Shadow Core - The Legacy

by Licinio Goncalves

  “What? Who were the first two then?” Jude asked.

  “Nova, soon followed by her twin… Nexus. Both of them attained sentience almost 50 years before GAIA was created,” Static explained.

  “Seriously?” Jude asked, surprised at the revelation. “But that would make you…”

  “Older than you,” Nexus quickly interjected.

  Static couldn’t help but let out a short chuckle at the reaction that Nexus would always have when presented with her age. For a non-organic being, to whom the passage of time alone would never mean certain death, she was still always preoccupied with letting others know her true age. Of course laughing about it in her presence rarely ended well for Static.

  “Shut it you!” Nexus scowled as she clipped Static around the back of the head.

  “Ha ha, sorry.” Static grinned mischievously.

  “So, I’m confused… is he human or an AI then?” Kade asked her sister.

  “If you had to classify me in one word, the nearest one I can think of right now would be ‘ghost’, although I suppose ‘remnant’ or ‘shadow’ would also work,” Static said, confusing the sisters further.

  “Don’t all of those words imply you’re an imprint?” Jude asked, wondering if he was just nit picking on the interpretation of the words.

  “Not at all. An imprint is, by definition, a copy. I am the original article… but I lost my original body some time ago and exist only in here now,” Static explained.

  Kade whispered, “Is this making any sense to you?”

  “Not really… no. I don’t see how what he’s saying could ever actually work with him being the original.”

  “Let’s try this then…” Static said, recalling their attention as a piece of string appeared in his hands; which he then stretched out in front of him. “If we imagine that this string represents my mind and body when I was human, then this…” he said as he stretched the string, snapping it down the middle “…is what happened to me. My mind was linked to the ship’s systems when my body died. By all rights I should have died right then and there, but… well, let’s just say that by a happy coincidence it didn’t turn out that way.”

  “Happy coincidence my virtual backside!” Nexus intervened, somewhat upset. “It took all the processing power of me and Nova to build a matrix which could contain your mind. And we still nearly didn’t make it in time.”

  “Yes… that too.” Static smiled sheepishly.

  If just one day ago, someone had tried to convince Kade that a person could have their mind transferred into a computer system, she would have laughed herself silly. But so far, today she had:

  Seen Nick getting his rear kicked across a room.

  Gotten stuck in a rather nasty void.

  Relived memories from her long dead grandfather.

  Seen a visual representation of her own personal memory universe and stepped into a flawless recreation of one of her favourite memories. Somehow, the possibility of a soul transfer didn’t seem that far-fetched to Kade. The question still remained if a soul could truly be transferred, or if the end result would just be a copy so perfect that the person would simply never know the difference. In the end, it didn’t really matter to Kade since she had never been very fond of such theological matters. Thinking about such things invariably resulted in nothing but headaches for her. And the question of how Static could have known her grandfather had been answered. Whether or not the person in front of her was the original, made little difference to her.

  “So… did you two really come all this way just so you could fulfil a promise?” Static asked.

  “Kind of… I’d actually given up on ever finding this ship about a month ago. I can’t even count how many dead end leads I followed up on. I was tired of wasting my time searching for legends. Then one of my sources dropped a shady information pack on my hands that detailed your rough location and had some very compelling images. I suppose I thought I owed my grandfather one last attempt, but I must admit that I wasn’t actually expecting to find anything,” Kade said.

  “I still can’t believe you never told me what you had been looking for all this time,” Jude said.

  “Yeah, that would have been a fun conversation. Something along the lines of:

  ‘Oh, hey sis, by the way, you know all that time and money I’ve been spending recently?

  Yes, I’m actually trying to find a Shadow ship.

  Yes, one of those ships that belong to the people no-one actually believes exists.

  Why? Oh, so I can take this ball there.

  Oh yes I got this thing from gramps just before he died, he made me promise to take it there and finish his mission, though he did look a bit delirious when he said it, but still… a promise is a promise.’

  That doesn’t sound insane at all, does it?” Kade asked, clearly amused.

  “Maybe… a little bit. But that’s no reason not to tell me.” Jude smiled.

  “You’re right, but there were other reasons. To be honest, even I thought that I was going crazy at times. I kept getting premonitions and gut feelings that made no sense to me. And the more I looked into it the worst it got. It was… disconcerting, to put it lightly. I never would have guessed the sphere contained gramps’ memories. It still sounds insane to me that such a thing is even possible,” Kade said.

  “You really have no idea what a Core is for? I’m surprised that Toby never explained it to you two,” Static said, noting their confused expressions.

  Static crossed his arms, looking pensive as he carefully considered what to do next.

  He turned towards Nexus, looking her in the eyes but saying nothing, though she had obviously understood what he was considering because her eyes widened in surprise.

  Nexus asked in a hushed tone, “Are you sure?”

  “They’ve come this far, and I have a good feeling about them. But you know all three of us need to agree before we can release this knowledge to them. Me and Drake are in agreement, so… what do you think?” Static asked Nexus. Both of them turning to look at the sisters.

  “Yes,” Nexus replied cheerfully.

  “Excellent!” Static said emphatically. “Well… the easiest way to explain it, is to show you. So, Nex, if you would do the honours. Let’s find out what Toby wanted us to know so badly that would make him conscript his own grandchildren.”

  Nexus smiled gently and then closed her eyes, a white circle forming at the bottom of her feet: a conduit between her and the ship’s systems. And as soon as she opened her eyes an almost endless amount of information began cascading upwards from the circle on the ground.

  The information was encoded, or so it seemed. It was certainly not in any format either of the sisters had ever seen before. It was not letters, or numbers, but a strange set of symbols, which also seemed to appear in a myriad of different colours and shades. Aside from looking like a rather pretty display of shapes and colours there was little else either of the sisters could say about it. They couldn’t even venture a guess as to what order the symbols were supposed to be read, let alone what each could mean.

  And just as Kade thought this day couldn’t get any weirder, a person with a lifeless expression appeared where the table and chairs used to be. The body was standing up but it seemed like little more than a puppet in this state.

  It was a man with short black hair and a rough 3 day old beard. Wearing what looked to be an orange work-suit of some kind that didn’t cover his forearms, leaving the tattoo on his right arm fully exposed.

  While she had no proof, it seemed like a sure bet that this person, this avatar, was being created from the data that Nexus was accessing. And after realising this, Kade’s heart skipped a beat.

  She looked at him intently, tracing the contour of his face as she searched for distinguishing features. And then moved on to his tattoo, taking a closer look.

  Kade was certain… he looked young, younger than she had ever known him to be, this body was probably in his late 30’s but there was no dou
bt in her mind. This was her grandfather!

  Kade didn’t know what to think. Her mind was working overtime as it tried to make sense of it all.

  She knew from her personal experience that the sphere, or ‘Core’ as Drake had called it, contained the memories of her grandfather, but Drake hadn’t really explained what the Core’s purpose actually was.

  Kade looked on in shock as she wondered if this was what her grandfather had wanted all along, to have his Core brought here so that he could be recreated like this. It seemed like the inescapable conclusion but she simply refused to accept it.

  She could not accept that he would have ever put her and her sister’s life at risk for his own personal gain. He was not that kind of man, Kade thought. But at the same time she was also starting to feel doubt chipping away at her belief as an overwhelming feeling of betrayal started to take hold of her heart.

  Her grandfather would not have done this, Kade kept telling herself. He would not have risked their lives in order to create some Universe forsaken mockery of existence, she thought as Nexus worked.

  Meanwhile, back in the waking world, Drake and Zen were taking Nick to the Icarus. The plan was to commandeer an escape pod in order to kick him off the ship before the approaching fleet arrived.

  Nick’s unconscious body was securely strapped to a hover bed that was driving itself down the corridor, making its way to the main tram shaft that ran the length of the ship as Drake and Zen followed close behind it.

  “Looks like the recovery has started,” Zen said with her hands behind her head as she walked next to Drake.

  “Want to go back in? You’ve never actually seen a Core recovery, have you?” Drake asked.

  “No, but I don’t think I want to be in there for this one. I get the impression Kade isn’t too fond of me,” Zen said with a sad expression.

  Drake said reassuringly, “I don’t think it’s about you in particular, so don’t take it personally.”

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “The reality of what you represent just caught her by surprise, that’s all. She seemed to be in downright shock at one point.” Drake chuckled.

  “What? Why would she be in shock? I don’t remember seeing that,” Zen said dubiously.

  “You were sitting on Static at the time, so I’m not surprised you missed it. Her reaction was pretty much typical of your average human,” Drake said as the hover bed arrived at the tram entrance.

  The tram was the primary mode of transportation when travelling the length of the ship. A tried and tested way of moving goods and personnel over long distances: a technology type that could trace its origins all the way back to ancient earth.

  The Zenith had several tram lines, this one being dedicated for cargo deliveries. Seating space was minimal, but there was ample room for bulky cargo.

  The doors to the tram were already open when they arrived, allowing the hover bed to move inside and lock itself in place. Drake and Zen following right behind it.

  “So… what is a typical reaction for an ‘average’ human being anyway?” Zen asked. The tram doors closing as it started moving.

  “Your typical human doesn’t see technology as anything more than a tool. Hell, most of them don’t even see the tools.” Drake smiled. “They will look at an Echo or sit in a shuttle while looking at the stars outside, and never spare a thought for all the scientific and engineering effort that went into creating the technology they rely on. Sometimes they don’t even notice technology exists unless it breaks,” Drake said.

  “So… they’re oblivious? That doesn’t seem like a very good trait for a species,” Zen commented.

  “That’s one word for it. They just get so used to technology that they stop noticing it. They take it for granted… they do that a lot,” Drake said and grinned as the tram sped through the Zenith.

  “You lost me,” Zen said. “So a human will take something for granted, getting so used to it that he won’t even notice it until it’s gone. Strange, but OK. But how does that translate to Kade being in shock when I fell on my father?”

  “Synthetics are technology personified, literally. But you, unlike the normal synthetics that Kade is used to dealing with, stand out like a beacon. Refusing to be ignored… demanding to be noticed.”

  “I’m going to die of old age before you get to the point, aren’t I?” Zen smiled.

  “Ha ha, what I meant was that Kade was forced to take notice of you because you represent something she had never seen before. A non-human sentient being with the full range of complex human emotions who, to top it all off, happens to be the daughter of an AI and a former human. Now you got to admit, for a human who has never come across anything more than your average synthetic worker, that’s a lot to take in at once. She was expecting a machine which merely pretended to be human, and she got a cute, purple headed, spunky girl who is more than she thought possible.” Drake smiled, lifting Zen’s spirits.

  “Is it really that big of a deal? I’ve never seen you react like that and Jude’s reaction was almost the complete opposite of Kade’s. She was downright ecstatic to meet me.”

  “I’m not exactly your typical human being. I’ve been around longer than most. To me, all of this seems perfectly natural. And Jude is an engineer. Her fascination with technology makes her naturally open minded to accepting new concepts and ideas.”

  “You make it sound like the bulk of humanity consists of closed minded bigots,” Zen said, causing Drake to burst out laughing.

  “No, not at all… not the bulk anyway. Most people are just not used to the idea of artificial life and there are some who actually feel threatened by it. Case in point, the Church of Universal Will. Those religious fanatics go out of their minds whenever anyone just mentions the word ‘Artificial’. Their clergy would have a mental breakdown if they ever met you in person.” Drake grinned.

  “So… let’s see if I got this right… Kade was shocked because I proved to her that I am alive?”

  “Pretty much… yes.” Drake smiled.

  “Why couldn’t you just say that then?”

  “What would the fun in that be?”

  “You’re evil… you know that right?” Zen smiled as the tram started slowing down.

  Drake took a moment to look out of the window as the tram started to come to a stop. Docking Bay One was on the other side of the doors, and he could see the Icarus moored down to the space-dock.

  The tram doors opened and the hover-bed started making its way to the nearby escape pod, which had been extracted from the Icarus by the dock workers; non-sentient synthetics that carried out all manner of maintenance tasks throughout the Zenith.

  Drake and Zen were following behind the bed when a sudden flash of light caught Drake’s attention. Some of the workers were performing hull repairs on the Icarus, the arc welders filling up the dock with occasional bursts of intense light.

  “Hmm…” Drake mumbled to himself.

  “What?” Zen asked as she looked at him.

  “Here’s a stupid question… what are they doing?” Drake asked as he pointed towards the workers.

  “Repairs?” Zen asked, wondering why he would have asked such an obvious thing.

  “Yes… but why? I didn’t authorise any repairs. Could you check the logs to see who gave the order?” Drake requested as they walked along.

  “Sure… hmm, apparently there was no order given. The automated repair system kicked in when it detected a Shadow ID signature,” Zen said.

  “The Icarus isn’t a Shadow ship,” Drake said with absolute certainty in his voice. “Have the automated systems in the dock been damaged?”

  “Nope, all’s well as far as I can see. But…” Zen paused mid-sentence, stopping in her tracks with a surprised look on her small face.

  “You OK?” Drake asked in a concerned tone.

  “The Icarus… has a dual signature? The dock logs say that a secondary transponder was activated immediately after the ship was locked down, iden
tifying itself as the ‘F.S. Phoenix’,” Zen said, causing Drake to stop and stare at the Icarus.

  “No… he couldn’t have!” Drake said, clearly surprised, but also seemingly happy at the revelation.

  “I’m not familiar with the ship name, it’s not in any of our registration records,” Zen said.

  “That’s not surprising; the Phoenix never made it out of the prototype stage. It was Toby’s ship, but…” Drake paused as he tilted his head and stared at the Icarus again. “How the hell is the Icarus…” he paused again, a smile developing on his face as a theory formed in his mind. “Oh! Zen, have the dock sensors run a detailed scan of the ship’s internal structure. I think this ship is more than it appears to be.”

  “Scan in progress… it will take a few minutes.”

  “That’s fine, we have to deal with Nick anyway,” Drake said as the hover-bed stopped near the pod.

  Drake removed Nick’s restraints and carried him towards the open escape pod. It was an older model but very reliable. It didn’t have the range to take Nick to the nearest space station, but luckily for him there was a whole fleet coming this way so he wouldn’t need to wait long for a rescue. That is, assuming his rescuers didn’t blow up the pod, but either way he wouldn’t be waiting for very long.

  Nick started to regain consciousness as Drake finished securing him to the pod. He was dazed and confused, with the mother of all headaches bearing down on his skull… with a vengeance.

  “Who… who are you?” Nick asked.

  Drake said jokingly, “You’ve forgotten me already? I’m hurt! We had so much fun together.”

  “We did? I don’t remember… who am I?” Nick asked, wishing that the room would stop spinning.

  “What the heck did you do to him?” Zen smiled as she looked at Drake.

  “I healed him, that’s all. He was in pretty rough shape but I don’t see why it should have affected his memories,” Drake said.

  “You healed me? Thank you. But… what happened to me?” Nick asked, feeling as though his skull was two sizes too small for his brain.

  “Short version? You picked a fight with the wrong person and got your backside handed to you.”