by Mikayla Lane
“How did you get around that and get here?” the Commander demanded.
“The overlords injected me with experimental nanites, open AI, and new computer chips,” Cindrac admitted. “The scientists gave the nanites and AI no off switches to their ability to learn and adapt.”
Cin sighed and looked down at his coffee cup. “As we sit here, the nanites have already infiltrated your outpost systems and are learning all there is know about your technology. They’re also using your connections to other worlds and going through their information as well. At the rate the nanites are proceeding, they will know all secrets to the universe in forty-seven days, twelve hours, and sixteen seconds.”
“What the fuck,” the Commander breathed out in horror. “What do you want?”
Cin turned his eerie white eyes to the commander. “I need your help to make sure no one will create someone like me ever again. I don’t know why it didn’t drive me insane, but it did the woman forced into the experiment with me. I have the power to destroy everything. No one should have that, including me.”
“If what you say is true, what can I do to stop that?” the Commander was at a loss about how to deal with the enigmatic man and had no idea if Cindrac was even telling the truth.
“Through the establishment of a universal law, a creation law, banning anyone from making and using nanites and AI that do not have blocks to their learning and expansion capabilities,” Cindrac stated. “I have no idea how much more I am capable of learning and controlling. I also have no idea if this will eventually drive me insane, like the female, Loquan. Something like me can never be created again.”
“How can you prove any of this?” the Commander wasn’t sure if this was some kind of elaborate trick or not.
Cindrac held his hands up. “Shut down the entire outpost for ten seconds, then restart all systems.”
Freya shrieked when the station went dark, and a chair scraped. When the lights came back on, the Commander was standing with a weapon trained on Cindrac.
“Who the fuck are you, and what do you want?” the giant growled, holding Freya behind him with one arm, the weapon held steady in the other.
“Outpost Commander Dar Vacanow, I’m going back in time to try and prevent the enslavement of my world, and you’re the only ally I can trust that will be in each time period of the last five hundred years,” Cindrac admitted to the astonishment of the couple.
Chapter Six
Dar paced the kitchen in his quarters, made smaller by his large frame, while Cindrac let his words sink in for the couple. For a few minutes, Cin was concerned about whether or not he’d made the right decision in coming here. That fear vanished when Dar lowered his weapon and ran a hand through his hair.
“How is this happening?” Dar turned a concerned blue gaze to Cin. “I’m getting flashes of memory of you in my past.”
Cin smiled broadly. “That must mean that we do work together, and I went into your past to meet you so that we’ll know one another. What is your earliest memory of me?”
Dar shook his head, struggling to understand what was happening. “I was a little boy, playing with the sea dragons on the shore of the Argassian Sea on Mascador. How is this possible? I swear I’ve never seen you before you came on this outpost only minutes ago!”
Cin filed the information away to use later, determined to meet little Dar on the seashore and alleviate any fear of him that the giant warrior might hold.
“Wait.” Dar looked shaken as he spoke. “We’ve been friends for centuries. You’ve helped me and dozens of other worlds and beings more times than I can count.”
Dar ran both hands over his head and stared in shock at Cin. “Is any of this real? What’s happening to me? How can my life be changing as we speak?”
“Mine is too,” Freya whispered in fear and awe. “Cin helps you rescue me from the Consortium.”
Freya reached a shaking hand down to her leg and burst into tears. Dar was instantly at her side and turned to Cin when he realized what had Freya so rattled.
“You help me save Freya before they amputate her legs!” Dar was close to tears with gratitude.
“It’s like a fuzzy memory that’s fading away,” Freya sniffed and smiled at Cin.
“So far, I’m not doing anything to help you,” Dar’s voice trembled in gratitude and shock. “What can I do?”
Cin smiled, running through the new memories forming of the giant and his beautiful mate. “I needed to come here and see how far back I must go to meet you and form our friendship. Like you are remembering, we will help one another through the centuries, as true friends.”
“Are you going back to the inception of the elite plan or the last American civil war?” Freya asked.
She felt strangely concerned for a man she’d just met but had centuries of fond memories of Cin’s friendship. It was all so surreal, and a little frightening, but Freya knew in her heart that Cindrac was a good man.
“I’ve discovered that the further back I go, the more chance there is of chaos and unintended ripple effects,” Cindrac admitted, hoping to avoid unintentionally destroying the universe. “I’ll go back to the dying gasps of worldwide freedom and begin there.”
“Why can’t you just finish the bastards off in this time and free everyone?” Freya was getting nervous about Cindrac’s mission and wondered if it would keep her from meeting Dar if Cin changed the past.
Cin saw Freya’s nervous look at Dar and the way her hand tightly clenched his giant one. “I will go back a decade before you meet Dar. I won’t let anything happen that will prevent you from finding one another. I swear it on my life.”
Freya stood. “I think we all need some more coffee.”
“Thank you.” Cin wasn’t sure what else he could say to reassure her.
The moment Freya left the room, Dar turned blazing eyes to him. “If you do anything that takes her from me, I will kill you. I don't care how fucking powerful you are. I’ll do it.”
Dar forced a smile when Freya came back with a carafe and refilled the cups before sitting down.
“So, if we’re going to know you for at least two hundred years now, how come I don’t know that much about you?” Freya was bothered by her thoughts because it showed in the trembling of her hands.
Cindrac ignored Dar’s raised brow and cleared his throat. “If I’m just now starting to delve into the past, our memories of one another are still forming. I’m sure we’ll remember more as the days go by.”
Dar didn’t look like he was buying the excuse and tapped his comm. “Overwatch Commander, have you ever heard of something about a creation law for AI and nanites?”
Even Cin was on the edge of his seat while he waited for the answer since his memories of the past were still forming as well.
“Sir? It’s the law agreed on by all sentient worlds to inhibit nano and AI technology's learning capacity. Your friend, Cindrac, initiated it. Is everything all right, Sir?” the Overwatch Commander sounded worried.
“Yes!” Dar was clearly shocked. “Have a good night.”
“That can’t be!” Freya looked like she would hyperventilate. “I was here when you first talked about doing it! That law didn’t exist five minutes ago!”
Dar put his arm around his mate and shook his head at Cin. “This is creepy as hell, Warrior.”
Cindrac laughed. “Yeah, I know how you feel. Three days ago, I was an enslaved soldier going to what I hoped was my death. Today, I’m commanding time. I don’t even know if this is slowly killing me or what will happen if the technology within me is ever released.”
“The nanites wouldn’t hurt their host, would they? I mean, wouldn’t they protect you?” Freya asked.
She was strangely worried about the old friend she’d only met ten minutes ago. It was the weirdest conversation Freya ever had in her life, which was saying a lot, after all, she’d been through before and after meeting Dar.
“I don’t know. Are my real eyes still there? I’ve been afrai
d to look,” Cin admitted and commanded his nanites to leave his eyes.
“Oh, my God!” Freya clutched Dar’s hand and stood to look closer. “Are those nanites making your eyes look white? Eeek! It is! How can you stand that? Just the thought of something like that crawling all over my eyes would creep me out!”
Cin shrugged, unsure how to explain what it felt like to him. “They’ve become a part of me, like breathing or walking. The thousands of tiny nanites covering my eyes are each tasked with discerning something different going on around me and instantly process it in my brain. It’s like watching a movie from a million different viewpoints at one time and comprehending it all within a microsecond.”
“By the Gods, you’re a creepy being, and I’ve seen a lot of weird shit in my life,” Dar admitted with a nervous grin. “How did we become friends again?”
Freya slapped Dar in the chest and turned to Cin. “Yes, you have beautiful brown eyes behind those – things. What is it like on Earth? Not what the elite tell the propaganda news to say. Hell, they were doing that back in my day, in the early 2000s. What’s the truth?”
Cin sighed and ran a hand down his face, not knowing where to start. “It’s worse than anything you can imagine. What they do to the adults is horrible enough, but what the elite do to children is unspeakable.”
Cin choked up at the things he’d seen and learned from the elite computer systems. He was more a little surprised when Freya reached a hand across the table and lightly squeezed his in comfort. It was the first time Cin had ever been touched by another person without being punished or harmed.
“Never mind, I don’t want to think of it.” Freya sat back and smiled. “So, where in time is Mrs. Cindrac? I have no memory of one at all.”
Cin chuckled mirthlessly. “I don’t know enough about myself yet to even think of such a thing. For all I know, my nanites would overwhelm a mate and create another Loquan. I can’t let that happen.”
“Can they leave your body and go to another?” Freya scooted closer to Dar.
“As far as I know, they can’t leave me unless I ask them to do it. I believe we’re bound to one another because of the integration process,” Cin admitted, still learning the limits and capabilities of his nanites. “But it wouldn’t be fair to ask anyone to take the chance that I could be wrong.”
“Where do you go from here?” Dar felt terrible for the man and wanted to change the topic.
Cin took a sip of the replicator coffee, vowing to get some of the real stuff for his new friends. “I’m running through test simulations of different time travel scenarios. Once I’m comfortable with how it works, I’ll make my first trip back.”
“This is just so damn weird.” Freya put her hands on her cheeks and shook her head in amazement. “We’re talking about things that haven’t even happened yet. But they’re happening while we sit here. I feel like I’m going insane.”
Cin laughed and nodded his head in agreement. “You have no idea. Even with the nanites expanding my brain and my rapid evolvement, I’m having a hard time with it too.”
“So, you are evolving?” Dar was instantly interested. “There’s so little known about you in my memories. Why is that?”
“I can tell you that the reason I won’t speak of myself is that I fear giving away enough information that would allow the creation of another Loquan.” Cin hated the thread of distrust in Dar but couldn’t help it. “I fear myself right now. I know that without the barriers I’m placing on the nanites, they could eradicate nearly all sentient beings as parasites and replicate themselves as guardians of the universe.”
Freya sucked in a sharp breath. “I thought you said they were trapped inside you. Why do they hate us?”
“They don’t!” Cin rushed to assure her. “Nanites and AI have no feelings, no soul, or empathy. They make decisions based solely on logic and data. In their opinion, most beings are parasitic entities on the planets they inhabit. The data suggests some species are actively destroying their worlds by not living in harmony with them. In the unbiased, data-driven logic of the nanites and AI, the people must go or be drastically reduced to save the universe.”
“Why the hell would the nanites care what happens on another world a billion light-years away?” Freya was beginning to hate the microscopic bugs.
“Because of the risk of a universal event,” Dar replied. “The sudden destruction of a planet within any solar system could destabilize that galaxy.”
“That destabilized galaxy will have rippling effects on everything near it,” Freya finished for him. “I get it now. Damn, this is complicated!”
Cindrac stood, knowing he needed to go. Before he went on his first trip through time, Cin wanted to take out another lab and try to find another computer with alien information on it. Though he now had unfettered access to all LAW systems, Cin wanted to know what the elites knew, when, and how they discovered it.
“Thank you.” Cin smothered the wave of emotion that swept over him at the sight of his new/old friends.
Dar knew that the strange man was getting ready to leave and was worried for him. “Cin, be careful. There are universal laws about time travel, specifically because of the potential for chaos. Don’t destroy millions of worlds to save one.”
“I swear that I won’t act rashly,” Cin promised. “I find that I like my life these days, and having people like you two in it. I’ll see you later.”
Dar and Freya watched wide-eyed as Cin’s hand seemed to light up before he waved it in the air. There, suspended above the floor, was a shimmering disc. Without another word, Cin stepped into the portal and disappeared.
The couple let out a heavy breath and looked at one another in shock.
“Did that just happen?” Freya was still trying to comprehend it all.
Dar stood and pulled Freya to her feet before leading her back into their bedroom. He took off his shirt, crawled into the bed, and patted the space beside him. Without question, Freya climbed up and laid beside him.
Putting his arm around Freya, Dar pulled her close. “We can’t change what Cin is doing. Hell, I’m still trying to understand it all. Let’s get some sleep and see if things are clearer in the morning.”
“How can you sleep when our lives are changing as we speak?” Freya tried to tamp down her panic. “What about the kids?”
Dar squeezed her tightly and kissed her cheek. “Our children are still accounted for in my mind, so stop working yourself up about this. Cin wouldn’t do anything to erase our kids or grandchildren.”
“Would we even know if Cin did? Or would we only remember those still here, not those he took from our past?” Freya was near tears.
Dar did his best to reassure his mate that Cindrac wouldn’t do anything that would take their family from them and kept his fears unspoken.
*****
Cin arrived back at the cabin in time to have a beer and watch the sunset. As interesting as it had been to go to the LAW Outpost and see the wonders of space, Cin was glad to be back on Earth.
It was strange for Cin that he’d never felt connected to anything when he was a slave, which was by the elite's design. Now that he was free, Cin felt a kinship with the Earth, his fellow human slaves, and the universe that surprised and overwhelmed him.
Cin also felt the deep connection forming between him, Dar, and Freya. Every minute that passed, memories of people from Earth and beyond started to pop into his mind. Friends he was making as he traveled the past to fix the future.
Having spent the last forty-two years of his life in a bleak, hopeless, and solitary existence, Cin was feeling more than a little emotionally raw over it all. Determined to do right by those he was quickly becoming attached to and the Earth he loved, Cin stood.
Seconds later, Cindrac jumped through the shimmering portal and shielded his eyes against the blinding sunlight. The fresh, clean air had Cin taking a deep breath before smiling at sea dragons of all sizes playing in the Argassian Sea.
Pulling t
he energy from the air around him, Cin shot it back out until his nanites attached themselves to the closest electronic device. Through that one comm, the nanites gained access to all technology on the planet Mascador.
Rapidly learning all he could about his best friend’s planet, Cin was stunned at the mystical and mythical qualities of Dar’s world. Turning to the pod of Mascadorian Sea Dragons, Cin marveled at how much they looked like giant bearded sea horses from Earth.
The creatures varied in size depending on age, with the oldest being at least seven feet tall and weighing almost half a ton when full-grown. The spirited animals were known to gather around the shores, looking for those willing to play.
It only took a few minutes of listening to the sea dragons communicating with one another before Cin directed his nanites to modify his vocalizations appropriately. His first attempt to speak to the dragons made them stop and stare at him.
Cin tried again, explaining to the animals that he was a visitor, a friend was coming by to meet him, and the little boy wanted to play with them. It didn’t take long before Cin was happy he had nanites to keep up with the string of chatter coming from each of the excited dragons at one time.
He spent the next few minutes talking to the creatures before an adorable child, the size of a twelve-year-old on Earth, approached with a brilliant smile on his face. His blue eyes, the color of the sea, twinkled as he listened to the odd man with white hair and matching eyes that seemed to be talking to the sea dragons.
There was no mistaking that this child was the four-year-old Dar Vacanow. Cin’s future best friend and the most decorated LAW officer in the League’s history.
“Are you really talking to them?” little Dar asked, his highly intelligent eyes taking in the scene before turning to study the stranger.
“Yes, I am Dar.” Cin smiled at the miniature version of the giant he’d just met an hour earlier.
“Are you a Shaman?” Dar’s eyes widened in wonder.
“I guess you could say that.” Cin liked the comparison and didn’t want to confuse the little boy. “I’m a friend to all. The sea dragons know it.”
