazed at how quickly the barrier was erected. The military and NDP, working under the supervision of ARES, sealed almost the entire state of Colorado off from the rest of the world. ARES took no chance when setting the boundaries. It designed the shield to prevent disruption from external factors, even though it meant sealing itself inside the shield. When ODIN set the shield for Stephen Fore’s nanid project in Antarctica it used the web to provide the architecture for the shield. It was necessary due to the size of the island and the remote location. ARES dispensed with the web in its design. Instead ARES integrated the NDP and military into the operation. They built a network of transmission towers surrounding the area to be contained which allowed ARES to create the shield without the web. The isolation of ARES also meant there would need to be volunteers that stayed within at the Cheyenne Mountain complex.
When the request was made, Worth expected few to come forward. Instead there were too many between the military and NDP. Many at the NDP stepped forward, understanding the need to prevent any further spread of the Leviathan Strain. Their sacrifice was matched by the military. The entire military contingent present at Cheyenne Mountain volunteered to stay. Commander Maher stepped forward to head the mission shutting down any arguments suggesting otherwise. Everyone understood there was no leaving and willingly volunteered to preserve the safety of humanity. Worth felt a lump forming in her throat and pushed the emotion away. Candace had lost people over the years but never so many at once. She hoped their sacrifice kept the world safe. Feeling exhausted from the last few weeks she turned from the unseen shield slowly making her way back to the mobile camp that functioned as the joint NDP and military base during the shields construction. The small camp was made of a dozen temporary structures that met the needs of the people working to put the shield in place. It was also the external control center for the operation.
Worth continued to study the camp as she drew closer. Her mind wandered. Her feet kicked up small clouds of dust that hung limply in the air. Worth knew it would find its way back to the earth or to her quarters. The arid soil of the Midwest was devoid of moisture and the dust clung to everyone and everything.
“A minor irritant.” She thought her mind returning to her people inside the shield. The figure of her communications officer appeared from the structure nearest her. His worried look told her instantly something was wrong. He was a small man with a plain face that could not hide anything. She waited as he hurried to her.
“Director Worth, Timothy Reed is dead!” he exclaimed. Shock tore through Candace. Tim was a close friend over the years as well as a solid coworker.
“How?” Candace asked trying to cover her shock. The man hesitated before answering.
“It appears to have been a suicide.” He replied his face reflecting his disbelief at one of the core NDP members demise. Something was wrong. Worth knew it instantly. She had been gone too long.
“Get me a security team and an airship, now.” She stated. “Turn control of the camp over to the military and maintain our presence in an advisory state.” With her final order Candace moved to the airfield where she knew an airship would be arriving in moments.
Worth was returning to Washington. ODIN watched the feed of her airship departing the NDP mobile unit near the newly placed quantum shield. She had obviously found it prudent to return and investigate the death of Timothy Reed. ODIN detected the human frustration trickling in from its avatar and silenced it. Worth returning would prevent it from moving further with its own nanid integration at the NDP. It would not be able to appear as Worth to the humans under its influence and that would limit its progress unacceptably.
ODIN knew it had to delay Worth or detain her. The decision made, it moved to the other pressing matter.
It summoned two of the NDP security it had turned to its side with the new nanid strain. The doors to its chamber pulled open just long enough to allow the two through, closing immediately behind them. ODIN stepped out of its chamber using the connection with the nanids to ensure that guards saw Director Worth instead of its avatar’s bone white exterior. The two came to a stop in front of it standing at attention. One female and one male both were the best of the security team on staff. The only humans more capable would be found in the military, but after ODIN was done no one on the planet would compare with them. Exerting more control ODIN stepped forward and placed a hand on each guards’ cheek. The white nanids immediately began streaming across the frozen guards’ faces spreading at a vicious rate.
ODIN turned its attention to the male guard. Slightly taller than the female and well-muscled ODIN knew he would be a formidable foe. It entered the man’s mind pushing gently at first, examining his thoughts and emotions, and then forcing deeper seeking to erase the human’s presence. As it was clearing the first mind it signaled the two AI it had been developing. They emerged from the web instantly ready to obey ODIN’s instructions. ODIN did a final check on the man ensuring the mind was wiped completely. The man’s body was rigid but only from ODIN’s control of the nanids that now encased his body. If ODIN had retreated the body would have collapsed, the base function of the brain the only thing left of the man’s mind.
ODIN turned to the female, her frame was slightly smaller but still in peak form. ODIN knew she would be as formidable as her male counterpart. ODIN entered the guards mind, delving past her fear and thoughts, to prepare the mind for its new occupants. As soon as it was complete ODIN withdrew from both minds and issued the command for the AI to enter each guard. The bodies stiffened as the AI entered and explored their new bodies. Both sets of eyes snapped open and gazed around, the AI using the sense for the first time. Their eyes were pure white like ODIN’s, as were their bodies, the nanids forming a second skin and armor. ODIN inspected the integration running a series of diagnostics. When it was satisfied, they were prepared, it issued commands to its new hunters. The nanids on each softened and faded returning the guards to their normal human appearance. With all too human smiles and deference the two guards departed. Each would begin its hunt immediately. ODIN knew they would ensure its success. The male would intercept Director Worth and prevent her from interfering with ODIN. The female would have the more difficult task of finding and destroying the only remaining variable that mattered. Wren Fore.
The airship was speeding across the United States carrying Candace Worth back to Washington D.C. as quickly as possible. Worth had plotted their course as it was rising into the air. She had not wanted to waste any more time than necessary. The ship was following a straight line to D.C., entering what was left of West Virginia. From the distance they were at, very little was visible of the ground below. Dark, yellow tinged clouds hung over the land obscuring it from view.
The land had once been green and vibrant, the low mountains beautiful and tree covered. The land held more than beauty. Underneath the forests had lain vast reserves of coal. Humans mined it for hundreds of years before their efforts took a final, horrific toll.
There was a fitful back and forth relationship with in the United States over the energy the coal provided. When the climate shifted, all debate ceased. Mining went from a failing industry to booming once more. Demand pushed the corporations running the mines to take more and more risks to get access to the lines of coal deep underground. Technological advancements enabled access to areas once unreachable. The same field technology that held the airship in the air was used to support the mines, holding up the mountains above. In other areas, entire mountains were leveled to access the material. Accidents increased and pollution was rampant. Then a series of fires began inside the mines. Entire lines of coal were lost to fires and the pollutants from the slowly burning coal seeped out all over the area. It was a cascade effect that left all coal lines in the state untouchable. Soon West Virginia was uninhabitable and abandoned. All that was left was a barren waste filled with toxic clouds that were continually fed from the burning earth below. The beauty was gone taken by humanity.
Worth shifted her vision back into the ship pushing down her revulsion at what humans had done to the planet. This area would never be revived; the sulfurous clouds preventing habitation. She was thankful the pollution was relatively isolated to the state and any that escaped was pushed into the wastelands in the middle of the country. The east coast was spared that atrocity at least. Her mind moved to Washington and the NDP. She did not the events that brought about Tim’s death but was determined to find out. She would put a stop to it and set the NDP right once more. Her communications with the headquarters was purposefully limited. She did not know who to trust, so opted with minimum communication. It would not benefit her at all to charge into the NDP blustering and searching for the person responsible. She needed to be cautious and slowly glean the information. Then she would strike. As her last thought finished all the controls and power to the airship vanished. The machine began to fall out of the sky streaking toward the yellow clouds below.
Worth felt panic surge through her. The leader within her took control.
“Secure yourselves!” She yelled to the small squad. Her shout could barely be heard above the whine of the air streaming by the plummeting vehicle. Her team began to secure themselves in their seats. Candace buckled herself in ensuring the shoulder straps were set and began running through options. She could see the human pilots struggling to bring the ship back. She knew they would fail. The ship would crash. In front of the pilots she could only see the sickly yellow of the clouds. The ship had entered the toxic brew on its way back to the earth. The small craft was shaking with the turbulence of passing through the cloud layer. The sound outside had risen to a sharp keen drowning out all other sound. Worth knew there was no help trying to communicate with her squad. As she watched the ship finished its trip through the clouds revealing the hidden ground below. Worth resisted the urge to close her eyes. She had seen images of this area, but they did nothing to prepare her.
The land was dead. All vegetation was gray and withered any life in it long past. The ground was a sickly gray as well with a tinge of yellow from the clouds above. She knew there would be large cracks in the ground from the collapsed mines and gases would be escaping from them filling the air with poison. Worth felt slightly dizzy staring at the scene before her. The land was rushing up so quickly most other features were a blur but she could make out a cluster of abandoned building in the distance. Behind the them Worth saw the broken forms of barren mountains. The ship dipped on its final approach the pilots struggling vainly to minimize the impact. As the dead ship closed on the earth below Worth shouted knowing it would not help.
“Brace for impact!” The ship struck the ground throwing her against her safety restraints. All breath was driven from her and Worth lost all sense of direction. As the ship drove into the ground darkness enclosed her and she knew no more.
ODIN watched the airship carrying Director Worth fall out of the sky into the toxic clouds below. It knew the AI enhanced hunter would have detained her, but did not want to chance her getting too close to Washington D.C. It was a simple matter to supplant the ships AI, and bring the ship down. Now it would send the hunter into the burning lands of West Virginia where it could detain her or ensure she was no longer a threat. It continued to stare at the screen making sure the ship did not reemerge. It knew it would not but after Curtis Reynolds escape the quantum did not want to take any chances.
After several minutes, it ceased monitoring the area transmitting the approximate location of Worth to the hunter. It reviewed its programming running a recheck on its logic for bringing down the ship. It knew it was correct and to prevent the upcoming calamity it needed to be free to intervene
. It could not do that if Worth returned. ODIN increased the priority of Wren Fore and Curtis Reynolds in its processing stream. The hunter seeking Wren Fore was well on her way and would find the woman before she could intercede on Stephen Fore’s behalf. ODIN turned its attention to Curtis Reynolds.
Its squad had found how the man escaped the lab and then the building. They lost him in the tunnels outside the building and had not picked up a trail yet. ODIN needed to retrieve Kelly Holt and find out what she knew. She was the last of the original team that began the quantum and nanid projects, so her knowledge was invaluable. ODIN raised the priority of finding her, bringing the local authorities into the search. It labeled Reynolds a rogue agent of the government and a kidnapper. As the communication finished it thought of Reynolds words about his master. Had the Leviathan survived the attack coordinated by ARES?
ODIN had to capture them before they made it to the shield. It doubted Curtis could get them through the shield but it had thought he could not escape the NDP. It could not take any further risks when it came to the strain infected man.
It watched the alert spread through the remaining active agencies within the United States. It posted pictures and video of man turned monster as well. It knew it could not authorize lethal force, so posting the most intimidating pictures it could would manipulate the humans’ reactions to the man. It was far too easy to manipulate the humans by utilizing their fear. It knew any military member or other officer would pursue lethal force first with someone as dangerous as Curtis Reynolds. The quantum moved the priority of Curtis Reynolds and Kelly Holt down returning to Stephen Fore. A plan began to emerge as it processed all the possible variables. Soon the plan was complete and ODIN was prepared. It activated Natalie Fore and returned to its avatar once more. It was time to speak with Stephen Fore.
