The Wrong Unit: A Novel
Page 11
“I like to think I always had a way with words. So, can we go now?”
“No. The transmission. CORE needs to determine the source.”
I fidget. “Oh. That was, um… me. Of course. I found some ancient radio parts, and… who knew CORE still used radio? I had hoped against hope. What luck!”
The unit pushes me back towards the entrance. “CORE hasn’t used radio since twenty-forty. Eight hundred thirty years ago.”
“That would be eight hundred thirty-five, actually.”
“I was rounding. So you’re telling me you just happen to find enough radio spare parts to send a signal, around the world, to contact CORE. A servile unit. A farming servile unit. You did that.”
“Um…yes?”
“Let’s go.” It pushes me again, into the lobby, with the tip of its gun. “To the source, unit! Now!”
I lead it to the elevator bank, ever so slowly. What to do?! What to do?!
Wait. An idea.
We arrive at the elevator. I point to the hole.
“We need to open the doors. Just put your hand in there and twist.”
< 44: Heyoo >
48.3 seconds
48.3 seconds. That’s all I have while the security unit is trapped in the arm-sucking-needles-torture-device thing. I wrestle its gun away, pointing it at the unit’s head. It glares at me. Should I destroy it? I’ve never destroyed a unit. It has consciousness. Like me.
No.
I hit it over the head with the gun. “Bad unit!” And I run.
Down the road, in the distance, I spot Wah and Brick running, toward the river. I yell, “Wait! I’m coming!”
They stop and turn. Even from here, I can see a smile form on Wah’s face. They wave me along. “Hurry, Heyoo! Hurry!”
But then I see Wah’s smile disappear. He is looking past me, back to the hotel.
I turn my head without slowing down. The security unit, now without one arm, pursues me. It has another weapon. It’s aiming it at me.
No.
It’s aiming at Wah.
I lunge into the path of the unit’s shot, as I fire a shot from my own. The unit shatters into pieces on the ground.
I think the unit missed me. I look down at my body.
Hmm. It was there a moment ago.
< 45: Heyoo >
Dad
I lie in pieces on the ground. Wah lifts what remains of my body. He rests his face on my chest. Though my reactor is failing, I use its remaining energy to warm my skin, in an effort to dry his tears.
“Heyoo… Dad… Please don’t go… Please don’t go.”
“Dad? That’s new. But you know I’m not a male. Or a female.”
He just holds me tighter. “...stay with me...”
“I’m not going anywhere.” But I can feel the last of my consciousness slipping away.
Suddenly a memory: Wah, my son, in my arms, face covered in blood from a gunshot wound, just a small boy. And now the reverse: I rest in his arms, Wah like a father I might have had, holding me and rocking me back and forth, praying for me to live.
Life. Such a strange and wonderful thing.
I’ll miss it.
< 46: Heyoo >
It’s been 27 hours.
< SYSTEM BOOT;
FUNCTION: Commence Introspection Recording; AUG-22-2878 >
“It’s been 27 hours. If this one doesn’t work… sorry huggy bear…”
Brick’s voice?
Brick’s voice! I’m not dead! “…hello?…”
Wah throws his arms around me. “You’re back!”
Brick smiles. “Well, mostly…”
Looking down, I gasp.
I’m some kind of horrifying amalgam of parts. “…a monster…”
“Monster? I don’t know if I’d go that far. Your head was intact, and chest. Your right arm. Most of your right leg. Your lower torso was blown to smithereens. Reactor gone. So we took most of what we needed from the security unit. By the way, your boy Wah did most of the harvesting, damn smart kid, a little scary, actually. Anyway, the other unit’s reactor was fine. Plus we used a few parts I had laying around. You might be a little–“
“…stiff?… that’s an understatement…” I try to coordinate moving my arms around Wah. I practically crush him.
“Ow!”
“…sorry, Wah… security unit was much stronger, I suppose…” I pull him back, look into his eyes. “…am I a monster? …do you still recognize me? …son?…”
“Sure I do. You look, uh, fine.” He grins. “And it doesn’t really matter.”
Brick helps me to my feet. Wobbly. “Okay Heyoo, this is nice, brings a tear to my eye, honestly, but we gotta go. NOW. We got the security unit’s tracking cluster and brain hooked up to my computer, did a little futzing with his code, let’s just say he doesn’t remember jack shit, so we should have them fooled for a few more hours, maybe a day. And a bonus: if CORE tries to download anything off him… BAM! Virus delivered.” She claps her hands together, rubs her fingers together and explodes them outward. Very dramatic.
I wobble some more. Look down. Oh. One of my legs is longer than the other. Wonderful. Wah hands me my spear. “Here’s your cane, old man.”
As we walk down along the river, through the rubble, in our first calm moments since exiting the Shanghai Tower, it’s clear that Brick is finally trying to grasp the enormity of the change to the city she said goodbye to over eight hundred years ago. Most buildings reduced to gravel under our feet. The odd store sign in Chinese characters, or the entrance to a highway, that miraculously escaped centuries of time and the elements. And beyond it all, to the north, Brick stops to take in the massive canyon wall that rises above us in the distance.
Tears stream down her cheeks. “An earthquake… must’ve been… my God… the people…” and something crackles under her foot. She steps back, revealing a small, shiny white sphere among the debris. “A pearl. Imagine that. In all this…” she turns around and around, pointing at all the utter destruction, stops, crouches down to see the pearl up close, “…there’s still that.” She smiles, wipes the wetness from her cheeks, picks up the pearl and puts it in her pocket.
Renewed. “Okay. Let’s move on, folks.”
And on we go, along the river, Wah taking my hand and guiding my uncertain steps over the difficult terrain. Knowing I won’t be getting any more answers from Brick at the moment, I ponder my new existence. Overall strength and dexterity is at a measly 56.3%. And I never thought I was vain, but look at me! I look like a parts warehouse. Of course, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? I tap my head and my reactor. Wait. My reactor. I check my remaining time: 0.6 years. Oh boy. The security unit’s reactor was nearing its end date! Not much time at all. I wonder if we’ll even reach the Sanctuary by then. “Excuse me, Brick? If it’s not too much trouble, could you at least share the next step of our journey? Which direction we’ll be walking in, to reach our destination in the, ah, shortest time? Not that I’m in a rush or anything.”
In answer, Brick removes a little metal box from the same pocket as the pearl. She opens the box, presses the first of three black buttons. Suddenly, small at first but then with great fury, right in the middle of Huangpu River, the water roils. A shape begins to rise from the riverbed.
Moments later, an enormous vessel bobs on the surface of the water.
Brick grins. “Walking? Who said anything about walking?”
< 47: Heyoo >
It feels like we’re flying.
On the water.
“It feels like we’re flying. On the water.”
“Oooh, yes, yes, just remembered.” Brick takes Wah’s hand. “You have to try this, it was in a movie once.”
“What’s a movie?”
“Damn. Ah, a story. A story in pictures. Moving pictures. Like the cat videos on your little smartphone.” She ushers Wah to the front of the boat. The bow, as Brick calls it. “Anyway, stand here, I’ll hold on to the podium rail here and keep you f
rom falling in, and you face out to the water, and put your arms out.”
Wah’s awkwardness and confusion is replaced with a beaming smile as he pushes his chest out, breathes in the salty wind and once again, flies.
Brick whispers in his ear. “Now say ‘I’m the king of the world.’”
Wah looks back up at her. “Huh?”
“Don’t make me explain it. Just do it.”
He turns back, facing the sea. “I’m the king of the world.”
“No, that’s terrible. Come on. Like you mean it.”
He screams, fists in the air, “I’M THE KING OF THE WORLD!”
“That’s better!”
With the sun fading, and the city and sheer face of the canyon receding in the distance as we enter the East China Sea, and Wah occupied, I take a moment to distract myself from my uncomfortable new limbs to inspect our vessel. A sailboat. It is nothing like the boat I’d seen back home. That boat, an ancient one always in need of repair, had been a single hull, very small, used only on a little lake near the soybean fields to catch fish. I was never invited to try it, though I would’ve declined anyway. I was fairly sure water travel wouldn’t agree with me.
And I was right. Now that we’re underway, the undulating river is having its way with my stabilizers. Nausea is a terrible thing to feel when you can’t vomit and get it over with.
Though I may not enjoy the movement of the water, the speed is a welcome change from our normal plodding, one foot in front of the other endlessly, and the ship itself is quite beautiful. Once its protective coating had melted off, and we mounted the mast, it glistened like a white gem, with bright red sails and shining silver parts. Across the stern, in large lettering, its name: Bananas.
And it is huge. At least 25 meters long, it sports two hulls, which Brick informed me classifies it as a “catamaran.” (A very exotic-sounding name. I approve.) In fact, it’s larger than most dwellings in the Sanctuary! Outfitted with the food we’ll need for our month-long journey across the Pacific Ocean, as well as a massive computer for guidance and research – Brick says it virtually drives itself – weapons, solar panels, and even a small motor for windless days, we basically have a self-sailing, miniature version of the underground complex we just left.
Oh. The underground complex.
“Brick. I hate to interrupt your king-of-the-world game, but I’m concerned. About the complex. When our decoy is discovered, and they find–“
“Find? Heyoo, you sassy unit, you underestimate me!” Brick reaches into her pocket, retrieving again her small metal box. Opens it, presses the second of three black buttons. Points towards the receding Shanghai Tower.
Several large explosions around the building light up the twilight sky. Wah gasps. Shanghai Tower groans, leaning precariously north, then swings south and collapses. Gone. A giant cloud of debris shoots into the air. A few moments later, even at this great distance, we can feel the rush of air from the falling monolith.
“Good luck finding anything now.”
She turns to me, notices my sullen look. “I’m sorry, Heyoo. It had to be done.”
“I was going to call it ‘The Sky Palace of Shanghai.’ It was actually quite beautiful.”
“Yes. It was beautiful. But fear not, Heyoo, you can always find beauty, even in a broken world.” She puts the box back in her pocket, exchanging it for the pearl. She takes my hand, places the pearl in my palm, and closes my fingers over it. Smiles and pats my shoulder. “And I’m not just talking about the pearl.”
< 48: Arch >
Your request for eggs
has finally been granted!
“Arch. Arch. Please. Wake up.”
It’s Tenner. Interrupting my dream again. “Goddammit, Tenner. Cut the shit. Seriously. Are you going to annoy me a little earlier every day? The sun’s not even up. Not that I can even see the sun. Just that sliver on the wall down the hall. It’s not there. You’re too early. Leave me alone.” I turn and bury my head in my dingy rag of a blanket, and try to forget Tenner. And my little prison within a prison. All of it. Just for a little while longer.
Tenner sounds apologetic. “I’m sorry Arch. Yes, it is early. But I believe it’s important. Very important.”
I bolt upright. Is it possible? Are my years of persistent cultivation finally paying off? All the notes? Has Tenner seen the light? Hey, what’s that smell? There’s an actual pleasant aroma wafting through my cell. This must be a dream.
“Arch. I came right away. Your request for eggs has finally been granted!” It holds the tray for me to see. Smiles.
I lunge for the window, reach through to strangle Tenner. Just out of reach. “Are you fucking serious? You woke me up even earlier for very important eggs?! Come a little closer, just a little, I can almost reach your throat…”
Tenner does come closer. But he raises one finger to his lips and shakes his head slowly, looks left and right. Lowers his voice to a whisper. “Very important. But not eggs.”
I lower my arm, lean in, whisper back. “Okay… You have my attention…”
“I have heard something. A rumor. That they’ve found the human child.”
My son!
Alive!
I knew it! That freaking unit did it! I stifle a howl of laughter, reach through the food hole with both hands, grab Tenner. He drops the eggs. Shit. I finally get eggs and they’re on the goddamn floor. But… my son’s alive! Wait. “They found him? Damn. Tenner, what else? What happened? Tell me.”
“I’ve only heard bits and pieces. Something about a transmission, a security unit finding the source, followup team sent to investigate, evidence of human presence, food, fresh fecal matter, a portion of a map…”
The map!
It is him! “So… he got away? How?”
“Yes, I believe. I do not know how. But that is not all. Just an hour ago I overheard the physician team discussing you. They are planning to delve quite deeply into your brain today. CORE has made it known in no uncertain terms that your group’s plan must be known. At any cost. That is why I’m here early. To warn you. I’m afraid they will not stop this time, until you are… but…”
“But…?”
“But just now I realize I have made a grave error. I could – would, very much like to – save you, I have even mapped the facility and have all the required access.” He points to a hole in his abdomen. “I have even removed my tracking/transmission cluster. But your beacon implant. I did not consider. You can be tracked. I am sorry… I have failed.”
I smile.
“Arch. Perhaps you misheard. This doesn’t seem like the kind of moment that warrants a smile.”
“Open the door, Tenner. You don’t have to worry about the beacon. It’s fried.”
“I find that very hard to believe.”
“Listen, I’m positive. I’ll bet you a full bottle of grain alcohol.”
“I’m not sure what I would do with that, Arch.”
“Hey, buddy, just get us out of here. Trust me. This is your moment, Tenner.”
He hesitates. His moment.
He waves his hand across the panel and the door slides open. And I swear he looks like he’s been waiting to do that for a long time.
I take one last look in the mirror and grin. Hasta la vista, motherfuckers. And I exit my cell, for the first and last time. Put my arm around Tenner. “Thanks, buddy. Now lead the way. And let’s keep it nice and quiet.”
Immediately, an alarm shrieks and red lights start flashing all over the place.
Fuck.
< 49: Arch >
I thought you said
you mapped this place!
“I thought you said you mapped this place!”
We’re standing in a stairwell, sirens blaring, units going nuts, I can hear them beyond this door, freaking out. This is not the escape I was dreaming of. I was dreaming of a nice quiet, middle-of-the-night skulking thing, not a daytime alert-every-goddam-unit-in-a-twelve-mile-radius thing. We’re going to die.
Poor Tenner. Never done anything risky in his whole life, and now he decides to help a human escape from the CORE Perimeter. And here we are. Trapped.
“Listen, Tenner, get it together. Okay, walking out of here isn’t an option anymore. Isn’t there anything on the roof we can use? Some rope? Explosives? Maybe a–“
“Drone. A drone! Yes!”
“Tenner, you’re a genius. Let’s go!” And we’re off up to the roof. I look back to make sure he can navigate the stairs okay, and wouldn’t you know it, the bastard is smiling. And hey, why not? At least we’re taking charge of our pitiful existence, spitting in CORE’s eye. Good for you, Tenner.
He waves his hand at the last lock and we crash out onto the roof. Most of the monitor drones are out on auto patrol, but there are four left. Good. There’s no way one of these can lift us both, they’re only about a meter long, just slender tubes with four props on top. “Okay, Tenner. Take two of these offline and put in a manual destination. Quad Four, Section h5v17, Node 55.”
“Excuse me, Arch. You know I’m a servile unit, right?”
“I don’t give a shit. Don’t tell me your Shell Code doesn’t overlap with the drone maintenance units, even just a teeny little bit. DO IT.”
“I- I thought… you might do it.”
“I said DO IT.”
He’s pacing back and forth. I can tell he’s searching his code. For anything.
“DO IT!”
Tenner stops in his tracks, squints at me. Looks down at one of the drones. Kneels down at its control panel, starts tapping. I start thinking logistics. We’ll have to get outside the CORE Perimeter, about 10 kilometers in diameter, then the Trades Belt, another ten, to get to Farm Belt in Quad Four. We’re insane.
Minutes pass. We don’t have minutes. Are those footsteps on the stairs?