by C. A. Fraser
ARES surged into action seizing the opportunity Curtis had provided. It knew the Leviathan was only momentarily crippled and it would circumvent the damaged spine in moments.
ARES was a red blur as it closed the gap with the Leviathan. As the other quantum struggled to rise ARES raised its armored fist the nanids hardening to steel. The nanid encased fist connected with the side of the quantum’s skull and the crunch of the fracturing skull echoed through the chamber. The lifeless body of the Leviathan fell to the floor its brain destroyed by ARES final attack.
ARES stepped back turning to the approaching horde. The leviathan’s minions fell to the floor their systems overwhelmed by the abrupt loss of the Leviathan’s control. ARES knew they would recover but there was no immediate danger.
It turned to Curtis Reynolds. The lupine face gave no clue to his emotion but the quantum knew he was replaying their battle at the Fore’s vacation home. Curtis had almost shared the same fate as the man lying between them. ARES broke the silence between them.
“Evacuate that facility immediately.” It spoke with a finality that left no room for argument. The man regarded it momentarily and then with a nod moved to the military squad in front of the freight elevator.
ARES watched Curtis step onto the elevator after the last of the squad had boarded. The infected man would be the only existing specimen of the Landis strain after today. ARES wondered if he should be kept here but pushed the thought away. The strain was stabilized by the nanids and the man had been critical in stopping the Leviathan.
Curtis raised his hand in farewell as the doors to the massive elevator closed. ARES did not return the gesture but instead turned to complete the destruction of the Leviathan.
It could still sense the presence of the other quantum but it was diminished by the loss of its avatar in Nathan Landis’ body. It moved to the remains of Landis looking for any signs of healing. There was no strain activity within it the quantum having been destroyed.
ARES turned to the exposed chamber and the weapon lodged inside. The unit containing the weapon had worked as needed deploying anchors to prevent the weapon from being moved after it was in place. Several of the anchors had damaged various equipment within the room and ARES scanned the damage as it entered.
After replacing Simon in this body ARES had isolated the web surrounding the facility to ensure the Leviathan would not have a means of escape. All the nodes surrounding the facility were no longer allowing traffic in or out. Any AI not in transportation equipment would be unable to leave. ARES would expand this isolation once the ODIN protocol was in place. The plague Nathan Landis had created would be contained for as long as ARES existed.
ARES moved through the room ensuring the weapon was armed. It could feel the quantum all around it but knew it would not attack. The risk of ARES taking control of it was too high.
Satisfied the weapon was ready ARES moved to the wall in the chamber containing the communication equipment. It scanned the lines going up the wall and knew they led to several arrays on the surface. ARES gripped the large cables and ripped them off the wall discarding them on the floor. It could not chance the quantum having any means of surviving.
The alarm on the weapon sounded shattering the silence. ARES knew there was time for it to escape the blast and did a last check on the equipment. As it stepped out of the chamber it could see the infected beginning to stir. It was too late for them. Too little time remained for a rescue operation.
ARES closed the door to the chamber ensuring it was secure and then moved around the tower to Nathan Landis’ personal elevator. It had a transport waiting above to take it and the nanids to a secure location. ARES stepped onto the elevator and began its ascent.
EPILOGUE
Stephen Fore strode across the large meadow that spread out in the front of the Antarctic facility. It led to the airfield that had been constructed for the project. A slight breeze was at his back and caused the tall grasses to lean in front of him pointing his way.
At the edge of the meadow the hill sloped away and gave him a direct view of the airships lining the field. It was an impressive site. Over two hundred ships were stored there. Each ship had its own AI waiting to complete the nanid distribution that would restore the earth. They were encased in a protoplastic shield to ensure they were fully operational when the need arose. The time was drawing close. Stephen hoped that Wren would be able to free him and the ships from the prison ODIN had imposed upon them.
The archaic communications device buzzed softly in his pocket. Stephen quickly retrieved it anxious for news. The message from Tim was brief:
LANDIS AND HIS QUANTUM ARE DESTROYED. ISOLATION IS IN PROGRESS. SIMON IS GONE. I AM SORRY. WREN IS SAFE. SHE IS ON HER WAY. SIA IS WITH HER AS WELL AS YOUR AI.
Stephen felt elation and then the grief for Simon hit him. The man who he had thought of as a son was gone. He felt tears come to his eyes and brushed them away. The emotions were strong but the part of him that was EA kept them in check keeping Stephen’s mind clear.
He stood looking at the airfield rolling the news and grief through his mind. He knew his next step but wanted to be certain. After several minutes he turned walking back to the facility.
As he walked he silently issued the command to prepare the ships for their mission. The ships behind him came to life one by one the protoplastic shields retreating silently. Stephen had begun preparations to spread the new nanid strain around the world.
Wren sat in the airship listening to the faint hum of the engines and field generators. SIA was guiding them to ISIS as quickly as possible. Wren trusted the AI but did not know why her father wanted her to go to the other quantum. The future the AI had shown her did not indicate if or how ISIS would play a role. She thought about the quantums and the impact they had on the world.
After Rocky Flats she did not know if she trusted any quantum. Her experience with Simon was still raw and part of her blamed ARES for what had happened to her companion. She knew that was not the truth but the grief was too fresh. Her doubts about ARES were bleeding over into her perception of the other Quantums. Wren closed her eyes feeling exhaustion wash over her. She had not slept since before the mission started.
Her mind returned unbidden to the final moments of the mission. The detonation of the nuclear weapon had been terrifying to watch. The military and NDP had viewed the explosion via feeds from drones positioned a safe distance from the facility. Curtis and the squad had escaped the facility with minutes to spare. All airships had cleared the area quickly the last one reaching minimum safe distance moments before the detonation.
When the detonation finally occurred it had stunned the gathered military and NDP. A shock wave ripped through the ground and buildings followed by an upheaval of the ground which rose several feet in the air. All the buildings not destroyed by the shock wave were flattened. The ground settled back to its original state with the entire facility in ruins. Dust rose from the area partially obscuring the view of the facility.
The drones shifted position to compensate for the dust blocking the view. One moved above the facility and aimed the view downward to the facility below. As they watched a crater began to form in the middle of the blast zone. It started slowly and then quickly the ground fell into the vast chamber that had been home to Landis and his quantum. The plague was contained and humanity saved from certain destruction.
Wren had grieved silently, watching the blast, knowing that Simon had died for that to happen. It had finally overwhelmed her and Tim had taken her to Washington under the pretense of checking on her nanid mutations.
Tim had told her about her father after SIA had secured the airship and they were safely on their way. She had left him at the NDP in Washington and was now making her way to the last quantum at her father’s request.
She continued to stare out of the front of the airship. The sun was setting to her left far in the west and the dark was silently sliding over them from the east. Wren felt the crush of the u
nknown pressing in on her. She did not let it deter her. She was determined to see this to the end and free her father. Wren leaned back in the seat clearing her mind as SIA guided them through the darkness that was quickly surrounding them.
Deep in the ruined city of Denver the night was absolute only stars lending faint light to the dead surroundings. A dark figure moved silently between the buildings seeking shelter.
The creature once known as Nicole used the abilities given to her by the Leviathan’s strain to navigate the darkness. The woman she had been was gone. The soft appearance and curves replaced with lean muscle and a dark skin that functioned as armor if needed. She glanced at her swollen abdomen. She needed to find a home. Somewhere safe that she could raise her child. Those were her master’s instructions.
She missed her master and was filled with longing to please him. She placed her hand on her abdomen feeling the child stir slightly at her touch. She loved their child and felt a deep connection with it already. A sharp call sounded ahead of her. She froze and then silently ducked into a nearby building concealing herself. She heard the rush of feathered wings overhead as an owl passed searching for food.
The creature exited the building cautiously, making sure there were no other threats before continuing her search. She would not stop until she found the perfect place. Making no sound she continued into the darkness. Deep in their child’s developing mind the last remaining shard of the Leviathan waited patiently.
Thank you for reading Lock, Book 1 of the Quantum Wars. I am C.A. Fraser, author and purveyor of ideas! I currently reside in Seattle with my wife and two sons. I work in the tech industry in addition to writing. I also enjoy hiking and games of various types.
If you would like to keep up on the next books in The Quantum Wars series, you can join my mailing list. I am also active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as C.A. Fraser. Thanks again for reading and as a bonus I have included the prologue for The Quantum Wars 2: Fury in this copy of Lock! Enjoy!
Fury
By C.A. Fraser
Book 2 of the Quantum Wars
Prologue
Tim Reed was in his office stooped over his desk watching reports stream by on its surface. The standard updates on the nanid development and the state of human integration passed as he viewed them. Tim felt a keen lack of interest in them. The Nanid Development Program or NDP continued to function as it always had and Tim could not understand why it bothered him. He did not know what he had expected after the incident in Colorado but it was not a return to normal. He leaned back placing his hands on the desk, while his mind traced the events of several weeks ago. He absently ran his hand through his remaining hair. Tim felt old. He knew the nanids would keep him alive for many years but the burden of all he had experienced made him wonder if he wanted to. He shut his eyes and fell back into his office chair. He felt it begin to conform to his stocky frame as his thoughts took him.
The emergence of the Leviathan Strain, as it had come to be called, had been an unprecedented threat to mankind. The NDP and remaining United States Military had acted swiftly to contain the strain and destroy the quantum intelligence behind it. They had been successful in their attempt but not without cost. The quantum computer dubbed ARES was now solely focused on containing the area inside a massive quantum shield. With the only other accessible quantum ODIN completing the same task for another NDP project, humans were without a quantum intelligence for the first time in many years.
Humanity had come to depend on the Quantums as a source of intelligence and technological advancement. They were the only reason for humanities continued presence on the climate ravaged earth. Now without the expansive intelligences available Tim wondered if humanity would survive. His mind turned back to Rocky Flats and the confrontation that had occurred there.
Many human lives had been lost at the facility when the Leviathan had released its strain. However, the loss he felt most keenly was Simon Fore. The man was the reason they had stopped the Leviathan. He had used his nanid enhancements to hold the Leviathan in check, buying precious time to put the final solution in place. He had sacrificed himself and the nanid technology he possessed to stop the worst crisis facing the world since the climate had changed. Tim wished there had been another way but knew things would have been much worse if not for Simon. His mind moved from Simon to his constant companion Wren. Raised as brother and sister, Tim knew they shared a bond of not only family, but one of technology.
Both of the Fore siblings had been given a specific nanid enhancement that allowed them to have abilities far beyond the normal improvements. Their father Stephen had been instrumental in engineering their enhancement and even now was trying to have Wren help him. Tim felt a pang of guilt. He had been the one who had cut short Wren’s grief over Simon and pushed her to rescue her father. He had sent her to find the final quantum available to humanity, ISIS.
ISIS was isolated from humanity and served one purpose. It operated the Web. The web was a quantum communications network that surrounded the entire planet. It allowed for instantaneous communications around the world and was also a home for all Artificial Intelligence on the planet. Tim did not know how the quantum could help Wren rescue her father, but hoped she found it soon. He had not heard from her since the day Simon died.
Tim opened his eyes knowing if he stayed the comfort of the chair would lull him to sleep and he still had much to do. A bright flashing message on his desk brought Tim upright in an instant. He leaned forward not believing what was displayed on the screen.
“Impossible.” He muttered staring at the alert. It had been years since he had seen one of this type. Tim stood and moved around his desk leaving his office quickly. He was not sure what his next step would be, but he did know one thing. You did not ignore a summons from ODIN.
