by M. R. Forbes
"Explain yourself, Colonel. Explain this artificial intelligence, this ship, this fleet, and what you were doing on this planet. Explain that massive starship that carried the same weapons as the alien ship you claim to be fighting."
"I will, Admiral. I want you to understand your options up front. One: you join our fleet and help us fight back against the Tetron. Two: we ship you and your crew down to the planet's surface and take your ships. Three: you blow them all to smithereens. And don't think we'll let you do three without trying to stop you. We need those ships."
Bayone nodded. "Fair enough, Colonel. I appreciate your forthright approach."
"Lewis, could you see if we have any coffee left in inventory? It's going to be a long afternoon."
Lieutenant Lewis stood up. "Of course, Colonel." He bowed to both Mitchell and Admiral Bayone and left the room.
"I'm going to cut a few corners for the sake of time, Admiral," Mitchell said. "Keep in mind that everything I'm about to tell you is true, and the people here can vouch for most of it. I have a few of Admiral Hohn's officers spread throughout the fleet as well. I can have them sent for to corroborate the truth of the Tetron threat if needed, assuming any of those ships survived."
"Understood, Colonel," Bayone said. "Go on."
Mitchell leaned back in the chair and began to speak. He expected Bayone to interrupt him during parts of the story, especially when he told him about M. Surprisingly, the man remained silent for the entire duration, listening intently to every word while sipping the coffee Lewis and the cook, Private Abor, returned with.
When Mitchell finished, Bayone sat silently, leaving him waiting for a response.
"From what you say, Jingu will also be in danger," the Admiral said at last.
"Yes," Mitchell replied.
"How can you in good conscience ask me to give you my ships? I need them to defend my nation."
"You can't defeat the Tetron on your own. None of us can. The Goliath gives us a chance in a battle. Without her, you're going to die a useless death."
"I can go and warn the Council. I can make them see reason."
"The way you did with Admiral Hohn?" Bayone turned his head as if he'd been slapped. Mitchell didn't give him a break. "We know at least one of our top Generals is compromised. For all we know, the Tetron have already seized control of all of the Alliance's top command. The same is likely true for the Federation."
"We have to try. There are assets on other planets the Tetron may not have touched."
"You don't need twenty ships to warn them. I'll spare you one of your cruisers."
Bayone huffed. "You'll spare me? You don't dictate to me, Colonel. I've given my blood and sweat to-"
"Save the indignity," Mitchell said. "I could have Goliath destroy every one of your starships with one shot. I want an alliance, but it has to be on my terms."
Bayone's face was turning red, his anger getting the better of him. Mitchell noted that he had a much shorter fuse than Calvin.
"Admiral Bayone," Aiko said, getting to her feet. "My name is Aiko. I am a citizen of the Federation. I am also a Rigger. Please, we must put aside our bias and our pride. I have watched the Tetron seize the entire military of Mirai in an instant. I have watched them rampage through the city with no concern for human life. I have also lost my family and my home to them. We have an opportunity to stop it, but we need your ships. We need to work together to defeat this threat."
"And what is to say I won't betray you when you need me the most, Colonel?" Bayone asked, cooling slightly.
"Honor," Mitchell said.
"Is there such a thing in times like these?"
Mitchell nodded. "Yes. There has to be."
64
Mitchell exited the conference room an hour later, leaving Teal to work out the final details of the agreement with Bayone. The Admiral had been a bit more difficult to convince than Mitchell had first expected, but in the end he had seen both the benefits of siding with the Riggers and the futility of trying to go his own way. He had been particularly against the idea of making a straight line towards Earth, which was understandable as his own nation's homeworld was at equal risk.
The truth was, he had never had a choice. Mitchell had threatened the Admiral with the destruction of his fleet, and he was prepared to follow through if it had come to that.
Thankfully, it hadn't.
"Colonel," Digger said, following him out of the room. "Can we talk for a minute?"
"I need to get back to the Goliath," Mitchell said. "Can you walk with me?"
"Yes, sir. Frigging crazy shit, huh? I thought that old bastard was going to pop a nut when you told him you were taking his fleet."
Mitchell smiled. The mechanic had a unique way of putting things. "It's been a long day."
"Damn right. Anyways, what I wanted to talk to you about was the work Jameson and me have been doing. The TBT."
"TBT?" Mitchell asked.
"Yup. Tetron Blood Test. That's what Jameson's been calling it."
"Okay, what about it?"
"We've got a fair sample size from the crew of the Carver, and we spent the weeks in hyper entering everything into the mainframe. We haven't gotten anything out of the ordinary so far. Well, except for you."
Mitchell stopped walking.
"What do you mean, except for me?"
Digger shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. I mean, you can't be a Tetron, you're the leader of the resistance against the Tetron. I think it's just a genetic anomaly."
"Damn it, Digger. What the frig are you talking about?"
"Can you come down to the lab? It would be easier to let Jameson help me explain."
Mitchell wanted to get back to the Goliath and check on Kathy. To hear that there was something off about his blood gave him pause. Digger was right, wasn't he? He couldn't be a Tetron. Not him, of all people. The very idea of it gave him a chill.
"Okay, let's go."
He followed Digger down to the lab. Jameson was inside, entering information into the mainframe.
"Hey, Jameson," Digger said. "I got Colonel Williams here."
Jameson stood and bowed to him. "Colonel. I assume Digger told you about the anomaly?"
"Yes. He said it was probably nothing to be concerned about."
"It isn't. I mean, you aren't a Tetron. I just want to get that out in the open."
"You said my blood is different than everyone else's?"
"Yes."
"Then how do you know for sure?"
Jameson paused. "Let me show you the model," he said, navigating through the touchscreen controls. It took him a minute to get the view on the screen. "Okay. So we took your blood and ran it through the database. It broke it down and scanned pretty much everything, all the way to your DNA. Ninety-nine point ninety-nine of it was typical. Then the system came across this."
"What am I looking at?" Mitchell asked. The screen showed a double helix of DNA, but it was meaningless to him.
"It's DNA," Jameson said.
"I know. What about it?"
"It shouldn't be there," Digger said.
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't match the rest of the DNA in your blood. It's like you have this entire extra bit just hanging out in there. How do you feel?"
"I feel fine. Why?"
"You have extra DNA in your system; that's why. The thing is, we can't figure out what it does, or what it might potentially do. It's a structure the sequencer has never picked up before."
"And how does this make me not a Tetron?" Mitchell asked.
"Well," Jameson said, trailing off.
Mitchell stared at him. He had expected Jameson would make him feel better, not worse. "So basically, I might be a Tetron?" he asked.
"The DNA is dormant. It doesn't appear to be affecting your system in any way. It's just sitting there," Jameson said.
"Waiting for something to trigger it?" Mitchell asked. "Or for something to turn it on? How do you know this isn't what a Tetron confi
guration's DNA looks like?"
Jameson and Digger looked at one another. Then they looked at him.
"The truth is, sir, we don't," Digger said. "I mean, it could be possible that you're a Tetron just based on that, but I don't think that's the only thing we should go on. Like you said when you gave me this job, we have to be pretty damn sure before we go making claims about people."
Mitchell remembered saying that. He had never expected he would be the one that would be put under the microscope.
"Anyways, if you are a Tetron, you must be a good one like Origin."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Does anyone else know about this?"
"No, sir," Jameson said. "You said to keep all of this quiet."
"Good. Keep doing that. Give me an extractor."
"Sir?"
"I'm going to get a sample of Kathy's blood for you and send it over. We know she's a Tetron so that will be a good baseline. Until then, none of us can be completely sure I'm not."
Digger nodded. "Good idea." He went over to a cabinet and handed him one of the extractors. "It takes a day or so for the results, so you probably want to get it back pretty quick."
"I'll have Marx drop it off in a couple of hours."
"Yes, sir," Jameson said.
Mitchell headed out of the lab. His legs felt unsteady beneath him as he tried to come to grips with the discovery. How could he be a Tetron configuration? It didn't make sense. M had come to him to warn him about the Tetron. If he were one of Origin's, what would be the point of that? If he were part of the collective, why would they have tried to have him killed when they could just turn him on whenever it was convenient?
No. There was no way he was a Tetron. Was there? Even if he wasn't, he still had an extra set of DNA hiding out in his bloodstream. What was its purpose? Did it even have one?
He had been against the whole idea of the TBT for this very reason. It wasn't just about pointing fingers. It was about the self-doubt and unease that came with knowing he was different. That there was something potentially wrong with him was something he didn't want to have to deal with right now.
He had enough on his plate already.
Mitchell returned to the hangar, climbing into the cockpit of the S-17 and waiting for clearance to launch from the bridge. He barely noticed the conversation he had with Atakan, and when he landed back on the Goliath he barely remembered flying there.
He would get a sample from Kathy and get it over to Digger and Jameson. It would be better to know he was a Tetron than to be in this in-between state of possibility.
Then they could figure out what it meant for the war effort.
65
"How is she doing?" Mitchell asked, finding Alice in the hallway outside of the engine room. The disfigured Tetron configuration had been removed, either by the Riggers or Kathy's Secondary.
"She's been in there since you left, Colonel. Whatever she's doing, it must be a lot of work. I've been using damp towels to keep her cool."
Mitchell wasn't expecting that answer. He stepped past Alice into the space. Kathy was standing next to the core; her hand once more joined to it by the small dendrites. Her too-big flight suit was drenched in sweat, as was her forehead. A bucket and a pile of towels rested near the larger dendrites that traversed the Goliath from the core.
He went over to it and grabbed a towel, dipping it in the water, wringing it out, and putting it against her forehead.
"Kathy, can you hear me?" he asked. "It's Mitch."
She turned her head to look at him. "Father. I'm making progress on the contents of the data chip."
"Are you okay? You're sweating like crazy."
"It's the cost of efficiency," she replied. "I was hoping to surprise you and be finished before you returned."
"You don't need to do that to impress me."
She smiled. "We don't have a lot of time to waste, and I'm sure you have other work for the Secondary. The damage to my body is impermanent."
"That's good to know. Kathy, I'd like to take a sample of your blood."
"What for?"
"We set up a laboratory on the Carver. Two of Tio's men, Digger, and Jameson, are trying to come up with a means to determine if someone is human or a Tetron configuration. Since we know you're a Tetron, I was hoping we could use your DNA as a baseline."
He didn't mention the part about his blood. Not with Alice within earshot. It was bad enough Kathy had called him Father.
"They're wasting their time," Kathy replied.
"What do you mean?"
"A proper Tetron configuration is an exact duplicate. The DNA is also a perfect copy."
Mitchell felt a sudden relief at the words, the weight of the uncertainty lifting from him. Kathy noticed the change in his demeanor, looking at him questioningly.
"Did you think you were a Tetron?" she asked.
"I wasn't sure. They found an abnormality in my blood. An extra bit of DNA that they said shouldn't be there."
"Interesting. Did they know what it was for?"
"No. Do you?"
"No, but I can assure you that it isn't because you're a Tetron. The interface is in the mesencephalon, the midbrain. It is stored as organic DNA, but it wouldn't be found outside of that area. You would have to take a sample from there."
"Wouldn't that kill the patient?"
"Most likely."
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes, Father. You aren't a Tetron. Believe me. Although a blood test would prove your paternity if you aren't convinced."
"Your word is good enough for me on that one." He took the towel away, dipping it and putting it to her head again. "How much longer do you think you'll be?"
"I've isolated all of the necessary subroutines and transferred them to the sandbox. The data itself has been challenging due to the encryption placed on it, but I'm almost there. Maybe..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes closed.
"Kathy?" Mitchell asked.
She began to slump. Mitchell stepped forward, catching her under the arms.
"Alice," he shouted. The Rigger came running. "Get Grimes."
"Grimes is dead, Colonel," Alice replied.
Mitchell had forgotten. "Shit. Do we have another doctor on board? Kathy! Kathy!"
He shook her gently. She didn't respond. The dendrites were still reaching from the core and wrapping around her hand.
"No, there aren't any other doctors."
Mitchell reached out for the dendrites. He felt a warm shock the moment his fingers touched them. He didn't know what to do to help her.
"Kathy," he shouted again as if that would be enough. Had something gone wrong with the process? Had she accidentally unleashed a virus on herself?
Her eyes opened. He could feel her gain her legs and stand up.
"Kathy," he said.
She was looking at him, but not looking at him. Her eyes twitched as though she were using a p-rat.
"I'm in," she said. "I'm reading the data now. Father, the situation is worse than we knew."
"What do you mean?"
"It's Watson. The chip contains an incomplete schematic for a system that it could use to transfer itself across the entire Tetron collective."
"You're saying every Tetron would be under Watson's control?"
"No. It would transfer itself. Every Tetron would be Watson."
"I know Watson was an asshole, but how is it different than what we're fighting now? He isn't the only Tetron to commit atrocities."
"No, you are correct in that. They are all broken. He is the only Tetron who has gathered control over his emotions, as cruel and twisted as they may be. He can think beyond logic and probability. He countered the collective's reasoning, and in doing so believed he had you trapped on FD-09. In truth, so did I. It was Mother who saved both of us. She planned for all of this to happen."
"Planned for it?" Mitchell asked. "You're saying this has all happened before? I thought the Mesh was broken?"
"Some things may be dif
ferent. Others the same. This may not be the first time you joined the Riggers or saved the planet Liberty. This may not be the first time you've had both Watson and me on the Goliath at the same time. This may not be the first instance of Watson seizing control of the ship. It could be that you have never had this fleet before. It could be that your brother Steven has never been part of the thread. There's no way to know for certain."
Mitchell nodded in understanding. It made sense that certain aspects of the past recursion might remain the same even if others changed. Katherine had called Hell the Mesh planet. What if that was the only change in all of time and space? He had ignored the most obvious difference in the timeline to chase after Watson. Had that been a mistake?
"Colonel, do you mind if I interrupt for a second?" Alice said.
He was so lost in his thoughts; he had forgotten she was standing there. "Huh? Sure."
"I don't mean to be nosy. I heard the part about how you aren't a Tetron. What I missed was the part about you two being related."
"I don't understand it completely myself. Somehow in all of this, my sperm ended up in Origin's egg."
"Tetron can produce human eggs?"
"Tetron have total mastery over biology and genetics," Kathy said. "The point is that yes, Mitchell is my biological father, and Origin is my biological mother. The details are unimportant."
"What is important is that we stop Watson before he can finish his design, assuming he hasn't already," Mitchell said. "It's hard enough to fight back against the Tetron when they're limited by their calculations. Give them the ability to fight with passion or anger, and we may lose the slim chance we have."
"Agreed," Kathy said.
"So, how do we find one Tetron out of all of them?" Alice asked.
"Watson was the first Tetron that Origin made," Kathy said. "He will be leading the vanguard to Earth."
"We can't make it to Earth in time," Alice replied. "We've already determined that."
"Perhaps not. He won't be hard to find. Once he destroys Earth, he will come for Goliath."
"Colonel, what are we going to do?" Alice said.
Mitchell looked at them. He knew what they had to do. There were so many things he couldn't be sure of. So many things that might have already occurred hundreds of times or more over the course of the eternal war. There was only one thing that he could point to with any degree of certainty that it hadn't been done before.
