So why was he hesitating? He looked down on the bed, where Miss DeChant lay, still sharded as a machinery ripe of one sort or another. Her delicate face seemed to catch the harsh Arizona light coming through the window and soften it. She lay on top of the covers, still dressed in her NATech issued pants and shirt. He had debated changing her, and decided against it. She would know what clothes she owned, and changing her would cause her discomfort, knowing it was he who had done it. That would be detrimental to maintaining the Miss DeChant persona until dissolution. He would have her clean up and dress herself after wakening.
And that was the source of his hesitation. He pulled out of a pocket the sharding disk he needed to use. Although he understood the need of using it, he found it slightly distasteful. He reminded himself that not only had he been ordered to shard the girl into Miss DeChant, it was to his personal benefit that he do it. Reluctantly, he pressed it against the girl's left temple and activated it.
"Miss DeChant?" Nothing. "Miss DeChant! Please, I have some errands for you to run for me. Miss DeChant!"
***
COOL POUR PRESS
the dough down firmly and ... and ...
I was lying on a bed in a dim room. I ... I ... What had happened? These episodes were becoming most distressful. I'd been making the bread only a moment ago. I raised my hands and looked at them. They should have been dough-encrusted, but were fairly clean. So that meant I'd ...
"Ah! Miss DeChant. You're awake. Excellent. I've brought you a cup of herbal tea. I hope you find it hot enough."
I turned my head slowly, as in a dream. Major Deiley was standing beside my bed - at least, I assumed it was my bed - and looking down intently at me. He was putting something away in his pocket. I sat up and swung my feet to the floor, feeling unsteady. A shot of fear grabbed me when I remembered I had been nude, but felt relief when I noticed I was dressed in my normal clothing. Still in a daze, I ran a slow hand down my shirt. Major Deiley stirred and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Miss DeChant. I've made certain no one misused you. I debated changing you myself, but felt it inappropriate."
"Merci, Major Deiley. I am grateful. Where am I? What is the date? What has happened?"
"Today is Friday, October 24th." He smiled briefly. "And it's still 2679. My men interrupted Resistance operations at their main base." I looked up, suddenly afraid. He shook his head slightly. "Don't worry, we made sure the base was evacuated prior to takeover. Lieutenant Lockwood and I find it to our mutual benefit to maintain status quo. But you were behind, as your soulner, when we entered. She was unconscious, so I took personal charge of you. You are now in your room in my quarters. It is my wish that you return to service."
"Oui, m'sieur. But my condition ..."
"Is becoming more unstable. Yes, I understand. I believe I've stabilized it for the moment. Please, Miss DeChant. I'm asking you to remain."
I shook my head. "No, Major. That's not right. Abigail is the soulner, and deserves to be the aware one. I've lived my life. Now she ..."
"I'm sorry, but that's not the way it's going to work, Miss DeChant. You know that she had designs against NATech, yes?" I looked at him, fearful of his next words. I nodded. "The reason your soulner was unconscious was because she'd had made her attack against my superior in the puterverse. She lost. Badly."
"No! You're saying she ... she ..."
"No, I'm not saying she died. My experience has been that when the soulner dies, every ripe dies as well. I'm sure she's fine." He paused. "As long as she stays where she is. You understand that should Abigail Wyeth reappear, I will be obligated to execute her."
I stared at him. "But then you would be executing me, Major!"
"That's correct."
I felt a heavy weight come upon me. What should I do? It was my duty to care for Abigail. But did I do that if it meant keeping her in that horrid round room? Wasn't it also my duty to surrender myself to my soulner? But to do that meant her death. I did not doubt for a moment that Major Deiley would do as he said. He was a hard man.
His hand, still on my shoulder, squeezed me reassuringly.
"I'm sorry, Miss DeChant, but for the time being, it's to your soulner's benefit that you remain the dominant persona." He released me and walked to the door.
"I'll be having my lieutenant over for dinner for debriefing at six-thirty. It's two o'clock now. I believe he has a preference for pork."
"Oui, Major. I'll see to it." I stood up and began taking stock of my room. After a moment I noticed the major was still in my doorway. He smiled slightly.
"I'm glad you're back, Miss DeChant." He closed the door with a quiet hand.
***
"Access, Jody Eyer. Level ..." Here she paused to take a deep breath. "Level eight limited nine."
The primary access room flickered dark, lingered between realities for an instant, then projected Jody into the puterverse.
The landscape became pockmarked with walls and access doors and terminal stands. In the middle distance stood a ubiquitous black barrier. Jody flexed her muscles experimentally. It was a rare thing for her to access this high twice in the same day. She felt a slight ache in her joints, and there was a faint twinge in her side, but otherwise she was fine. Not wanting to spend too much time here, she struck out immediately for the Quantum, the puterverse's most known feature, besides the walls.
As she moved along, she thought back to the events that had brought her here. It seemed incredible that a mere four months ago her scouting party had discovered the badly injured girl beside the wrecked NATech hov, her body armor riddled and her lifeblood soaking the Sahara sands. Jody had never admitted it to anyone, but her first thought when she saw Abigail was the same as Posen's -- that she was one of the girls from nearby Alexandria.
It became clear almost immediately that Abigail was far more than that. Abigail was not just a dog; she was one of the best. When she later said she was the anchor for the Third's top triteam - considered by both sides to be the deadliest triteam on either side - Jody hadn't doubted her for a moment. It was because of her faith in Abigail's word that Jody first started suspecting Lieutenant Posen's motives. Of course, because of her work with Doctor Ressler, she already knew of the dirty goings on in her regiment.
And she was certain that Posen had his own agenda attached to those orders. She'd seen the look in his eyes that night she broke into the infirmary, had seen his hand sliding out from under Abigail's hospital gown. Her stomach turned at the thought. Had she caught him in the act, she would have gunned him down without compunction. She had known that Abigail hadn't killed Ressler, as Posen claimed. But for some reason she never guessed it was Posen himself who was the killer. Some reason? She smiled ruefully. The reason was that this detective and intrigue stuff just wasn't her style.
What she was about to do was her style, though, and she was eager to get started. Earlier in the morning, Jody reported to TAU what her team had discovered. There was no difficulty in agreeing on a plan of action. There was, however, considerable difficulty securing permission to have her people perform the operation. The 179th was essentially a new unit, untested and still understaffed. It took at times heated arguing that she was the only one who could do the extraction in time. On the strength of her preparation, research in the field, and her close tie to Abigail, TAU reluctantly agreed.
And then they changed their minds when she insisted that no one could guarantee success better than Abigail's counterpart, Mike. She met him once, and hadn't particularly enjoyed the encounter. There was no doubt, however, of Mike's capabilities. She was going to need an inside man for this to look completely like an accidental death, and Mike was the man. TAU argued again, but both they and she knew there was no other real choice. Permission was granted, her level access was raised to unrestricted, and here she was, about to "go up the ladder". How high she had to go, or was physically able to go, she didn't know. She felt it would have to be fairly high, though, and had placed Mos
s in charge of the extraction. Tonight's trip wouldn't kill her, but it could very easily put her in the infirmary for an extended stay.
Jody reached the Quantum and a dead-end. She had absolutely no idea how to contact Mike. She had come here only because it was along the Quantum that she had last been with him. She called for a platform and rose up on it, soaring about twenty meters into the air. She looked around quickly, not knowing what she was looking for. There were at least a hundred other people currently accessing within sight of her, but none of them would be Mike. Nor could she ask them.
Going back down, Jody called up a requester terminal. A requester could scan all levels the user had access to in an effort to locate another user. The cubish cloud floated there, a single flashing question mark hovering in the mist.
"Mike," Jody said tentatively. "All access levels."
"You will need to provide further information to reduce the scope of the search," it responded pleasantly.
"I don't haveany further ... wait. Restrict scan to level ten and higher."
"Scanning, please wait. Scanning, please wait. Scanning, plea ... There are currently 4,879 users with level ten access or higher who will respond to 'Mike'. Three hundred and forty-four are currently on-verse."
"How long is the longest access of those 344?"
"Mike Jacobs has been on-verse for two hours and nineteen minutes."
"I see. Thank you. End search."
"You are welcome. Happy netting." The requester dissipated into the puterverse electron atmosphere.
Well, that didn't work, she thought glumly. She didn't really expect it to, but still felt heavy disappointment and an impending sense of failure. Only one thing left to do.
"Computer. Access Jody Eyer. Level fifteen."
"Warning! Accessing higher than level twelve can cause severe physical trauma, including but not limited to: internal bleeding, muscle strains, whole body fatigue, and in rare instances, permanent debilitation."
"I understand. Remove future warnings and access."
The puterverse suddenly brightened and cooled. Every single user who had been populating level eight disappeared, leaving her alone. The obsidian barriers retreated to the far horizon. All around her, red doors flashed green. The Quantum River, a deep blue with traces of gold and silver, started to glow, and the surface began roiling, showing high activity. The air became invigorating and crisp. These were the good things.
The slight fatigue Jody had been feeling turned razor sharp and began slicing open her leg and arm muscles. She slumped to her knees, then struggled back to her feet. Calling for a platform, she again went up into the air, but could only manage ten meters. Going to her hands and knees to conserve energy, she looked out over the horizon. Nothing.
"Mike!" she shouted, trying not to cry from the pain it brought. Her shout carried a great distance, but came back empty.
"Mike! This is Jody Eyer! I need your help!" Still nothing. He wasn't going to be here anyway.
"Access, Jody Eyer ... Level ... level twenty."
Pain became a living thing inside her, forcing her to cry out and slump to the ground. The platform, held in place by her will, shattered into thousands of bright pieces, and Jody fell ten meters, again crying out again as she slammed into the ice cold surface, frozen to the hardness of iron. Using all her willpower, she struggled to her feet, trying to see past the agonizing cold that stabbed at her toes and ankles like a hundred stilettos. Through pain-filled eyes, Jody looked around.
The Quantum was now a brilliant blue, and smelled of the freshest mountain air. The slivers of gold that traveled upstream were brilliant ropes, dotted with colorful diamonds of data. Of the black barriers, she could see only a dim smudge on the horizon. It was stunning. It was also empty.
"Mike!" Jody shouted again, choking off the cry almost immediately. There was something in her lungs, eating at the lining and filling them with acid. The agony was so great, she didn't have the willpower to shout a second time. Jody was in serious trouble.
She'd imagined this would be a difficult journey, but nothing as bad as this. Nor as short. The last time she'd climbed the ladder, she'd only gone up to level thirteen. It had been very difficult, but she managed to stay for a couple hours. Now, at level twenty, Jody doubted she had even a couple of minutes. It wasn't going to work. The pain was too great. She had to terminate access. She wiped the crystal pink blood from her lips and with her last strength made ready to end access.
"Access, Jody Eyer. Level thirty."
Why she said it, she didn't know. It was recklessly foolish, perhaps fatally so. But in the instant before she spoke, she saw Abigail's cheerful smile and intense eyes, filled with purpose. Jody had actually known Abigail for all of two weeks, and much of that didn't count because of separation or her condition. There should be no reason for her to risk her life this way for a Shard who would probably be dead in a few months. Might already be dead. No reason, but here she was.
The cold was gone, and an orange warmth, spiced with curls of apple and a haze of soft violet, filled the air. Jody rolled to her back, her last action before her skeleton softened to the point that it could no longer support her. Slivers of bone began poking through her skin, bursting into flame. The ground was comfortably warm, covered with a green and light red grass, blowing gently in the ion breeze. Overhead, the sky was solid black, of a pitch so complete that it seemed to draw light into it.
She had no idea what the Quantum looked like now, nor would she ever see it. Her bones had nearly boiled away, and her body had all but collapsed in on itself. She had a single breath left.
"Mi--" Her eyesight faded and death caressed her, taking away the pain.
"Wow, flesh. You've got a lot of nerve to try this. Must be pretty important for you to talk to Mike."
Gentle water washed through Jody's body, filling and restoring her. She felt her chest rising, and strength trickle into her body. She drew a breath, the first one after her final. It was the sweetest moment of her life. She couldn't move, but knew she would soon. Sight came back to her eyes. Sight, but no pain. Using a portion of her still limited strength, she turned her head toward the voice.
Standing beside her was a small girl. Looking like a pixie, she couldn't have been more than meter high. She was leaning over Jody, looking earnestly into her eyes.
"Tha--Thank you," Jody forced out with still empty lungs.
The pixie's face, fairly serious until then, brightened.
"You're welcome! Now that's important, thanking someone right off the bat."
'Right off the bat'? Where had she heard that phrase before? Wait ...
"You ... you know Abigail, don't you?" Jody had enough strength to talk now, but remained still otherwise.
The pixie became even brighter, if that was possible.
"Yes! And you do, too?" she asked excitedly. Jody nodded and the pixie leaned closer. "Oh, yeah! I remember your signature, now. You and one other flesh came here with Abby about twenty-eight hundred, seventy-six hours ago. I only saw you from a distance, but you're that flesh that Abby seemed to like."
"Um, could you maybe call me, Jody? 'Flesh' is kind of insulting."
"Oh! I'm sorry. You're right. I'll call you Jody. My name's Kiki."
Jody tried moving a little and was able to without pain. Slowly, she sat up and drew her tired legs under her. She was now eye to eye with Kiki.
"Well, Kiki, thanks again for saving me. You know why I'm here?"
"Yep. I noticed you when you requested a search for Mike, then started following you when you went to fifteen." Kiki looked at her carefully. "That's pretty dangerous, Jody. You've only gone as high as thirteen before. Then when you jumped to twenty, I checked to see where you received the permission to access that high. It took me a few seconds, and before I could get back, you'd gone to thirty. Good thing you went here. Twenty-nine or thirty-one would have killed you right away."
"Really? Why?"
"Because they're both primes. Thirty
's the only real safe high level because it's composed of the first four prime numbers. Composite prime numbers are less stressful to human flesh than pure prime." At Jody's uncomprehending look, Kiki giggled. "Sorry, but don't get me started! I'm Abby's puterverse programmer, and I can 'get on my soapbox' in a nanosecond when it comes to prime numbers."
"I'm sure. 'Get on a soapbox'. Another one of Abigail's?"
"Uh-huh. She's got a ton of them. I just love using them, but you're the first real flesh - sorry, 'human' - I've met, Jody. Mike's always been the one to work with them." She plopped down on the grass beside Jody. "Speaking of Mike, why did you need to see him?"
"Because I need him to help me in a mission. A mission to possibly save Abigail's life. We've just found out that Dr. Phillip Barrett is still alive."
Chapter Two
"Hey, hey, little girl! Give us a little leg!" The catcalls, even through her dulled mind, made Susan cringe inwardly. But showing them what they wanted was better than another beating. She didn't mind beatings, but they always picked someone else to assault for her disobedience. Dutifully, Susan lifted up a leg and pulled her ragged knee-high skirt up close to her hip. The guards hooted and whistled.
She stayed in that position, unmoving. The alpha suppression field that was used on them during the night severely restricted free will and initiative. She wanted to lower her skirt and return to work, but needed to be told to. Sarah walked by her, looking at her with dim and uninterested eyes. Aaron followed, doing the same.
"Okay, little girl, get back to work." Colonel Forncheth's voice pierced her addled mind, enabling her muscles to do what her soul had cried out for. Being the smallest of the prisoners, she was called little girl by all NATech personnel, even the women. Forncheth spoke again, this time to the guards.
"Get on with your duties! If you push Lendler outside, I shall put you in there with them." He'd do it, too, Susan thought dully as she picked up her cutting tools and trudged after the others. Shortly after arriving here, one of the guards had pushed Kate outside of her will suppressant and she had broken free, injuring several guards before being subdued. That night, the offending guard was in the barracks with them, terrified of what was coming. By morning, he wasn't terrified anymore, just obedient. Three days later, he was dead.
Final Book Page 2
