by Eliza Green
Simon hadn’t thought it possible to use the mind-mapping machine for anything other than defensive purposes.
‘Neither did we. That’s why we tricked it into believing we needed those weapons for defence.’
When?
‘After our Nexus treatments, when we felt strong enough to walk.’
Tanya spoke aloud, answering what were supposed to be his private thoughts. His heart sank at the realisation his thoughts would never be his own again.
‘Oh, don’t say that, Simon. You still have independent thought,’ said Tanya. ‘It’s just that now I know everything you think about.’
☼
Simon spent the night in his room with just a bed and Tanya for company. He got little sleep thanks to the constant humming in his head. Tanya Li’s imprint wouldn’t shut off.
He found his voice and ground his fists into the sides of his head. ‘Could you stop?’
The humming ceased. Oh, you’re awake then. Had I known, I would have ordered the others to gather sooner. We don’t want you falling asleep on the job.
Under his own steam, he got up and tried the door, which was locked. ‘Why did you lock me in?’
I didn’t want you running off with me in the middle of the night. I might be able to hear you, but you’re still too strong for me.
Simon considered that. Maybe he had a chance to turn this around.
‘Get the doctor; he’s ready.’
It was Tanya’s voice but Simon said the words. His own voice drifted into the background.
What has she planned?
‘It’s not a plan so much as a necessity. I need you more subdued than you are. I don’t want to fight you and the Indigenes when we storm their district. You’re stronger than me. I plan to use that.’
I thought you said you had weapons.
‘We do,’ said Tanya’s imprint. ‘But first you need a little something.’
The door opened and Dr Jameson burst in, brandishing a needle. He came close to Simon, who shrank back until he hit the wall. Jameson caught his arm and jabbed it with the needle.
Simon’s mind turned fuzzy. Then he felt Tanya push to become the dominant mind. So far he’d restricted her power over him to voice only, but now, as his left arm jerked, Tanya fought to take control of his body. Possessing independent thought would mean nothing if he couldn’t stop her.
Simon’s dizzy spell forced him to sit. But the second he did, his body stood against his will.
‘There’s no time for rest, Simon. I need you familiar with our weapons.’
Tanya directed him forward. He fought against her, which only made her push harder. Half way down the corridor, he relented to her.
‘That’s easier, isn’t it? After a while, it’s useless to fight something that’s meant to happen. I’m supposed to transcend and you’re supposed to help me.’
You could have achieved that without using me as a sacrifice.
‘That wasn’t my intention. The Elite hadn’t planned on including any of you in this. But our bodies are spent; nothing is left. We can’t do this without you.’
Tanya pulled him along.
Simon pushed and found his voice. ‘You’re just an imprint of your real self. How’s that going to work?’
Tanya replied out loud. ‘Jameson says the imprint believes it to be the real thing. Think of me as a copy of myself, in every way. Soon my real body will die and along with it my mind. Jameson reckons that could happen a few hours from now.’
‘That soon?’
‘Our bodies weren’t designed to withstand the extensive testing performed on us. That kind of change takes a millennium of evolution to achieve. Our current forms aren’t hardy enough to withstand it. But preserving consciousness, even if it’s a copy... well, that’s better than death. If Charles Deighton hadn’t succeeded in achieving mind occupation, then we wouldn’t have known it was even possible.’
Simon’s body halted at a closed door near the lab area. He waited to see what Tanya would instruct him to do next. His arm lifted and his hand turned the handle. Then she walked him inside. Still able to control the movement of his head, Simon looked around the room at the nine other Conditioned whom the remaining Elite occupied. They had created a half circle around a table with at least a dozen weapons on it. At the table stood another two Conditioned who checked the weapons and who were not part of the mind-hijacking experience. Dr Jameson stood off to the side, making notes on his DPad.
‘These are our temporary weapons experts,’ said Tanya out loud. The pair not part of the experiment both looked at Simon. ‘Please demonstrate to everyone how to use the guns.’
The pair nodded and they each picked up a gun.
One of them said, ‘The weapon contains a minuscule version of the machine in the environ.’ He opened the side cover and showed the group. Simon saw a small ball of energy sitting in a containment field. ‘The weapons fire bolts of electricity.’
How long does the energy last?
‘About an hour per gun.’
Simon saw a huge problem with their weapon. He strained against the imprint to gain control over his voice box once more. He felt Tanya loosen her control over him.
‘The Indigenes aren’t harmed by electricity,’ he said.
Tanya snatched back control. ‘Actually, they are. It slows down their movements. They will most likely prepare for our arrival by carrying energy absorption devices on them. The devices can negate the effects of an energy blast if they’ve been modified enough.’
Simon was careful not to think about his recent meeting with Stephen and the others.
He felt Tanya tap into his thoughts. ‘But it seems as though that meeting has already happened. They have an envisioner in their group.’
Shit.
‘Don’t worry, Simon. I would have discovered that in the end. You can still mask your thoughts from me, but soon it won’t matter.’
The weapons experts fired a shot against the wall, close to one of the host Conditioned. The host flinched but didn’t move. Simon worried about the impossibility of fighting against this internal occupation.
‘It won’t be easy to move us now,’ Tanya said, ‘but it will be over soon. And to answer your earlier question...’
Tanya gestured for one of the weapons experts to explain.
‘We’ve adapted the gun to fire continually if it meets resistance from an energy absorption device. The onslaught will not only slow them down, but it will make them immobile.’
‘For how long?’ said Simon.
‘Minutes at a time.’
What could they do in a few minutes?
‘Plenty, Simon. We could reach their Nexus, for one.’
That’s what worried him. Tanya didn’t appear to catch that thought.
‘We don’t have much time,’ she said. ‘We’ve designed body armour to protect the Conditioned, so all the hosts need to suit up and get trained on these weapons. We leave as soon as we’re ready.’
‘What about using mind mapping to learn the layout of their district?’ suggested one of the Elite.
Dr Jameson looked up from his DPad and shook his head. ‘Not possible. Your minds are already overloaded as it is.’
It was then that Simon realised he’d lost his working knowledge of electricity. That must have happened when Tanya merged with him.
‘We had to sacrifice something,’ she said. ‘Now let’s get trained on these, get our guest who’s bellowing like a wild calf and find this secret entrance.’
43
Bill arrived twenty minutes after Stephen called him, armed with a backpack and a DPad. Stephen ordered the temporary removal of boulders to the main hatch entrance to allow Bill to pass and escorted him down into the district, where Bill put on his gel mask.
‘We’re all gathered in the core,’ said Stephen. ‘It’s the only space big enough to run operations.’
Bill slowed. ‘All of you?’
‘Yes.’ Stephen felt his hesitation, saw hi
s yellow, indecisive aura. ‘Laura’s there. But I need both of you on side. Whatever your issues, they must wait.’
Bill sped up. ‘Of course, I didn’t mean...’
‘I know,’ said Stephen. ‘Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to in the end. Give it time.’
Bill flashed him a half smile. ‘That’s what I’m worried about.’
The core buzzed with active Indigenes who, on the back of Stephen’s orders, were gathering large rocks in the middle of the room to use as barricade material.
‘Where did all that come from?’ said Bill.
‘We began digging a new tunnel and we’re using debris from the dig to block access to the tranquillity caves.’
‘Do you have enough material to block them all?’
‘We will.’
Anton with Arianna, Gabriel with Clement and Laura with Serena directed different groups in the space. It might be a day or a week before the GS humans attacked. Stephen wished he had a better idea of the timing of the attack.
‘What about spotters?’ said Bill, as though he’d read Stephen’s mind.
He smiled. ‘You’re getting good at that.’
‘What?’
‘Guessing what I’m thinking before I say it. Maybe we’ve been spending too much time together.’
Bill smirked. ‘Maybe.’
‘We have Indigenes up top who are keeping a lookout. They’re limited on how far they can venture while the sun shines, but it’s all we can do for now.’
‘Well, I brought a few reinforcements with me. They’ll help to keep an eye out for the same thing.’
‘Thank you.’
A relieved Stephen led Bill over to where Gabriel and Clement directed a group of younger Indigenes to carry rocks to the five tranquillity caves in the south of the district.
The elder turned when they both approached. ‘Ah, good, you’re here too.’ Gabriel nodded at Bill, who eyed the Indigene with eyes as blue as Serena’s. ‘This is Clement. He’s from my district.’
‘Nice to see you again, Gabriel. Clement.’ Bill nodded. ‘I wish it was under better circumstances.’
‘Never mind that.’ Gabriel directed the last of the young Indigenes. ‘It warms my heart to see both sides working together.’
Stephen watched the young under Gabriel and Clement’s direction, who, according to Anton, had shunned the rules of the district. Stephen wondered if the physical threat to their home was enough to change their minds.
He looked around at the combined efforts. Blocking the tranquillity caves would not be enough. They needed to find a way to stop the Conditioned.
‘We should talk,’ he said to Gabriel. ‘Just the three of us and Serena. The rest can carry on here.’
Gabriel nodded while Stephen reached out telepathically to Serena and Anton.
Arianna, I need Serena for a moment.
Arianna nodded and took over from Serena. An anxious-looking Laura split her time between watching Bill and directing her group.
They relocated to the Council Chambers but Stephen didn’t want to keep this discussion private. The entire district needed to understand the consequences they faced if they couldn’t stop the attack.
Inside the room, Bill placed his bag down on the floor. He ripped open the zipper and pulled out a dozen electrified Buzz Guns with the capacity to kill. These same weapons had been used in the fight between the Indigenes and the board members from Earth. They had rendered the Indigenes useless in the fight against the genetically modified bodyguards.
‘I don’t know how useful these will be, but let’s try them anyway.’ Bill activated his DPad. ‘I was preoccupied and forgot to discuss some information the last time I was here. Information from Harvey Buchanan on tests done to the Conditioned and Elite.’
Bill set the DPad down on the floor and pulled the information until it was represented as a 3D image. Stephen watched while Bill sorted through the files and gathered three specific ones together. Stephen moved closer, as did Gabriel and Serena.
‘I can’t read medical data, so I’m hoping one of you knows what we’re looking at,’ said Bill.
Serena, who had once been a lab technician, pointed at the screen. ‘These are results from the tests performed on the Conditioned. Blood test results. And here.’ She pointed to a bunch of formulae that meant little to Stephen. ‘These formulae show what was done to the Conditioned, from the beginning to—’ She paused. ‘—up to three months ago. These tests go well beyond what my work as a lab technician did to our test subjects.’
Serena, as her former alias Susan Bouchard, had tested on patients with imperfect genetic code.
‘So what do we know from this information?’ said Gabriel.
Serena shook her head. ‘This information says the Conditioned have the same mutations as the second-generation Indigenes, but without a complete picture of testing from start to finish, I can’t say if they can do more.’
‘One thing’s for certain, they can block our telepathy and turn theirs on and off at will,’ said Stephen.
‘Or maybe they only have the ability to speak to each other,’ said Serena. ‘Their mutations appear to have been crafted more specifically than ours.’ She studied the 3D files. ‘It’s possible their telepathy never switched on like ours did.’
‘Didn’t switch on?’ said Bill. ‘So the doctors selected what to activate and what to keep dormant?’
‘That’s my feeling,’ said Serena. ‘I don’t know what they planned to achieve by making the Conditioned, but I assume the testing done on the Elite was far more extensive.’
‘The Elite want to transcend, so that requires a strong mind, yes?’ said Bill.
‘Yes,’ said Serena. ‘It requires a mind capable of existing beyond a physical plain.’
Bill folded his arms. ‘I don’t see how that’s possible.’
‘The Nexus makes it possible for us to exist outside of our bodies. If the Elite, using the Conditioned as vessels, get inside the Nexus, I have no idea how their minds will affect it,’ said Serena. ‘You remember how it reacted to me? I ended up changing it. We don’t know if their energies will make it better or kill it. Whatever, we can’t take the risk.’
‘I agree,’ said Stephen. ‘So what defence can we use against the Conditioned?’
Serena shook her head. ‘We must treat them the same as one of us. Be prepared for strength, speed. We might have the edge over them on abilities. But that won’t matter if they get inside.’
Bill uncrossed his arms and picked up one of the Buzz Guns. ‘So let’s hit them with everything we have.’
44
‘We’re almost there,’ Marcus shouted back at Tanya.
Even though the sun shone, the man wore a pair of magnification glasses.
Tanya in Simon’s body and the other Elite occupying the other Conditioned followed Marcus to a vast, flat area with nothing visible for miles. Fifty extra Conditioned bolstered their attack group numbers.
‘Where is it?’ said Tanya through Simon.
‘Not far now.’
Simon observed Marcus. Tanya had placed her trust in this stranger without knowing if the secret entrance really existed. He’d tried to convince her to wait, to send an advance party to check, but Tanya’s excitement about transcendence couldn’t be tempered.
He considered fighting Tanya, to slow her down, but in the short time she had occupied his mind, she had gained more control over his body. Each time he fought her, the effort drained him a little more.
Up ahead, Marcus stopped and stared at a patch of land. Simon couldn’t see what he looked at until he approached the area from a different side. Set lower than the eye could see was a hatch set at a forty-five-degree angle, covered in rubble and indistinguishable from the landscape, except for a rusted handle.
Marcus pointed down. ‘There.’
Simon imagined the Indigenes had the main hatch entrance covered just east from here, which was twice as big and visible to the naked eye. T
his made it too easy. He had hoped for some resistance—a tank, perhaps. A tank would have slowed the Elite down, if only for a short while.
‘The stranger did good,’ said Tanya.
Marcus looked at her. ‘What now?’
‘Now you take us inside.’
Simon saw the shiver than ran through the brown-haired stranger.
‘No fucking way. This was not part of the deal.’
Tanya smirked. ‘If you want to live like another species, you’d better see how they live. Open it.’
Marcus opened the hatch and Simon saw stone steps descending into the darkness. Tanya pushed Marcus down the steps. He stumbled but managed them without falling.
The non-vessel Conditioned, wearing robes and no body armour, followed him.
Shouts surprised Simon as three soldiers who’d been camouflaged by the landscape suddenly sprang up from their flat positions. Shots followed. Buzz Guns. Tanya ducked as several Conditioned retreated from the hatch to protect her and the Elite. Some fell but others pushed forward to attack the humans. The sound brought new bodies to their location—this time Indigenes. They posed a greater challenge to the non-vessel Conditioned, but not by much. Their strength matched the Indigenes well. And since the Indigenes had never met them in combat before, that gave Conditioned the edge.
Simon tried to help the fallen, but Tanya held him back alongside the other Elite.
‘I can hear everything you’re thinking,’ she said.
‘I don’t think that matters any more,’ said Simon.
‘Probably not. We’ll reach that Nexus or die trying.’
Simon knew all about Tanya’s plans. She didn’t need to tell him.
Tanya chuckled. I just wanted to remind you in case you forgot.
Hard to. It’s all you think about in my head.
Simon looked ahead to see the Indigenes had the upper hand in the fight against the remaining Conditioned.
‘How about we even this fight?’ said Tanya to the others.
The Elite nodded and their vessels joined the fight. Weapons at the ready, they fired at the Indigenes, who moved with speed around the Conditioned. Simon couldn’t move as fast as the Indigenes, so when Tanya lifted his hand with the gun, his mind froze.
