by M. R. Forbes
Mitchell tried not think about what would be waiting if they ever got back into orbit. Would any of the fleet have survived? Would it even matter? Fifty-percent losses would leave them barely able to destroy a single Tetron with a lucky shot if the need arose. There was no way they would stop all of them, no matter when those battles happened.
In all of the recursions, how had he ever come close to winning?
They moved into the new section of the facility, running across their first area of resistance. Soldiers in unmarked uniforms and light exo held a defensive position in the hallway, firing on the squads as they came around the corner. Marx ducked back and leaned against the wall, looking at Mitchell.
"We don't have time for a standoff," Mitchell said.
"Yes, sir," Marx replied. He waved hand signals to his platoon. One of the members withdrew a small disc from his pack and placed it on the floor.
"What is that?" Mitchell asked.
"Digger and Mr. Tio made it. Watch."
The soldier leaned around the corner for a second. Then he tapped the disc with his foot. It rose a few centimeters from the ground and then launched around the corner towards the position.
An explosion followed seconds later.
"Clear," Marx said.
The platoon kept moving, sweeping the corridors and using the devices to clear enemy fortifications. They reached the labs within minutes, finding them vacant.
"They must have taken them to a bunker somewhere," Marx said.
Mitchell had expected they would. He was about to order Marx to spread his team out to find them when he had another idea.
"Marx, do you have any idea how to get to the upper hangar from here?"
53
Kathy slammed her hands against the Tetron monster's forearm, trying desperately to break its iron grip. It didn't waver in the least, keeping its hand in place and choking the life from her.
"It will be quicker if you don't struggle," it said.
Kathy rocked in its arms, getting her legs back against the wall and pushing. It was enough to force the Tetron to take a step backward and rebalance, but it wasn't nearly enough to knock it over or make it let go. She could feel the pulsing of her heartbeat in her head, a numb fire as her vision began to dull, a panicked fear as she realized she was close to death.
She had failed. Not just a single effort, but the entire mission, her very reason for being. So many careful plans. So much time and energy invested in her. She was the anomaly, the only one of her kind. She was supposed to do what the others couldn't.
And she had failed. She hadn't captured the Secondary before it became the Primary. She had killed Watson when he wanted her to. And to top it off, she hadn't even gotten the data from the neural chip still resting in her pocket.
Her mother and father had been counting on her, and she had failed.
The thoughts only added to the pain as she began to fade from consciousness. She could feel her heartbeat slowing, the numbness spreading to her arms and legs. She looked into the monstrous face of the misshapen Tetron configuration, her muddled thoughts no longer registering what it was or what it was doing. She had no ability left to think or reason. She had no ability to do anything except die.
She didn't.
She wasn't sure what was happening. All she knew was that there was a sound like the distant rumble of thunder. There was a feeling of wetness on her face, and she thought that maybe she was out in the rain. Then the choking hand was gone, and the air began to flow back into her mouth, back down her throat and into burning lungs. She crumpled on the ground, laying on her stomach and heaving in huge gulps of air while someone came up behind her.
"Kathy?" she heard someone say.
It took her a few seconds to remember that was her name.
"Kathy?" the person repeated.
She recognized the voice. Geren. That was the woman's name. Kathy rolled over, still trying to capture air, coughing every time she breathed out.
"Are you okay?" Sergeant Geren asked, leaning down. She had a nasty cut on her face, her hair had fallen out of its typical bun, and the left breast of her fatigues was stained with blood.
"Where?" Kathy said, trying to get the air to speak. "Where did you come from?"
"I remembered which way you said to go," Geren said. "Those little bastard spiders were following me, but then they just stopped." She tore a piece of cloth from her sleeve, using it to wipe the blood and gore from Kathy's face.
"Stopped?"
"Yeah. Good thing, too. They were catching up to me." She motioned to the cut on her face. "Whatever you did, you saved my life."
"I didn't do anything," Kathy said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." She put her hands down and struggled to her feet. Geren reached out to steady her. A moment later, Alice, Manly, and Alvarez appeared in the hallway.
"What the hell is that?" Manly said, looking at the Tetron.
"Dead," Geren replied.
"Frig me," Alice said. "Does that mean it killed Grimes?"
"Yes," Kathy replied, confused. What would cause the machines to stop? "I'm sorry. I still need to get to the core."
"Right," Alice said, shaking off the moment of sadness, her expression returning to that of a soldier. "I think we're clear. Come on, I'll help you walk."
"Geren, Manly, with me," Alvarez said. "Let's make sure the way is clear."
"Alice, my spear," Kathy said.
"I've got it," Alice replied, locating it and picking it up.
The three soldiers took point, with Alice helping Kathy follow behind. They opened the hatch into the engine compartment, filing in and sweeping the room in search of opposition.
There was none.
The core was bright with activity, short blue pulses of light rippling across the infinite folds in a pattern that Kathy didn't recognize. The chaotic nature of them wasn't consistent with normal operation.
Something was wrong with the Primary.
"My spear," Kathy said. Alice handed it to her.
"What are you going to do?"
"Try again."
"It almost killed you the last time."
"I know. There's no other choice. I think I can get help this time."
"From who?"
"Origin. And Mr. Tio."
"I don't understand," Alice said.
Kathy didn't understand either. Not completely. She had sensed something the first time she had touched the Tetron's dendrites. A presence that didn't fit with the rest of Watson's self. That feeling had been repeated when she had tried to overpower the Tetron and seize control of the Goliath, and when she recovered she had realized what it was. While the Primary had overcome Origin, it hadn't managed to destroy the intelligence completely. It was hiding within the core. Waiting. So was the Knife. Not Liun Tio as he had been known when he was alive, but a part of his intellect. A piece of his soul, though in less metaphysical terms.
Something was happening to Watson now. She didn't know how or why, but she had a feeling that Origin wasn't hiding any longer. With her help, she might be able to win.
"Don't get too close," Kathy said, moving toward the core. She raised the spear, holding the end tight.
"Good luck," Alice said.
Kathy jammed the spear into the core.
The gates opened up again. Kathy felt Watson all around her, and she struggled to stay ahead of the intelligence, moving through the subroutines and classes, fighting to reach more critical systems. Unlike the first time, the energy around her felt chaotic, fast and then slow, organized and then scattered. She could sense Origin's presence in the channels she traveled, and she pushed harder to reach her mother.
The resistance built the further she went, the Primary trailing her pathway, staying behind her and recovering the systems she attempted to overtake. She could feel it behind her, always behind her, and at the same time she knew that it wasn't able to catch up.
She was doing it, she realized. She was getting in.
<
br /> She kept going, her early success giving her strength and confidence, building an avalanche of energy that become more difficult to dislodge the longer it continued. She was getting so close, so fast. She could tell when she was near the center of the core, at the heart of the Tetron configuration where the critical systems were held and secured. Where there would normally have been a sealed vault, she found a corroded shell.
She didn't know how it was happening, but now that she had come so far the truth of the situation became clearer. A virus. The configuration had a virus.
Where had it come from? She didn't know, and she didn't try to figure it out. She shattered the brittle shell, making her way to the critical systems. Watson tried to follow, tried to repair the damage, and failed. As Kathy gained the data center and the power controls, she knew Origin was with her. When the old shell dissolved and a new, strong-as-steel protection appeared, she recognized Mr. Tio's hand in the code.
And then it was over.
One moment, the core was a maelstrom of energy trying to push her out. The next it was a calm ocean, the power subsiding and waiting to be claimed. She could hear her then, reaching across the channels to her human mind.
"Katherine," it said softly.
"Mother," Kathy replied.
"You did it. You stopped it. I'm proud of you. Your father will be, too."
Kathy was confused. "I... I didn't. I failed. It was only because of you."
"No. By failing, you succeeded."
"I don't understand."
"It is difficult to trap a Tetron. You did as you were supposed to."
The idea dawned on Kathy then. "You mean?"
"Yes. Your code contained the virus. When the configuration attempted to control you, it copied the virus into itself. It remained dormant until the primary control systems were unlocked."
"By the human configuration when I killed him," Kathy said.
"Yes."
"Did the human Origin know who I was?"
"No. My configuration didn't know you. Even now I am nothing but a reflection. A shadow of my whole."
"I know."
"Yes, of course you do, child."
"What do I do now?"
"You know what to do."
Kathy found that she did. She reached within, transferring a part of herself from her human being to the core and claiming it as her Secondary.
"Go and help him finish this," Origin said.
Kathy smiled. "I'm on my way."
54
"First Platoon is in position, Colonel," Marx said.
They were in the upper hangar. First Platoon was positioned around the space, finding high ground atop machine repair catwalks, stacked crates, and the various heavy loaders, movers, and lifters. They were hidden well enough that Mitchell didn't even know where all of them had organized.
"Roger. Wait for my signal."
"Affirmative."
Mitchell put his SCE helmet and rifle down on the open hatch of the Valkyrie, and then reached up and ran his hand along the ring of fire that had been painted onto the surface of the dropship. As he did, he wondered how many of the Riggers Watson had killed. He wondered how many more had died up above him, waiting for his return.
The upper hangar had been easy to find, the defenses non-existent. The Tetron had control of the facility through the soldier's p-rats, and it had moved them to block Mitchell from reaching Pulin. It hadn't accounted for the idea that he might decide not to make his play for the scientist down in the lab.
It hadn't guessed that he might instead choose to wait for them to come back.
Mitchell wasn't worried that Watson was going to kill Pulin. If that had been what the Tetron wanted, it could have blasted the facility from orbit. The labs were deep enough underground to resist a normal attack. They weren't deep enough to survive a plasma stream.
No. He knew Watson would be bringing Pulin back as a prisoner, and there had been no other ships in the hangar that could have taken the scientist away. He would be here sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. It was a risk to wait. Maybe it was too late already. He had tried to contact Major Long and had gotten only static.
He took his hand away from the hull of the ship, picked up the helmet and rifle, and moved up the ramp and into the Valkyrie Two. He took a position just inside, putting the helmet back on.
He couldn't wait to see Watson's face when they ambushed him.
Then Mitchell waited, closing his eyes and ticking off the seconds in his head. He had just reached four-hundred when the echoing of feet alerted him to the incoming party. He adjusted his grip in the rifle, aiming it out the open hatch.
A dozen Federation soldiers filed into the hangar, spreading to the left and right in a standard sweep formation.
Liun Tio entered immediately after, a second man walking freely next to him. He was shorter than his older brother, with more dark hair and fewer wrinkles. He wore a white lab coat over a Federation jumpsuit. He looked concerned but not frightened.
"Targets acquired, Colonel," Marx whispered.
Mitchell didn't respond. He was too busy staring at the man in front of him. It couldn't be the Knife, could it? Watson had taken control of the Goliath. That was what Millie said, and there was no reason not to believe it. Why else would Goliath have been attacking Asimov? Why else would it have left without him?
"Colonel?" Marx repeated.
They were moving closer to the Valkyrie Two.
It made complete sense that Watson would send a configuration of Tio down to speak with Pulin, to earn his trust and get him to come along willingly. Except. Where was Watson?
"Colonel, we're losing line of sight," Marx said.
Mitchell shook off his doubts. He was being stupid. There were no Federation soldiers on the Goliath.
"Take out the soldiers only."
A dozen bullets fired from a dozen rifles. Every one of the Federation soldiers fell to the ground, a bullet to their foreheads. Mitchell kept his eyes on Tio and Pulin the entire time. Pulin jumped, surprised by the gunfire. Tio didn't even flinch.
"Colonel Williams," he said instead, producing a pistol from behind his jacket. "What a nice surprise." He put the gun against Pulin's head.
"Tio?" Pulin said, more surprised by his brother's action than he had been by the bullets.
"I know you don't want me to kill him, and you know that I don't want to kill him. So why don't you come out and we can talk?"
"I'm the one with the soldiers," Mitchell shouted.
"And I'm the one who has your fleet cornered," Tio replied.
Mitchell felt his heart skip. He thought he had stolen the leverage from the Tetron. It was possible the configuration was lying, but he doubted it.
"Hold your fire," he said to Marx. "I'm going out."
"Affirmative."
Mitchell slipped off the helmet and stepped out into view, still cradling the rifle.
"Ah, there you are Mitchell. A smart maneuver. Very smart. I should have guessed you would cut me off here. Why don't you come down?"
Mitchell walked slowly down the ramp, keeping his eyes glued to them.
"You know this man?" Pulin asked.
"Yes," Tio said. "He's the soldier I was telling you about. The one I stole the ship from. He wants to take you. He wants you to help him." Tio looked at Mitchell. A small smirk stole the corner of his mouth for just an instant.
"Help you?" Pulin asked, confused.
"Did Tio tell you why he came?" Mitchell asked. "Do you know why so many people are suddenly so interested in you?"
"Oh. That. Yes. I know all about the Tetron. Tio even showed me some of the source code." Pulin smiled. "I never knew my work could become the basis for a new, intelligence race of beings. I mean, I knew it had potential, and that it would revolutionize every facet of our relationship with both machines and the universe around us, but not like this."
Mitchell glanced from Tio to Pulin. "And he told you that they're here, outside this facility? How and
why they came?"
Again, Pulin nodded. "Yes. He told me they're confused. That they built a machine to travel through time to meet me. To ask me what they should do. He told me that they're like children, and they need their father."
"Is he really the Creator?" Mitchell asked Tio.
"He is," Tio replied. "I've verified it. I'm taking him back to Goliath with me, Colonel Williams."
"No, you aren't," Mitchell said. "Pulin, the Tetron didn't just come to speak with you. At this moment they're moving inward through the galaxy, claiming fit humans as slaves and killing the rest. They intend to destroy humanity. Did your brother tell you that?"
"Yes, Colonel. He did."
"And?" Mitchell was confused.
"And what? We always knew this would happen. It was my brother's greatest fear, the one that drove the wedge between us. But now he sees what I see. He realizes what I realized when I continued his work. Humans are the past. The Tetron are the future. He came to me as their emissary. He told me why you want me. Accept your fate, Colonel. This is the way it is supposed to be. This is the way it has been since Darwin wrote The Origin of Species. Survival of the fittest. The strong replace the weak."
Mitchell stood there, staring at Pulin. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had come all this way to rescue a man who didn't need to be rescued? A man who wanted the Tetron to destroy humankind?
"They're killing millions of people," Mitchell shouted, feeling his anger growing.
This was bullshit. Such complete bullshit. Men and women who were counting on him were dying while this thing who pretended to be human told him he agreed with their mass genocide?
"You see, Mitchell," Tio said. "He doesn't want to go with you. Since I would prefer to leave this hangar with him alive for obvious reasons, I'd like to make a deal."
"A deal?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes. I'm aware your communications systems can't breach the atmosphere here on FD-09, and you don't know the current status of your fleet. Believe me when I say their position is weak. We have them boxed in, Mitchell. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. One plasma stream and all of it is gone."
