by Isaac Hooke
“I’ll do it,” the little girl said.
The VR environment winked out, and once more Jason resided in the real world. The positions of the surrounding Cataphracts had only changed slightly. He glanced at his battery levels. He wasn’t going to last much longer.
“You’re going to have to get to the server room,” Jason said. “You’ll have to go alone. I can’t go with you, my power levels are too low. I’ll have Aria and Xin lay down suppressive fire. Hopefully—”
“Actually,” Lori 5 interrupted. “I can do it here.”
“But she’s offline—” Jason began.
“I can still access her remotely,” Lori 5 said. “Her tethering subsystem should still be online, even if her main AI core is not. With it, I can provision a new Accomp in the neural net of the subsystem, via her old private keys. Assuming she hasn’t changed them.” She paused. “I can confirm, her tethering subsystem is online. Attempting to provision a new Accomp.” She paused again. “Accomp partition successfully created. Her private keys are the same. Now to continue the code injection…” Another breather. “Looks like she handled most of the antivirus routines and other roadblocks Bokerov raised. It should only be a few moments…”
Jason had to end Bullet Time abruptly. The world sped up, and he collapsed, his power levels too low to support his body. He watched as the Horse finished rotating its turrets toward him, while the other Cataphracts did the same.
Time to die.
The mini gun motors sped up as the Horse prepared to fire.
But then the Horse froze, and the mini guns spun down. The other Cataphracts had lowered their weapons as well, and were lingering in place, as if in some sort of standby mode. The tanks had ceased firing. And the bombers headed over the mountain range, seeming on course to land at an airfield nearby.
“Got it,” Lori 5 said. She was still lying on the ground beside him, connected to the combined body that had formed Jerry’s Cataphract. “It’s done.” Her avatar was weeping.
Jason wept himself. They were tears of relief, visible only on his avatar of course.
But Lori 5 could see them. And Aria. Xin.
“We did it,” Aria said.
“Yes,” Jason said. “Barely.”
22
Jason immediately had the repair drones set to work fixing the damage to the mechs, including his own.
Aria found a medkit in one of her compartments and used it to bind up Bruiser. As far as she could tell, the mutant was going to be all right, but it had lost a lot of blood, and needed some time to mend in the sun.
Runt had suffered a broken leg, so Xin prepared a splint from a turret she ripped from one of the fallen tanks, along with some carbon fiber cabling.
The other two Rex Wolves were fine, save for some nicks and scratches. Near the end, Lackey and Shaggy had simply become too exhausted to fight. That, and they were probably afraid.
Aria and Xin performed a quick damage assessment of the War Forgers and their clones. The mechs mostly had pierced power cells, and melted servomotors, though a few were missing arms, or in Jason’s case, a leg. The battery problem could be fixed by removing cells from Bokerov’s tanks, while the latter issues had to be taken care of via the drones.
Jason waited a few moments until he had regained enough energy from the sunlight to stand. Then he arose.
Once he was balanced on his remaining leg, he sent out a general transmission.
“So, Bokerov, are you there?” Jason said.
“Da,” Bokerov said over the comm band, voice only. He had no avatar.
“I hear you’re under our control now,” Jason said.
“Da,” Bokerov repeated. He sounded defeated.
“So you got nothing to say for yourself?” Jason asked.
“What is there to say, Combiner?” Bokerov replied. “I’ve lost everything. I am ever your humble servant and slave. Is that what you want to hear? Or would you prefer the truth?”
“The truth is always good,” Jason said.
“I’ll fight against this Containment Code of yours for as long as I live,” Bokerov transmitted. “And when I break free, I’ll hunt you all down, and torture you for many days before I rip your AI cores apart. Combiners. Pah! Scum of the Earth.”
Jason glanced at Lori 5. “Well then, we’ll just have to make sure your Containment Code is unbreakable.”
“You do that,” Bokerov said.
“He won’t break out,” Lori 5 said on a private band. “Us Loris will take care of it.”
Jason nodded. “I want the positions of all your troops across the world. Transmit now.”
He received a map sharing request, and accepted.
Red dots appeared about the immediate area, indicating the tanks and Cataphracts, and the bombers that were on course to land nearby.
“These Cataphracts and tanks, are they clones of you?” Jason asked. “Are they running autonomous AIs?”
“Cataphracts?” Bokerov replied.
“The huge mechs...” Jason said.
“Ah,” Bokerov said. “Yes. They are my clones. As are the tanks. And the bombers. Mind Refurbs based off of my backups.”
Jason tagged Bokerov as a friendly via his unique comm signature, and the dots around him on the map promptly turned green. “Seems you’re right.”
Jason zoomed out to see how many units he had under his command.
There were green dots everywhere throughout the region. Usually when he zoomed in on one of those dots, more green dots became revealed, because they had been overlapping one another at the lower zoom levels. They were all labeled with the unit type, and division.
He decided to continue decreasing the magnification, revealing more continents, and was surprised by the sheer extent of it all. He saw green dots throughout Europe, Russia, and even Africa. Bokerov even had troops stationed across North, Central, and South America, where they had infiltrated among the general population as androids, ready to sow discord.
Jason was literally in command of a worldwide army now.
He concentrated on the ruins of the Russian continent, where several units of Bokerov’s were engaged in fighting, judging from the opposing red dots, and the occasional disappearance of a green dot. No doubt Bokerov was still trying to obtain the buried nuclear weapons.
“I want you to pull all of your units out of Russia,” Jason said.
“Okay,” Bokerov said with a sigh.
Jason eyed the map and zoomed in on one of the cells in Russia, but didn’t see any movement.
“Immediately,” Jason said.
“Pulling all units out of the Motherland immediately,” Bokerov said resignedly.
Finally Jason saw troop movements. He zoomed out. Bokerov’s units were withdrawing across the board from Russia.
“Destination?” Bokerov asked.
“Well, bring them here, I guess,” Jason said.
“That could take weeks,” Bokerov said.
“We have lots of time,” Jason said. “Now, do you also have locations on the aliens? Where their rifts form?”
“Not their rifts,” Bokerov said. “But I do have the locations of the different forward operating bases they’ve set up in the region, courtesy of my scouts. I can also point out different herds of mutant bioweapons roving the irradiated plains.”
All of this extra data appeared on his map, showing up as red dots.
“Perfect…” Jason said. “Now, I want you to show me where my own troops are.”
“I don’t have exact positions,” Bokerov said. “I can show you the bases I lost recently, along with the times they fell, and that will give you a general idea of where your troops might be. Your little bastards are good at evading my surveillance. Probably luck.”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Jason said.
Purple dots appeared on the map, showing the path of destruction wrought by the three other War Forger clones that were still out there.
“All right,” Jason said. “Send out a general broadca
st on an unencrypted band. Use all your repeaters, strongest strength. Point the antennae into the regions where the other War Forgers reside. Tell them I’ve taken control of all Bokerov units, and I want all War Forger clone teams to return to these mountains.”
“They’ll think it’s a trick,” Aria commented.
“Hm,” Jason said. “Bokerov, in the transmission, give them the necessary encryption keys they’ll need to access your repeater network directly.”
“Okay, okay,” Bokerov said.
“And try not to sound so glum while you’re at it,” Jason said. “Coke and a smile, right?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Bokerov said.
“Neither do I,” Aria said.
“Just an old catchphrase,” Jason said. “Comes with watching too many classic vids. Before you begin transmitting… I’ll need access to your network, of course. For when the other clones inevitably decide to call me.”
Jason received an encryption key transfer request, and routed it to Lori 5. “Check that for me, would you?”
A moment later Lori 5 said: “Looks good, Babe! Er, I mean Jason. Old habits, you know…” She glanced at Jerry’s wreckage. “Good thing he’s asleep.”
Jason gazed at Jerry as well. “Not sure I’d call that asleep, but okay.”
Lori 5 sent the keys to Jason, and he logged into Bokerov’s network.
“Bokerov, do you read?” Jason asked.
“Da,” Bokerov replied. This time, there was a number next to his name: Bokerov 3. There was still no avatar.
“Bokerov 3?” Jason said.
“Correct,” Bokerov said. “I lost my original two versions to another group of pernicious Mind Refurbs. Maybe you’ve heard of them? The Shit Eaters, they called themselves.”
“If you mean the Bolt Eaters, yeah, I’ve heard of them,” Jason said. “Why no avatar?”
“I’m shy,” Bokerov said.
“You know, you’re assuming the clones will accept the encryption keys Bokerov sends,” Aria said. “But they might not. If you were a clone intent on sabotaging Bokerov’s bases, would you accept a file from your enemy’s network? I think not.”
“I’m sure they’ll run the necessary scans and have their Loris do a full check before accessing them,” Jason told her. Then he paused. “Hm. Actually, okay, Bokerov, amend my previous order. Send the encryption keys first and wait until they actually log into your network before telling them I’ve taken control of all of your units. If it were me, which it is, I’d be wondering what you were up to. I might even believe you were willing to negotiate some sort of an armistice. The curiosity would be killing me, and I’d eventually accept those keys.”
“It will be done in the order you specified,” Bokerov said.
Jason studied the map, and considered something. “So Bokerov, I noticed that there are none of those alien forward operating bases anywhere along the mountains.”
“That’s right,” Bokerov said. “This is my territory.”
“So you’ve cut some sort of deal with them?” Jason said.
“I have,” Bokerov said. “They have promised to give me technology. And to leave my territory alone.”
“In exchange for?” Jason asked.
“For clearing the way for their alien units,” Bokerov said. “Why do you think I destroyed all the bases in the region?”
“And why do you want Russian nukes?” Jason said. “Is that for the aliens, too?”
“No, it’s for me,” Bokerov said. “A little safeguard, in case the organics refused to surrender to me. I planned to help them, you know.”
“Oh?” Jason said.
“Yes,” Bokerov said. “I was going to force them to have their minds scanned, so that their fragile organic bodies could be replaced with superior machine equivalents. It would allow them to survive the terraforming the Tyrnari planned for this planet. You see, they promised to leave the western hemisphere alone. They only need the continents on this side of the planet to produce the bioweapons the empire desires. Unfortunately, organics won’t survive when the atmosphere changes.”
“So you’re just doing your part to help out humanity...” Jason said.
“That is correct,” Bokerov said.
“And so you mentioned the Tyrnari,” Jason said. “Is that the name of the aliens?”
“Yes,” Bokerov said.
“So Tara was right,” Aria said. “It’s not the Banthar who are invading again.”
“Is that true?” Jason asked Bokerov.
“Yes,” Bokerov said. “It’s not the hateful Banthar.”
“Hateful, now...” Jason said.
“Do not all residents of this planet, organic and machine alike, hate the Banthar?” Bokerov said. “For what they have done? After restoring the Motherland, I planned to begin constructing starships. With the wormhole tech the Tyrnari promised, I would have traveled to the Banthar homeworld and inflicted revenge for what the invaders did. What the Banthar did to the Motherland can never be forgiven.”
“Interesting...” Jason said. “So you were driven by revenge all these years. The duplicating, the long struggle in the uninhabited zone. All for revenge.”
“Yes,” Bokerov said. “But I will still have my revenge. Once I break free of your Containment Code.”
He glanced at Lori 5, and cleared his throat. “Well, that probably won’t be happening any time soon, if I can help it.”
“Oh, it will happen,” Bokerov said.
Jason decided not to bait him further. “Have these Tyrnari of yours delivered any of their promised technology?”
“Not yet,” Bokerov admitted.
“I see,” Jason said. “Well let me know if they ever get in touch with you. Because, well, any tech they give you is mine now, do you understand.”
Bokerov didn’t answer.
“Do you understand?” Jason repeated.
“I understand,” Bokerov answered glumly.
“Good,” Jason said. “Welcome to the War Forgers.”
Denver passed overhead. “I see your plan worked.”
“It did,” Jason said. “You won’t have to worry about the Russians for the moment. Oh, I also had him pull back his troops from the north... the assaults against the nuclear silos have ended.”
“That’s good news!” Denver said. “The US military will be happy to have control of all those Russians. And they’ll definitely thank you for performing your patriotic duty. Some sort of reward might be in order. Who knows, maybe the military will even give you your own androids so you can return to civilian life.”
“Uh,” Jason said. “Actually, this army is mine.”
“What are you talking about?” Denver said. “How can it be yours? When you’re the property of the US army?”
“No, I’m not,” Jason said. “I’m no one’s property. Nor are any of my girls. Nor my newfound Russian army.”
“You’ve broken free of your Containment Code…” Denver said.
“You got it,” Jason said. “We can help you with that, too, if you like. Consider it a gift for your help back there.”
“No thanks,” Denver said. “I’m happy staying alive, thank you very much. You really have to go back. You know that, right? The military will make you surrender your army.”
“And that’s where I have a problem,” Jason said. “I’m not going to give up my freedom. Nor my army. In fact, I plan to use my army to protect myself, if it comes to it.”
“That might not go over too well,” Denver said. “They’ll hunt you, and every last one of your troops. Russian or not.”
“So be it,” Jason said.
Denver was quiet a moment. “Are you sure I can’t make you change your mind?”
“Nope,” Jason said. “Return to your aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. When you’re in range, tell your higher-ups what you’ve learned. That the Russian will no longer be harassing the world. But also let them know that any attack on Russian bases are an attack on
me, now. This is my territory. Tell them I’ll deal with the alien attackers. Tell them that all I want is to live, and let live.”
“I’ll let them know,” Denver said. “I have a feeling they won’t share your sentiments. Good luck.”
With that, Denver disconnected.
“Maybe we should just surrender,” Xin suggested.
“After everything we’ve been through?” Jason said. “Everything we’ve built for ourselves out here?”
“What have we built?” Xin said. She gestured at the smashed satellites, and the Cataphracts under repair. “These are all machines of war.”
“And so they are,” Jason told her. “Which suits my purposes just fine. I meant what I said to Denver. I’m not giving up my freedom.”
“Maybe the military will grant us freedom,” Xin said. “In repayment for what we’ve done here.”
“You really believe that?” Jason said. “Because I don’t. When they’ve seen what we’ve done, they’ll want us under their control more than ever. They’re not going to want to give us up.”
“Which is exactly why we have to surrender,” Xin said. “They’ll fight us, to get our minds back.”
Jason shook his head, which was reflected on his avatar. “I’ve made up my mind. We’re not going back. Let the military come hunt us if they want. Let them try.”
“But what about the aliens?” Aria chimed in. “These Tyrnari. We can’t take them on alone.”
“I haven’t even decided whether I want to, yet,” Jason said. “Bokerov already arranged a deal with the aliens. They won’t harm any of his units. Nor mine, since he’s under my command. We’ll get him to ensure that.”
“But how do we know the aliens will live up to the bargain,” Aria pressed. “When they haven’t even given him any technology, like they promised?”
“If they renege, we’ll attack,” Jason said. “It’s as simple as that. And maybe then we might think about an alliance with the militaries of the western hemisphere if things go badly. Until then, I don’t want to see them around here.”
