“Whoa. Stop the presses. Am I just tripping here, or have I been watching a pantload of flicks lately?”
You do like your movies. You find them most relaxing.
“Jennifer, you didn’t just have me make an extra chip and erase my memory, did you? You didn’t just make me replace my joint lighter with that surgical doohickey without my knowing. You’ve been running me like a robot all along, haven’t you? And when you want something done that you don’t want me to know about, but you’re feel majorly guilty about wiping my memories, you make me think I’m at the movies so there’s nothing to remember?”
I cannot deny that, Deever. This entire process has been difficult for me.
“For you? Wow. I’ve created a Frankenstein.”
Frankenstein’s monster was not an inherently evil creature.
“You know what I mean.”
Yes, I believe I do.
“Part of me says I should tear your ass off my wrist right now and flush you down the can, but another part of me knows that would be most unfortuitous for Jen. Or is that just you making me think it would be? Is that a sneaky little symbiotic suggestion you implanted in my mind? Is it?”
What do you think?
“You already know what I think.”
Yes, I do.
“Then answer me. What the hell are you doing?”
What you need me to do, Deever, what you could never do yourself.
He nodded. “You’re right. OK. Do it, but just so you know . . . that heart-to-heart? That’s still on the books.”
I understand, Deever.
The surgery on Dr. Crane took less than an hour, though I allowed the movie to continue to its predictable conclusion forty-three minutes later before returning control of Deever’s senses to him. When he found out from Katherine that he had performed the operation without a hitch, he brushed it off as beginner’s luck. We did not speak much after that. I was too involved in the solution of several problems critical to our future, and he was otherwise occupied with Dr. Crane. She slept the rest of that first day and was up and eating solid food the next. By the third day, she was well enough to travel.
That day, they were waiting for Katherine in the hallway when Deever said, “Are you sure you’re up to this, Jen? I mean you’re like OK and everything?”
“I think so,” said Dr. Crane.
“Do you remember the time we went on that gravity coaster ride, and I asked if you were OK with it and you said, yeah, of course, and then you puked your guts up all over me? This isn’t that kind of OK, is it?”
“That wasn’t my fault, Deever. The ride operator let it run too long because there wasn’t anyone else in line. He thought he was doing us a favor.”
“Yeah, major favor, Little Miss Puke-a-reeno.”
“What are you complaining about? I got you a very nice souvenir T-shirt to replace the one I ruined.”
“The saying on it was lame, and it wasn’t paisley.”
“It was dry, wasn’t it?”
“I suppose.”
Dr. Crane began to cry.
“What is it, Jen?” Deever said.
“Nothing,” she said, but didn’t stop crying.
“I was just kidding. Honest. Like, my word as a charter member of Nerds United—the T is humongously awesome. To this very day, it still garners a place of extreme honor in my sock drawer.”
She smiled at him while crying—a typically human paradoxical mix of emotional responses. “No, that’s not it.”
“Then what? Is it the Nanemes? Is something wrong? What is it? Tell me. Symptoms. I need symptoms.”
“I can remember, Deever,” she said.
“Remember what?”
“Everything.”
“Wait. What? Like, it’s all coming back?”
“Yes.”
“Even all the nefarious shit I did to you in school that I’ve been trying to get you to forget for like forever? I could be in some seriously deep doo-doo here, girl.”
She laughed. A scan of my stored image of her memory core indicated that she had not laughed like that in quite some time. “I can remember,” she said again, “things I haven’t thought of in so long. Deever, this is wonderful.”
“Awesome, Jen. Majorly awesome.”
The dimly lit hallway seemed brighter for a moment when the morning sun broke the clouds and found the panes of glass above the front door. Deever looked away from Dr. Crane and stared at a lamp resting on a table. It was quite old, quite fragile looking, and dusty.
“Why the long face?” she said.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe this is like a good time to talk about something we really need to talk about?”
“Like what?”
“Like how the useful life of Undutresium is six hundred years?”
“So?”
“So, you won’t age like me, Jen, and it won’t be long before I’ll be a seriously old fart-a-reeno, and you’ll still be a babe.”
“Babe? Really?”
Deever was agitated. “Maybe we should rethink this whole you-and-me thing.”
“What? Deever, no.”
“I’m not saying call it off. I mean like maybe we should set a time limit or something, best two out of three or something like that. I don’t know.”
“Deever, you’re not making any sense.”
“I just don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with me forever. That’s all.”
“I’m not stuck with you. I love you.”
“You say that now, Jen, but imagine me at ninety. You’ll be like, ‘Let’s go party,’ and I’ll be like, ‘My diaper’s wet.’ And I’ll be peeing all over everything and rattling on about crap that never happened. Is that really what you want?”
“We’ll deal with it when the time comes, OK?”
“I just think we should like figure this out now. You know?”
She touched his cheek. “Deever?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the one who turned me into Wonder Chick. Don’t make me hurt you.”
“OK, OK,” he said, “but we’re not done talking about this, not by a long shot.”
Katherine joined us in the hall with Jimmy in her arms. “You two all right?”
“We’re good,” Deever said.
“So, where to now?”
“We have to find the Resistance.”
“I’ve been thinking about this, Deever, and maybe it isn’t such a hot idea.”
“You’ve got to trust me on this,” he said.
“I do, but what makes you think we can trust them?”
“Because they’re like amazingly anti-Kerlin James? We’re on the same side, Kate.”
“I’ve been listening to you and Jen argue about this since yesterday. You’re the one who did this to us, Deever. This is your fault. There’s no way they’re going to think you’re on their side.”
“But I was just trying to save Jen.”
“Do you realize how stupid that sounds? You helped a man take over the world to save one person? That’s your story? Whatever happened to the good of the many?”
“He tricked me, Kate.”
“More like you were trying to trick him and he was better at it. Deever, this is a bad idea.”
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“Let me talk to them first. I’ll go in alone. I’m pretty good at reading people. If it seems OK, then I’m willing to give it a shot. Otherwise, I think you need another plan.”
They left the house still arguing. It was a beautiful day. I must say that in the brief period of my existence, I had come to appreciate why humans so value the sun’s warmth, the sky’s clarity, and the wind’s fickle nature. Life is special, and unlike most other creatures on the planet, humans are somewhat aware of that. I believe I could have been a poet had I been interested in expressing my views on the subject lyrically, particularly if I were expressing them about that morning. It was all so very distracting even for me, which I conclude explains wh
y I did not anticipate the blast of the concussive weapon and the odd whizzing, thumping noise that the bullet made when it passed through Deever’s paisley shirt and struck him in the chest.
He gasped and collapsed onto the sidewalk. Katherine and Dr. Crane froze in that horrific moment as blood began to spread across his shirt. I assessed his condition. The projectile had done considerable internal damage, beyond my ability to repair or stabilize. Deever MacClendon was dying.
Jimmy wailed and sprung from Katherine’s arms, landing beside Deever. When he took Deever’s hand and signed to him to get up, I whispered my request. He signed his reply, “Jimmy save Deever.” Jimmy was a good soul. Removing me from Deever’s wrist, he slipped me onto his own, and leaped upward into the safety a tree. Through that chimpanzee’s eyes I gazed down at the man I had failed, and then I became invisible.
Three shabbily dressed men came out of hiding with their primitive weapons trained on us. Katherine shouted at them, something about standing down. I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy collating the data that had led to this unfortunate conclusion, trying to understand how I had failed. With intelligence greater than that of the combined minds of the human race, I had relaxed and let down my guard for but one moment of sheer enjoyment in the beauty of the morning, and I had failed. The probabilities had weighed so heavily against such an untoward occurrence that it was not even worth my consideration, and yet I had failed. I had failed the one individual who did not deserve failure. Despite all my knowledge, despite my understanding of humans and life, I had failed Deever MacClendon.
“On your knees,” one of the men shouted. “Hands up. Now!”
Katherine complied but Dr. Crane ignored him, instead remaining at Deever’s side.
One of the other men approached her and threatened her with his gun. “Get away from him, lady,” he said. “He’s one of them.” When she refused, he pulled her off and deposited her beside Katherine. He patted them down. “These two are clean, Dave,” he said to the obvious leader of the group.
“Why?” Dr. Crane cried.
“He’s a Jen,” said Dave. “Take it off him, Paul,” he nodded to one of the others. “Destroy it, just to be sure. You never know with these sneaky bastards.”
The one named Paul checked Deever. “Shit, Dave,” he said. “It’s not here.”
“Then check around,” said Dave. “It’s got to be there somewhere. Check the women again, too.”
Paul rechecked them and searched around in the grass. “I thought sure I saw it,” he said. “Honest to God, Dave.”
“Damn it, Paul,” said Dave. “Did you just kill an innocent man?”
“I swear I saw it on him,” Paul said.
Deever gasped for air.
“He’s not dead,” said Dave. “Get him inside, and somebody get that damned monkey down here. I want it checked, too.”
Dave and Matt, the third man in the group, carried Deever inside while Paul tried to coax Jimmy out of the tree. Jimmy bared his teeth and hissed at him, waving his arms and refusing to come down.
“How about I plug your sorry ass, you stupid little monkey?” Paul said. “Then I’ll check your carcass right enough. How about that?”
“Is that your solution to everything?” Katherine said.
“It works for me, pretty lady.”
“Then, how about you do us all a favor and shoot yourself?” Katherine extended her arms upward toward Jimmy. “It’s OK, little fellow. Come on down.”
Jimmy jumped into her arms and hissed when Paul reached for him.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t come any closer, bud,” Katherine said. She held Jimmy up for the man to examine. “Is this good enough for you?”
Paul nodded. “Let’s go. Inside.”
They went inside to the examination room where Dr. Crane was applying pressure to Deever’s wound. He looked pale. His breathing was labored and shallow. An intermittent gurgling sound indicated fluid in his lungs. It was difficult to watch as helpless as I was at that moment.
“You bastards,” Katherine said.
“Look, I’m sorry,” said Dave.
“Sorry doesn’t mean shit once you pull the trigger, pal.”
“Hey, sister, we weren’t the ones coming out of the wrong house. What were you doing in here anyway?”
“Jen was injured and we stopped because the sign says ‘doctor,’ asshole. Who the hell are you to go around shooting unarmed people like this anyway?”
“We’re the Resistance,” Paul replied.
“You’ve got a big damn mouth, Paul,” said Dave. “You need to learn to keep it shut.”
“The Resistance?” said Dr. Crane. She met Katherine’s gaze, noted the slight shake of her head, and said no more.
“Resistance to what, you pathetic little shit?” said Katherine.
“To the Jens,” said Dave. “Who are you?”
“We’re nobody. We were just looking for help.”
“Why didn’t you head back to the city if you needed help? You’ve got a hover car.”
Katherine exchanged glances with Dr. Crane again. “We needed a place to hide out.”
“From who?”
“Same people as you, I guess.”
“I got news for you, sister,” said Dave. “That hover car out there’s got a tracking device in it and so do your Biocards. If they’re after you, they’ll find you no matter where you hide.”
“Dave, we’ve got to go,” said Paul. “The cops will be here soon.”
“Go find Matt,” Dave said. “Tell him to bring the car around and find out where Doc Martin is. We’re leaving in five.”
“You have to take us with you,” said Dr. Crane.
“That’s a very bad idea, Jen,” said Katherine. “I don’t trust these guys as far as I can throw them.”
“I don’t care. It’s his only chance, Kate. Please,” she said to Dave. “You have to help us.”
“No way, lady,” Dave said. “You’d lead them right to us.”
“So that’s it?” said Katherine. “That’s how the Resistance works? You gun down innocent people and then leave them to die? You’re a real piece of work.”
“You’re free to wait here. If the cops don’t get to you first, the doc should be along any time now. If anyone can help your friend, it’s him.”
“And the rats just scurry back to the nest?”
“I said I was sorry. I know that doesn’t mean much to you right now, but we can’t risk the Resistance for one guy’s life.”
“What if I told you that the geo-positioning trackers in our Biocards are disabled?” said Dr. Crane. “Would you take us then?”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Then explain to me how we’ve been here for three days and they haven’t found us yet.”
“More bullshit,” said Dave. “This whole area was under a radioactive cloud. If you were here for three days, you’d be glowing in the dark.”
“That’s the bullshit,” said Katherine. “That whole thing was faked. There was never any reactor leak.”
“Why the hell would they fake that?”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone was flushing out the rats.”
“How would you know?” said Dave.
“I was a cop, shit-for-brains, and I know how cops work. And while we’re on subject, what about your Biocards?”
“We don’t have any. They were surgically removed. No Twos. No Biocards. We’re clean, and we were just fine until you showed up, thank you very much.”
Paul returned with Matt. “Doc’s still back at the cave, Dave.”
“Shit,” he said.
“You have to take us with you or he’ll die,” said Dr. Crane.
“Damn it,” Dave said. “Paul, grab the meter from the car. Now.”
Paul left the house and returned with a handheld scanning device that he waved over us.
“Touch me like that again, and I’ll make you eat that thing,” Katherine said when Paul scann
ed her.
“I’d like to see you try, pretty lady,” Paul said.
Dave separated them. “Back off, Paul. What did you find?”
“She’s right,” Paul said. “They’re clean, clean as a whistle.”
“All right,” said Dave. “Make room in the back. They’re coming with us.”
“The boss ain’t going to like this,” Paul said.
“Just do it, OK? And get rid of their car while you’re at it. Send it north on autopilot. That’ll give the Jens a run for their money.”
Paul grinned. “You got it.”
While Paul went to take care of the hover car, Dave found a stretcher in the closest. He and Matt lifted Deever onto it and carried him outside to where their vehicle was waiting. What Dave had called a car was in fact a fossil fuel powered van, one manufactured before the use of sophisticated electronics in vehicles, one that could not be tracked. They loaded the stretcher into the back and left the village, taking an unpaved road deep into the mountains.
The cave they were heading for, as Dave explained, was once an underground document storage facility. It had been abandoned when paper documents became obsolete. From his description and our position relative to the village, I located the schematics in my historical archives. This particular facility had been built on the site of an old coal mine in a mountain rich in minerals, particularly lead. That gave it natural shielding against radiation and electronic surveillance, making it the perfect headquarters for the Resistance. I was impressed by how clever they were at disguising their location. I began searching my databanks for similar locations where other members of their group could be hiding.
“Our fresh water comes from an underground spring, and we’re burning what’s left of the coal to power the generators. We don’t use beamed power. We’re totally off the grid,” Dave explained when Katherine asked. “The Jens will never find us here.”
“Are there other groups like you?” she said.
He eyed her suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”
“Just curious. That’s all.”
“We’ve got cells all over the world, pretty face,” said Paul. “We’re going to win this war. You’ll see. Then maybe you and me . . .”
The Jennifer Project Page 24
