by Shawn Jones
Sike considered the ramifications of having such a completely unique man running around in the modern world. With an extinct carnivore as a companion. It would be rather manifest to say the least. “California is not a problem. That is where the family compound is. Your cabin has been maintained just as you left it three centuries ago. The family home is built on the opposite side of the lake from it. According to the records, the old government searched the property several times after you, uh, left. But Amber always restored it.”
Cort didn’t mask his surprise. “That’s good, what about Washunga?”
“Where in Oklahoma was it?” Cort went to a large cabinet and pulled open a long shallow drawer. The laminated map he wanted was on top. Laying it out on the cabinet top, he waved Sike over.
“Obviously this is from my time, or shortly after, but it’s about here. The map coordinates are 36°47′1″N 6°50′17″W. Actually, where I need to go is a short hike from those coordinates, but you get me there, and we’ll be good.”
“It must be important for you to have memorized the coordinates. But there is a problem. In the twenty-second century, there were a series of earthquakes in that area. They created an inland freshwater sea. Whatever was there is underwater now.”
“Show me.” Cort handed the man a marker. “It’s okay to write on the laminate.”
Dar traced out a rough area that included parts of what was once Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. It looked to be about the size and shape of Nevada, but rotated ninety degrees. Basically all of what he had known as Green Country and a good portion of the rest of Oklahoma was gone. It looked like northern Texas was now beachfront property. Tulsa didn’t exist anymore. It hasn’t for a long time for me.
“Was the area flooded, or did the ground collapse and leave a big crater? If it’s the former we still go, and I will dive for what I need to recover. If it’s the latter, I still have to try, but success is less likely.”
Dar looked at him. “Total substrata collapse. I believe due to the removal of fossil fuels. What is it you’re looking for?”
“I suspect it’s the real reason I was ‘chosen’ for the experiment. Actually, now I’m certain it is. I had something that someone back then wanted. He knew he couldn’t get it while I was alive. It’s why the compound kept getting searched.” The pitch of Cort’s voice lowered. “And he knew he couldn’t kill me. If it’s still there, we have to get it. If it’s lost for good then I’m okay with that. So long as I know it’s well and truly gone.”
Dar decided not to ask for specifics. Cort would tell him in his own time.
“Now my dear tenth great grandson, I suspect you have questions for me.” Cort opened a large plastic case that appeared to have waterproof seals. “By the way, do you like cigars?”
--
When the two academics returned, Cort’s boots were on the desk and the two men were smoking cigars. Wills had gotten used to them, and Sike clearly knew his way around the sticks, but Clare wrinkled her nose. She was smiling though. So were the men in her family. Well, the ones that were here, anyway.
“Would either of you like some three-and-a-half century old single malt scotch?” Cort asked, already pouring a jigger of the amber gold for Wills, knowing what his answer would be.
“Cort,” Clare said, “we found something you should see. Several more crates. Labelled body armor.”
“Yes, I saw those. I figure they knew I would want to have extra. They were right.”
“No,” she went on, “this is different. It is not what you have on. And it is not like the vests you have in the cases by the tunnel entrances. There are actually several kinds. One is black and very pliable. Another solid, but the third one is big. Really big. There is also a note from Amber.”
Cort stood up as he swallowed the last of his liquor. “Show me.”
--
Wills had learned that whenever he found a personal note from Amber, to immediately bring the unread note to Cort’s attention. So when he and Clare found the note, he told her to stop looking through the crate immediately and they returned to the living area to share their find. Now they watched as Cort read the note to himself.
Dear Cort,
This will probably be my last letter to you. It’s been over twenty-five years since you left us. We have to seal the bunker soon. There isn’t much more room and Matt has taken a position in Brussels. Matt or I will revisit the area when we can to make sure it hasn’t been compromised. We managed to procure one more gift for you. Well, several actually, but they are all armor. Matt won’t tell me how he got them. He says it’s better I don’t know. I’m sorry we don’t have anything cool for Sköll.
These four crates are filled with armor. One of the small crates is filled with three identical armor suits. The system is designed to be used independently as an external musculature system. It can be worn inside either of the other systems, but doing so will decrease its efficiency, and wear it out faster. Once activated, you should have about two thousand hours of wear time from each suit. In conjunction with either of the other suits, that wear time drops ten percent faster. Wearing it inside the others offers no benefit other than convenience. You have manuals and training information for all three suits, but here’s a quick rundown. By the way, Matt says to read the books cover to cover. If you don’t, you will die. So read them, okay?
The Flexible Armor Light Combat Oriented Nanotube (FALCON) suit has three basic properties.
1) It absorbs kinetic energy and converts it to power. If you get shot, it will stop the bullet and temporarily increase its own power output. Up to a point. Don’t stand in front of a tank. But any small arms fire up to .50 caliber won’t even leave a bruise. As a side note, it does the same thing with stun guns. You won’t feel a thing, but your suit power will increase temporarily, until the extra energy is bled off into atmosphere. It seals completely except for the breather. There is a SCUBA attachment planned for it, but I doubt we will be able to get it to you. Sorry.
2) As I said, it is an external musculature system. It effectively triples your strength, without adding any stress to your own body. That is, if you pick something up that is really heavy, your arm won’t break off. Matt says, “Lift with your legs.”
3) Camouflage. The suit is made of carbon nanotubes. In the weave, there is also a molecular level fiber optic strand. It will allow light to pass through the fabric of the suit. Actually, it will redirect light through the strands, around your body. This doesn’t mean you will be invisible. One, it won’t hide anything you’re holding. Two, it’s woven, so when you twist, it might show shadows from what is beside you in the wrong direction. You get the idea, right? Also, it’s not a part of the powered system. What that means is that if you stand in front of a tree, you will appear as a blurry shadow the same tones as the tree. The upside is that even once the suit’s power is depleted, it will still be effective as camo. In darkness, you will be all but invisible to the entire light spectrum, including IR.
The suit cannot be repaired. Once damaged, that portion of the suit will not function properly. If the large thick section on the back is damaged, the suits power supply may be compromised and it will no longer enhance your strength or fully neutralize electrical hits. It will however still disperse kinetic strikes. Matt got you three of these because knowing your history, you are gonna break them.
Suit type 2 is the COmbat Nanotube Defense OpeRations (CONDOR) suit. You have two full kits. Each kit includes the armor and a basic smithy package. You can do almost any necessary repair short of catastrophic failure. You can stand in front of a tank with this one. You’ll still get knocked on your ass, but you won’t be hurt, nor should the suit be damaged. Its attributes are as follows:
1) You are officially a bad ass, even by your standards. Unlike the FALCON system, it has a fully self-contained environmental system. Underwater, space, Fukushima, you can kill people anywhere you want to. Completely bio-contaminant and radiation safe. It’s made of a sim
ilar oriented strand nanotube material, but is rigid. Once you don it, it will self-conform its interior to match whatever you have on underneath. Oh yeah, the less you wear under the two smaller suits, the more effective they are. Did I say that? So get naked if you get into something really deep. Ha!
2) Combined with its armor abilities, it has its own exoskeletal strength system. You won’t have any trouble carrying in the groceries.
3) An enhanced sensor package. Full spectrum light analysis. IR, UV, the works. Aural enhancements. Think of grasshopper farts. You’ll be able to hear them. And smell them. Chemical detection to about 30 meters. This is actually part of the light system. It ‘sees’ the chemicals in the air. Spectral analysis type stuff.
4) This suit is programmable. If you get there and find other threats, you can probably program this suit to recognize them.
Finally, the goliath. It’s the CONDOR system on steroids. Its official name is Heavy Armor Warfare Component (HAWC). The tank will run from you. You have one full suit, and enough spares to repair it twice over. But only one control system. If it goes, you have scrap nanotubes. So it’s vital you keep that control system functioning well. Matt tried to get a backup for you but wasn’t able to. He was able to get you the design specs, so maybe you can put something together there. It’s the same armor system as the CONDOR, but coated with a self-repairing ablative nanite shell. It can withstand a nuclear strike down to 2000 feet proximity. This one is special. Throw some charcoal, or basically anything with a high carbon content (even the FALCON suit) into the repair chamber and it will rebuild the ablative shielding, as well as the nanotube level of armor under it. Matt thinks you might be able to modify the repair system to build components for the CONDOR suits as well. Kind of like 3D printing. This one has built in weaponry too, unlike having separate armament for the others. I don’t know what it’s armed with, though. So you will have to figure that out on your own. Matt says it’s good. That you will like it. Frankly, this kit came in VERY last minute, and I didn’t get any time to look at the manual on it.
There’s always a ‘but’ though, Cort. These systems are the latest and greatest. There’s probably something way better there now, but this should put you on a more level playing field. If you are willing to use them, that is. To do that you have to get ‘jacked in’ to them. They use an Atlas Interface System. That’s not an acronym. It’s an anatomy term. The suits are controlled by your own spinal cord. Specifically, they plug into a jack that has to be surgically implanted into your atlas vertebrae. That’s C1. Right underneath your brain. Once connected, it will be an extension of your own neural network. It splits your brain signals and sends them to the suit control systems. If you move your arm, its arm moves. If you kick, it kicks. With the two smaller suits, it’s straight forward. Not so with the big boy. Matt says your entire body will be inside the torso. I’m not sure how that works. Figure it out.
We’ve included a ‘Combat Conditions Interface Insertion Kit’. Kevellen says you can do it yourself, but it will be a, painful, dirty procedure since you can’t give yourself anything other than a local anesthetic. It will probably leave you incapacitated for a day or so. But please do it. If you don’t, the only thing that will work is the passive camouflage on the FALCON suit. Without someone to help you, there’s no other way.
Cort, like I said, this is probably our last note to you. I knew you for a less than two weeks. Matt knew you just one. Kevellen didn’t know you at all except for your dossier and that one argument you had with him. (He still won’t shut up about that, by the way. Haha!) But you changed all our lives. We’ve done what we can to help you in the future. And if any of our family is still alive, hopefully the trust we set up will be there to help you too. But whatever you find in that time, and whatever you accomplish, your real legacy is what you left behind. Never forget that.
Love always,
Amber, CJ, Matt, and the Addison Pack.
In the bottom corner of the last page was a simple note that made Cort break down and cry. Five words scribbled in crayon: “I love you Granpa Cort”
Clare went to his side and put her arm around him. After he regained his composure, he handed the note to Dar and said, “Another chapter in your books about me.” Dar held the note so Clare could read it as well. Cort continued, “Wills, I need you to go through the inventory. Cross reference and verify everything. I want to know if we’ve missed anything. Anything at all. I’ll be in the living quarters. I’m going to check on the pups and then start finding out about these suits. I’ve been sitting on my ass long enough. I got stupid and lazy. Clare, when you are done here, please study up on the Atlas system mentioned in the letter. It’s going to be in one of these crates. I’m not fond of the idea, but it makes sense. So I want to know everything I can before we do this.
An hour later Clare came to him. “The procedure is pretty straight forward. You align the device on your neck, then activate it. It takes a scan of your C1 vertebrae, the Atlas vertebrae, then a computer guides the micro drills to the right spots, and a few dozen micro leads are passed through to connect with various nerves. I have heard of systems like this, but never seen one.”
“Do you have anything like it now?” Cort asked.
“I have never heard of it if we do. Grandfather might know more than I do, though. Honestly, I doubt it. The synthetics would most certainly try to attack the leads. And they will not make this kind of connection. But then, something like this is not really needed now. I know the military and security forces do have power suits, but not like this. Mostly for staging and readiness, they are used to move equipment around. Nothing weaponized that I know of. There is a suit they can wear that shields their synthetics from attack. So you might run into something comparable in strength or abilities, but it is doubtful you would go up against anything that could be a threat to you. Especially in the HAWC unit, from what I have read so far. But again, you need to talk to Grandfather. He would know more. He served some years ago.” She considered her words for a moment. “Are you planning on starting a war?”
“No, but I wasn’t planning on killing Val, either. I assume you do have weapons that are effective other than to neutralize synthetics.”
“What do you mean. I do not under… Oh do you mean to take down the cats, or maybe to use against a non-human species?” she asked.
“Not exactly. Have they ever prepared for a fight with someone like me? Someone who doesn’t have synthetics?”
“Everyone has synthetics. Well almost everyone. A few independent countries, and there are aboriginals in some areas of the Southern Alliance and the Asianic Alliance, but nothing here. So we do not have weapons designed to stop them.”
“That’s a serious tactical flaw. What would happen if an enemy sent in an aboriginal force?” Cort’s question was directed more to himself than Clare. He suspected Clare didn’t know all there was to know, nor would her grandfather most likely. They must have something to defend against non-synthesized humans.
“I have never thought about it. Probably a prowler gun.”
Cort took a note. “Prowler gun?”
“Yes. It is an electrical weapon. I think it is probably like the stun gun Amber wrote about.”
Cort made another note. “I’m adding that to my shopping list. I want a few of them. Gather everyone together please. I want to talk about the Atlas procedure. With you all here to help, maybe it won’t be as dirty as she implied it might be.”
--
The procedure went well. It was still very painful. Modern anesthetics were designed to work with the synthetics that Cort didn’t have. He did have whiskey and morphine though. After self-medicating, Clare and Wills attached the insertion kit to Cort’s neck and activated the device. It inflated, or maybe expanded, completely immobilizing his head and neck. Then he felt a tingle as the drill broke his skin the first time. And then came the pain. Cort had never felt anything like it. Even with the area completely numbed and his brain sloshed, Cort
felt like someone was driving nails into the base of his skull. HOW THE FUCK COULD I HAVE DONE THIS ALONE? WHAT THE HELL?
Cort woke up four hours later. The collar had been removed and the area was very sore. He didn’t feel any different. Sure enough though, there was a port at the base of his skull now. There was no bandage, but he did feel a little crusted blood around the port. It felt like an old charging socket for a cell phone. He patted Clare on the leg. She was asleep in chair next to his bed. Book three of their family history was in her lap. “Hey.”
“How do you feel?” The last word came out like feeeeooooolll because she yawned as she said it.
“Just a sore neck. How soon can I start testing the FALCON suit?”
“Now, but you would not achieve full effectiveness for thirty-six hours or so.” She looked at her watch. “Thirty-two now. There is no reason to rush it, is there? You are not in combat right now, so why take the chance?”
“I was hoping to use it to unload the flight. It would have been a good, easy test.”
