Great. She cursed again under her breath while swinging to reach up as far as her arm would let her. All that did was tighten the straps against her joints and skin.
She gripped the nylon straps as they creaked under her weight, feeling her dose of endorphins running out. Her burnt hand ached, her legs felt like they’d been hacked off, and her head was hurting from the initial snap of the restraints. Reaching up toward the platform, she prayed it wouldn’t break any more. Things had grown old on Ezra Outpost 442, and these straps were far past their expiration date. Without deliveries of replacement items, the place would disintegrate in just a few decades.
“You know, you really ought to eat when working so hard,” a voice echoed from below.
She peered down as she hovered high above the giant sleeping spaceships, hovercrafts, and other vehicles. Some had been junked for parts, others were quite functional. Ace, her infrequent android companion, held a cup of coffee in one hand and an insulated lunch pouch in the other.
“Here, Jessie, Jessie, Jessie.” He snickered before tilting his head to the side, apparently finding her situation amusing. “Seems you’re in quite a pickle there.”
“Can you just get me down already?”
She shook her head, relieved to hear a familiar voice in the overwhelming silence of the hangar. She usually had her manual uplink com device that hooked up to the sound system in the hangar, where she listened to the music of centuries past to burn away the hours, but today she’d forgotten it. It was such a long way back to her room, it hadn’t seemed worth going back for it, especially since the probability that Ace was roaming about in human form, and not as some obscenely useless animal or bug, was extremely low.
Well, that had been pretty stupid. She groaned to herself. There’d have been no help without the com-link unless Ace happened to walk in like he’d just done.
At least when he was able-bodied, he had an uncanny sense of when she needed him the most. Thank goodness he was back to his normal human-like self, or she’d have been a grease spot on the concrete floor. Her luck had been suspiciously absent lately, and she did not exactly love skating on thin ice.
“All right. One moment.” He placed her lunch and drink on the floor before mounting the ladder to the platform she was dangling from. He took one step onto the platform and the thing screeched with a chorus of protest.
“Wait! Go slow. I’m not sure how stable this thing is anymore.” She swallowed hard, a dry lump forming in her throat. Her legs already felt numb dangling from the tight harness. Her toes felt like they were filling with blood.
“Sure, okay.” Ace looked around, searching for something to use to pull her in. Grabbing a loop of rope dangling from a set of pulleys attached to one side of the platform, he loosened enough slack to toss it her way. “Grab the rope. I’ll pull you up. The platform is stable on this end, but the metal is weakening toward the middle and far end.”
She nodded, stretching her arms toward the rope hanging just a few feet away from her. Her arm burned with fatigue as she tried to grab hold of the rope. Unable to reach it, she slowly kicked to get her harness into a swinging motion toward the lifesaving rope.
Another groan of metal. She held her breath and body still.
Please don’t break. Just hold on one more minute….
“Okay, swing again!” Ace called out, pleading with her to grab the rope. When she finally managed to curl her fingers around it, she swore she’d never let go, holding on with both hands as tightly as she could while Ace began the task of lifting her weight.
“We’re good. It’s good,” her throat croaked, and she pressed her eyelids shut as she reassured her helper that things were fine on her end.
Ace pulled the slack until it tightened, dragging her up slowly until her hands reached the platform. As she let go with one hand, there was another unmistakable creak of metal snapping apart, followed by her dropping back down. She struggled to hang on with one arm as half the platform crashed into the cement below. She grasped for the rope with her free hand and held on as Ace continued to pull her up via her harness.
“Jessie, hold on! I’ve got you.” His rough hands dug into her arms as he helped her up and over the edge of the broken piece of the remaining platform. She lay there, turning onto her back to stare up toward the blinding overhead lamps. She let out the breath she’d been holding, wondering for the first time what death would be like.
It sure as hell couldn’t be too bad, especially if it ended any kind of harsh pain and suffering.
“Thank you, Ace. You’ve got the perfect timing thing down.”
“I’m here to please.”
She chuckled. “Seriously. I forgot my com-link. If you hadn’t walked in here the very second you did, I—”
“Shhh. It’s over.” He winked and smiled, trying to lift her spirits. He could be terribly charming, but it didn’t work on her.
Ace gently pressed his hand into her shoulder as she stifled back the tears. It was strange that this incident should provoke such an emotional response from her. Nothing ever jolted her steadfast demeanor. Emotional outbursts were rare nowadays, especially since everyone used a ChemTend patch. They’d become accustomed to numbing even the slightest amount of pain or anxiety.
But today, for Jessie, everything felt completely upside-down. Something was not quite right.
Two
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “How about that sandwich?”
She hopped off the crane, shutting it down with the flick of a switch before joining Ace, who was already on the ground waiting for her. He winked, his light brown eyes flickering with life and mischief. His hair was in dire need of a cut, sticking out in all directions, but he repeatedly refused to cut it. Somehow it didn’t grow much longer unless he programmed it to. She guessed he did his own tiny snips here and there to keep it under control instead of asking her to cut it. Not that she blamed him. She was no beautician, and her own short, platinum-blonde hair was cut by a bot. She didn’t trust herself with any kind of shears.
“Just a wee bite of your favorite three-meat sub sandwich with cheese bread and a dollop of mayo-mustard. The works. Just the way you like it.” He held out the lunch pouch, dangling it with an infectious enthusiasm.
Smiling with joy, Jessie took his offerings. One good thing about having a companion around: there was always something to eat.
“Thanks, Ace. You’re the best. I wish we’d get that glitch of yours fixed. I’m not sure I’m safe by myself around here anymore.”
“It’ll take a bit more finagling on my part to fix the glitchy morphing, but I’m right as rain right now.”
She gave him a knowing look as she chewed thoughtfully. “For how long, though? It’s getting worse, isn’t it? How long before this fix wears off and you’re a bear again, or worse, a bug, and I step on you?”
His eyes flashed an apologetic sadness. “I don’t know, Jessie. It’s getting harder to change back each time. I can only promise that I will return to myself, one way or another.”
“This last glitch was a long one.”
“Four weeks.”
She nodded, sipping the steaming coffee he’d brought her. It warmed her insides instantly, a comfort in its own right.
“I guess it could be months. I missed you.”
“And I you.”
“Come on, old friend, I’m beat,” she said. “The panel’s fixed for now. We should be good for another year.”
“I could’ve done that for you.”
“No. You couldn’t. You were a tarantula, and I hate spiders.”
“Well, not then, but now I’m good to go. Any other repairs needed?”
Jessie scanned her brain, mentally listing each outage, crack, malfunction, and task she’d compiled in his absence.
“Yes. There're tons. Come on. I’ll dictate, you fix, and maybe I can sleep for days. You’re way faster than I am. What takes me weeks you can do in hours
. I was falling far behind in your absence.”
“That’s not good. I’ll get started right away.”
Jessie reached out, placing a finger on his cool android skin. It felt entirely real, like another human would, but she knew better. What she was feeling was a seamless lattice of tiny cell-sized robots. His nanite tech was top of the line. On the street, no one would be able to notice that he was far from human.
Jessie called him Ace, which was short for Artificial Companion Exomorphian, yet he was nothing short of pure genius in design. His entire body, from his skin down to his skeletal structure, was composed of nanites, and each tiny robot was able to modify its function depending on the immediate need of the whole. This allowed him to perfectly replicate the human form. No expense had been spared to ensure that these androids were as life-like as possible, but nothing would ever make them more than cold, frigid machines built of nano-tech and formed into a human body. She knew the difference all too well.
“It can wait an hour.” His eyes roamed her face, full of unspoken things. He opened his mouth to speak but pressed his lips back together again without saying anything.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head and shrugged. “I’ll meet you in the cryogenics lab in an hour. I have some tasks I left undone from before my last glitch.” He jumped up to his feet, throwing her one last glance before walking away.
Her eyes followed her friend until his outline disappeared beyond the blast doors of the hangar leading into the heart of the underground space station outpost. This was their usual dance. One or the other held back what they wanted to say, and the other would never question the situation any further. It was an unspoken mutual agreement to never speak of things beyond what their mission required. It was better that way.
She wondered how many chances they’d both blown to change things. Not between them, but around them. Her love for Ace was mostly platonic, almost sisterly. But she’d never asked if it was the same for him. Did she wonder? Not particularly. Somehow she knew the uncertainty of it should bother her, but whatever he might feel, some things were never meant to be spoken out loud. There were things Jessie didn’t want to know or remember, and Ace knew to leave it well alone.
You forget who you really are. You forget the reasons you were brought here. For Jeb. That is all. For Jeb.
Junctional Endocardium Bacterium. A deadly mechanical plague of nanites infecting humans. That’s why you’re here.
The whisper jolted her out of her thoughts, and she spun, glancing around the room to see if anyone was there besides herself. There wasn’t. Only silence and the howl of the wind outside, crying out to be let in. Nothing but metal, oil, and the violence of nature to smother the silence.
Jessie shivered. The whispers had sounded like they had echoed across the ships sitting quiet and retired from the days when they were run ragged across the sector. Now the rusty hunks of worn metal were just more check marks on her list of things to do. Maintaining them was becoming more difficult. She’d already scavenged several ships just for parts to keep the others in working order. Soon there would be no more parts to junk off the older models, and if yearly shipments from Earth didn’t resume soon they’d be stranded there forever without transportation.
Morbid possibilities ran through her mind. Why had Earth stopped sending vital stores and equipment? They needed it to keep the outpost running. It brought her back to the massive utility door separating them from the unforgiving outdoors and the quiet solace within. If the door failed, they’d have to retreat to the heart of the station and cut themselves off from this hangar. If it came to that, the loss would be devastating, and they would indeed be stranded on this forsaken planet until help arrived.
If it ever arrived at all.
Three
The automatic lights clicked on and illuminated Jessie’s bedroom with a bright, ambient glow. She threw her arm over her eyes, squeezing them shut and groaning at the disturbance. Everything was automated. The curtains, the lights, meals, the cleaning bots. Nothing ever changed. Rusty metal or white was everywhere too. The shiny wall paneling, the slick concrete floor, even her sheets and comforter were all the same color. She was the only color in a washed-out world of white walls and lights on timers. And Ace, of course.
Slipping off the bed, she strolled into the adjoining bathroom, hearing the subsequent clicks of lights flickering on as sensors detected her movement. Mussing her hair, she yawned before giving herself a long, hard look in the mirror. She looked more awake than she felt, and she took that as a good sign. Her skin was a smooth, milky color tinted with a lovely pink that highlighted her brown eyes. There were those who’d call her pretty, but she didn’t care for compliments.
A rattling croak emitting from the toilet grabbed her attention, and she turned to find a toad the size of her head eyeing her back while its throat bobbed in and out with each sound. Its bulbous yellow and black eyes reflected the bathroom light, watching her carefully, observant as all hell.
“Geez, Ace. What the hell? You scared me half to death!” She made a sour face as the large, wart-ridden thing jumped out of the bowl and onto the edge of the tub. It left behind a sopping puddle of toilet water and gave her another knowing, sideways glance right before sliding in.
“God, you’re disgusting.”
She bent down, cranking the shiny metal faucet to full blast before she anchored the plug, filling the basin with warm water. The toad let the water rush over his body before giving a satisfied croak and kicking off for a swim across the tub.
“That’s right, ol’ buddy. Toilet water really isn’t becoming of you. Absolutely disgusting. Really, Ace, we must get that glitch of yours fixed properly. It’s quite off-putting.” She tapped on the immaculate tile wall, scrunching up her face as she thought. “I swear I ordered the part to fix you weeks ago. It’s really a pity it hasn’t arrived from Earth yet. It’s downright horrid to find you in this state when I least expect it.”
Jessie shut off the water, watching her friend shamelessly swim a few laps back and forth. She’d have to keep a look out for a gray pile of inactive nanites. Whenever one of Ace’s glitches turned him into something small, he left his unused nanites just laying around for her to clean up and safely store until he got himself sorted out again. Returning to the sink, she proceeded to run a comb through her unruly locks. The mirror betrayed nothing of her restless slumber. Her skin was pale, yet smooth and bright. It told nothing of the conflicts riddling her brain as she shuddered. It was the nightmares, and they awakened her several times throughout the night.
In the dream that was still fresh in her mind, she’d been staring at herself just like this, exactly the same way and in the same camisole nightgown she was currently wearing. The only difference was a cut on her face, and blood was running down her cheekbone in such a way that it could have only come from her eyes. But it wasn’t red… it was a dark gray, a metallic gray. She’d reached up to touch the wound, but nothing happened. Instead, she felt compelled to dig her nails into her cheek until she broke through the flesh and a royal blue-colored blood spurted out as she peeled away the epidermal layer, revealing striated white muscle beneath. The blood faded to gray as it left her body. The muscle was held together by white, stretchy tendons, with white bones peeking through.
That wasn’t even the worst part. No. The horror really began when she peered beneath the meat of her flesh to watch as the smooth white bones of her skeleton changed to a smooth metal. Blue blood dripped from the wound, down her neck, and onto her fingertips. It stained her porcelain white skin before turning gray and flaking off like talc.
The last part had sent her mind into revolt, jerking her awake. She could still feel the smack of her heart drumming a panicked beat beneath her chest bone.
It was just a dream, Jessie. Get a grip. It was nothing more than a dream. Your blood isn’t blue.
Dreams were never just dreams, though. They represented something real. The medication she t
ook to suppress the dreams was supposed to keep her unconscious from troubling her as she slept, but reality could not be filtered from the mind with chemical cocktails. Therefore her dream had a foundation in real memories. That’s how it all worked. That’s what she’d always been told by the moronic med-bots.
Therefore, they were real, at least in part. But how could they be? True, she was isolated; she’d been growing weary of the constant work, and a life spent without sunlight on a wasteland of a planet had taken its toll. It’d be enough to drive anyone insane, and the medication apparently wasn’t working anymore. She’d have to tweak her mood enhancers along with the sedatives she mixed for such things. It was an arduous task, analyzing her chemistry and attempting to fix it with the ChemTend patch inserted into the skin of her abdomen, but it was a necessary one. She had the patch, so she might as well use it.
No one could or should live with their body and mind chemistry out of whack, especially in an isolated outpost like hers. It was a downright necessity. Stabilization of one’s chemicals was what the machines were for in the first place. Too many outlying workers had committed suicide, driven to it by the extreme conditions, social isolation, and lack of sunlight. Anomalies in their circadian rhythms had been reported, and the companies began handing out the ChemTend machine patches like candy. The drop in incidents was worth the cost of the little blood-analyzing gadgets.
Soon every human had one installed. But there was a problem. The tiny patches were made from machines—nanites. A deadly nanite-based virus evolved. Given the name J.E.B., it could enter the body through the ChemTend patches, and soon people began to die. The machines flourished, but the tiny nanite-based virus had nearly wiped out the human race. The virus was eradicated before the complete extinction of humanity, but those who were infected were put into cryogenic stasis and sent to outposts like this one to eliminate the possibility of them reinfecting the Earth. Now people like Jessie were the caretakers of those humans who were stuck in cryochambers awaiting a cure. Jessie was safe because she was isolated; her ChemTend patch had never been exposed to the virus. There were a handful of other humans like her, on various remote planets around the sector, but none of them dared interact with one another. If one of them were somehow infected by the people in cryosleep, they could spread that infection. Her only link to the outside world was through the shipments from Earth.
The Shapeshifter Chronicles Page 21
