T2 - 03 - The New John Connor Chronicles - Times of Trouble

by Russell Blackford

  When they'd taken control of this facility, they'd finally had a chance to put the theory into practice. Until then, they'd been frustrated. There'd never been the kind of economic infrastructure that would have enabled them to build complex machinery needed to read or reprogram chips captured from Skynet's machines. That had now changed totally. With Skynet's own equipment falling into their hands, they'd been able to reprogram Terminators and send them back in time.

  Since that first day when the Resistance had seized control here, Danny had become more proficient at programming Skynet's machines. With Juanita and Cecilia, he'd formed a triumvirate to command the Resistance forces stationed here, but he'd concentrated almost exclusively on the technology, leaving the two women to oversee logistics and keep discipline. He'd now had weeks to develop his skills, and plenty of Terminators to practice on. At this moment, he was the world expert on the technology that his father had invented. The only others who might know more were Jade Tagatoshi and Anton Panov, who came from another world with superior technology. Soon they would come here to help him, but right now the technical responsibility was his.

  With Juanita and Cecilia, he went through the programming steps that he'd taken to prepare a group of Terminators to accompany Cecilia on her mission. The actual instructions were not complex; the trick was knowing how to encode them without error.

  "I've instructed them as simply as possible," he said to Cecilia. "They have files on our operations throughout South America, with sufficient understanding of the situation to grasp the difference between forces loyal to us and breakaway forces. That's not easy to get across."

  "I can see that," Gabriela said. "How do you define who is a warlord and who isn't?"

  "It requires background knowledge, but the Terminators already have a lot of that. Skynet has equipped them with enough knowledge of military history and operations to pass for human when trying to infiltrate our organization. It gave me something to build on."

  "Okay."

  "The main thing is that they'll be loyal to Resistance forces—more particularly, to forces that are loyal in their turn. They're smart enough to make judgments about that. They may not be conscious in the proper sense, but they're very smart indeed. They can use informal logic, and show initiative. It's scary what they can do."

  "The main thing is that they'll do what Cecilia tells them," Juanita said, peering at one of the screens on Danny's desk to follow the string of commands that he had written.

  "They'll obey her or any other loyal officers of the Resistance, recognizing hierarchy where it's relevant. They understand that, too. I didn't even need to program it in. Cecilia comes first.. .they'll obey her orders in priority to anyone else's—"

  "But I might be captured," Cecilia said with a sly smile.

  "Well, yes, or—"

  "Or killed, right?"

  "Unfortunately, yes. Or be separated from them somehow. We have to be prepared for all of that."

  "Of course we do. Don't worry, I'm not telling myself this is going to be a picnic. I know I could be dead in the first few seconds."

  Danny touched his hand to her arm. "We have to hope. They'll protect you...they'll be orientated more quickly than you. They know they need to get you clothes and weapons as soon as you arrive. They'll shield you from attack at all costs."

  "It's all right, I'll just have to take my chances. What else do I need to know?"

  "I haven't tried to constrain them too much. I thought of trying to build in inhibitions against killing, but that's too hard...it can't be done when we're fighting a war. We'll be depending on you, and anyone else who gives them orders, to humanize the mission. Without human leadership, I don't know what they'd do. They can be creative, as well as utterly ruthless."

  "Got it."

  In fact, the reason for sending a human leader was not so much to enhance the fighting capacity of the Terminators as to minimize the chance that they'd get out of control and perpetrate atrocities. Danny trusted them to perform their mission of destroying the warlords. Once programmed, they were the ultimate soldiers: they were skilled, totally loyal, almost indestructible, not to mention single-minded and stubborn, yet flexible, with plenty of initiative. That wasn't the issue. The issue was how far they'd go to achieve their ends if not controlled by human orders, given on the spot.

  They took time to review Danny's code meticulously, making small adjustments here and there, but nothing major. He took pleasure in seeing a job well done. When they were fully satisfied, they would download it into a small group of Terminators. Little else was required in preparation, as long as they received the go-ahead. When a radio call came from General Connor, they were almost finished.

  "I'm here in New York," the General's voice said. "We arrived safely from Spain. I've been meeting with Gabriela and some of our East Coast leaders." He allowed himself the ghost of a laugh. "I have my young namesake with me—and Sarah. Also Anton Panov and Jade Tagatoshi. We're making plans on all the issues."

  Juanita had picked up the mike. "Yes, John," she said. "Got that."

  "Juanita, it's good to hear you."

  "Danny and Cecilia are with me."

  "It'll be good to talk to all of you. I'll see you in just a few days."

  Cecilia gave a forced smile. "It'd be nice if you could," she said, half to herself.

  "I hope it's not much longer, Cecilia, even in your case. Get Juanita to hand you the microphone. We need to talk."

  Juanita passed it over. "Here I am," Cecilia said.

  "Cecilia? I realize that you won't be there when I arrive. We'll be going ahead with our plan."

  "Well, just what version of our plan is that?"

  "Oh, there's only one version. Seriously, no one oven disputes that. You're going into Argentina leading a force of Terminators. Are you ready?"

  "Absolutely."

  That's good. I just want to thank you in advance. I know we can all count on you."

  "You can, John," she said, sounding almost cocky.

  "That's what we wanted to hear. I'm passing the mike to Gabriela."

  As Cecilia and her mother spoke—possibly for the last time if anything went wrong with the mission—Danny watched in admiration. Cecilia was not young anymore, but no one had doubted her ability to do this job more effectively than anyone. Even at fifty, she was strong and quick, bigger than most men.

  More importantly, she was an artist with weapons, proud of her mastery of the phased-plasma devices they'd scavenged from Skynet's machines. Again, she knew the terrain of post-Judgment Day South America intimately—especially Argentina, where she'd had grown to adulthood. Cecilia had been closely involved with the leadership of the Resistance from when she was hardly more than a child, and she was fully committed to its goals. She was the logical choice to send to Argentina to deal with warlords there, then devise a campaign in South America more generally. She had all the expertise and all the charisma of the Tejada clan.

  Gabriela's voice on the radio was concerned but unhesitating. "You're ready, girl?" she said. "We need to act right now. If it's going to be done, let it be today."

  "I'm prepared," Cecilia said. "We've set everything up. Danny has done a great job. We can go into action in an hour."

  "Good, good. I love you, I wish I could see you before you leave—"

  "I know...me, too."

  "But it can't wait."

  "No, it can't. I'm ready physically. There's nothing wrong with me now to stop me going through the displacement field. And mentally, too. I can handle the trip, the pain everyone talks about—and everything else that's needed. It's time to do it."

  "I know you can." Gabriela sounded wearier. "I pray to God that you'll come through." She paused for several seconds. "Go with my blessing. All of us are thinking of you."

  "Don't worry, I'm going to return."

  "All right." General Connor's voice now came through the speaker. "Roger that. Cecilia, I want you to call me personally at the earliest possible time—as so
on as you're in a position to make radio contact. If you can't get me or Gabriela, call Juanita and Danny there in Colorado. I will be in New York for the next few days."

  "Sure."

  "I can't talk long now. We have some more decisions to make, and some of them won't be easy."

  Juanita took back the microphone. "Okay, John," she said, touching her hair nervously. "Hurry back to us."

  "As fast as I can. I'd better talk to Danny now."

  Danny took the mike from Juanita's slightly hesitant fingers. "I'm still here, John. Everything is under control. We're just finishing some final checks. Give me the formal go-ahead, and we'll power up the time vault in less than an hour. Cecilia's on the money about that."

  "I don't like doing it this way. No one is happy about it, but we have no choice. Gabriela agrees. So does everyone else who's been consulted."

  "Roger that. Look, everyone here will go along with it." Danny exchanged glances with Juanita. "Cecilia Is psyched up to go. It's all ready, as long as you're comfortable about what it involves."

  The radio emitted a drawn-out, painful sigh. "No, not comfortable, Danny. But it's the right thing to do."

  "I have the go-ahead?"

  "I'm giving it to you right now. Do it, Danny. Good luck to you all."

  With that over, they completed checking Danny's programming. There were no glitches, nothing more that needed correction. They left the table to examine the unopened ectogenetic pods.

  "Well," Danny said to Cecilia, "it's all the same to me. You choose." Since the T-799s and T-800s all had similar capacities, it made little difference which particular Terminators were chosen for reprogramming. If Cecilia had any kind of sentimental choice, or thought that there was some kind of good luck involved, let her act on it. It was as good as choosing any other way. The plan required six Terminators to accompany her through the time vault. She could handpick them however she liked.

  She chose three T-800s of the same design that they had sent to 1994—also the same design that Skynet had sent back even earlier, to 1984, when it had made an unsuccessful attempt on Sarah Connor's life. She chose three T-799s to make up the numbers. They'd used one successfully in the past, so perhaps she thought it would bring her luck.

  "Okay," Danny said. "Everything is done. I'm going to reprogram them one at a time, using the code that we've just been through. This will only take a few minutes. Then you'll need to get yourself ready...do anything you need to do...because you might be teleporting right into the middle of a battle."

  "That will be okay."

  "All right, here we go now." He returned to his desk to start the job.

  A kind of filament passed into the brain of each Terminator from the apparatus of its ectogenetic pod. The Terminator could be reprogrammed right until its moment of "birth," when it would emerge from the pod. Danny's hardware was patched into the cyber-system controlling the pods. He chose one of the "unborn" T-800s and found the path into its files. His code worked its way through layers, erasing unwanted material, inserting what was needed.

  Soon, it was finished. Now he entered a further code to drain away the nutrient liquid provided by the ectogenetic pod. At the same time, the Terminator's connection with the system broke. When the liquid had all drained, Danny made the pod rise up on its hydraulics, so it tilted at almost a 90° angle, just like the empty pods. He keyed in one more code, then stopped the procedure, walking back to the pod, where Juanita and Cecilia stood guard. Their weapons were trained on the Terminator, in case something had gone wrong and it made a move to attack them. The Terminator opened its eyes and stepped out of the pod, looking around with an emotionless gaze.

  It could be tidied up somewhat to help it fit in with its work in South America, but they would have to be quick about it. It would take just a few minutes to do a rough job on the Terminator's hair and beard.

  "Do you understand your mission?" Cecilia said to the Terminator.

  "Affirmative," it said. "I will travel with you to the Tejada estancia in Argentina. We will do whatever else is necessary to protect or reclaim the estancia and to defeat the warlords in South America."

  Danny gave a laid-back smile. "That's about the size of it," he said to the Terminator. He turned to Gabriela and Juanita. "It seems to have the idea. What do you think?"

  Cecilia spoke again to the Terminator. "You will obey my orders?"

  "Affirmative."

  "And those of other Resistance leaders?"

  "Affirmative. I have detailed files on the Resistance hierarchy and can recognize personnel loyal to General John Connor."

  "That's about as good as it gets," Danny said. "Lets decant the others."

  "I wish this wasn't necessary," Juanita said.

  Cecilia laughed, not unkindly. "Oh, we all wish that."

  Danny laughed along. Their forces were too depleted to act without using the Terminators. Then again, all of the forces still in South America were depleted, most having been brought to North America to wage the war with Skynet on its home territory. The warlords were no better off—even the rebels did not have huge army battalions. Both sides were now in a time when the fate of the world was in the hands of quite small forces. The Terminators could make all the difference in this latest war.

  "We'll do the rest now," Danny said. "This is going to work out. You'll see."

  Juanita sat beside him as they fired up the time vault. They had been working on improving it, just in minor ways to make the apparatus easier to control for human beings. When the two Specialists from the other future came here, perhaps they could do more. Jade and Anton seemed to have a higher level of mastery, which had enabled them to move not only back and forward in time but also across the dimensions, between one timeline and other. He still wanted to learn about that.

  The time vault could also be used simply to displace objects in space, as they had done when they sent several people and one Terminator to Spain to strike the final blow against Skynet. They could deliver people—or a Terminator—somewhere within a circle with a one-mile radius. When their force arrived at the other end of the journey, it would need to take action quickly to assess its situation and prepare a plan of attack. With neither pinpoint accuracy in where their force landed nor radio contact with any survivors at the estancia, Cecilia and the Terminators would have to make the detailed decisions for themselves. They could not be micromanaged from here in Colorado, or from wherever General Connor was operating from time to time.

  The seven figures lined up to enter the time vault. The Terminators had been scrubbed down, getting rid of the nutrient liquid that they'd floated in. Their hair had been cut back into a short military style to give them a less wild appearance, in case they needed to pass for human, and to ensure it did not interfere with their sensors. With their beautifully sculpted muscles, they looked more like anthropomorphic gods than human beings, but could obviously pass for human with ordinary clothing and some human contact to enhance their skills at imitation.

  Cecilia shrugged out of a heavy gray overcoat that she'd left on for the final few minutes, then stepped naked into the vault, looking straight ahead. The door slammed shut when Danny entered the required code, and the Terminators stood with Cecilia in a circle, or a seven-pointed star, each facing outward toward the walls of the time vault. When they were still, Danny entered a code to activate the apparatus. The monitor screens showed writhing, crackling blue electricity filling the vault's interior. Then they all suddenly vanished. Danny prayed that they could complete their mission.

  Cecilia waited for what she'd been told to expect—white light and excruciating pain. Not for the first time, she wondered whether she was really the right choice for this job. Despite their devastating losses, the Resistance forces still had many able young fighters who would do a fine job. She was getting old, like everyone in the leadership levels. Still, no one knew the estancia better than she did, and no one was better qualified to plan a larger campaign once she sized up the situation in Argent
ina.

  When the pain came, it left her helpless, as she folded into herself on the ground, unable to believe that anything could hurt so badly—like someone had reached down her throat, gripped bones from inside, then pulled her inside-out. Yet, she knew that she was not wounded. She'd been told that much, over and over. No matter how much it hurt, there was nothing wrong that need hinder her.

  She mustn't let it slow her down. Move as soon as you can, they'd all said. Don't give in to the pain. It won't kill you, but the Rising Army just might. If they don't get you first, exposure will. She couldn't yet feel the cold—if anything, her skin seemed to be burning—but soon it would be creeping into her body, down to her bones.

  Going on was easier said than done, but she had to do it. She straightened out, forced herself to her feet, brushing dirt away from her skin, where she'd landed on her side. As she arched her spine, a blinding surge of pain went though her, as if a six-foot metal spike had been forced upward through her body, exiting from the back of her skull. She almost passed out, but then the worst of it was gone. She could see once more, feel herself breathing, try to assess her situation. The first problem was how to avoid freezing to death. She was stark naked, with the temperature down near zero; she desperately needed shelter or clothing. No one had had come to meet her and the Terminators—neither friends nor enemies. In fact, where, exactly, were they?

  The Terminators had taken the journey in their stride. They stood straight and tall, staring around in a way that made them look like the machines that they were, or like some kind of animal—like Cecilia had seen on the TV as a kid—surveying the savanna for prey. Their bodies were human in every detail, but there was nothing human in their expressions: pitiless, alert, totally unselfconscious. Strangely, she found herself imitating them; they seemed to have the right attitude. Take it all in. Get your bearings. Then act without hesitation. She hoped she was up to it.