by Kin Asdi
It became clear to her that she had connected with a computer. Her rational mind said she should be upset, but she found it interesting, and she wondered why she was connected to a computer. As curious as she was she asked, “What is AI version 2.124?”
“Main program running: Artificial Intelligence by D.W. version 2.124.”
Andena was confused, and she read the text once again. She was asking herself if she was part of the AI program. She vaguely remembered that scientists had come quite far with developing a good working AI program, but it had stopped when the Archon had banned all AI-based devices. She noticed that she was getting tired, but she wanted to know which other programs were running and she commanded, “Give me a list of programs which are currently running.”
She realised it was her first command, and she sincerely hoped that she would get an answer. Within a second she got a small list of programs with various names she couldn’t place, but there was one which could potentially be interesting: a program called ‘suppressor.’ Andena wondered if it might help her to think a little better and more coherently if she could stop that program. She asked, “What does suppressor do?”
“This program is used for suppressing the brain activity of the person. Installing the program is a lengthy procedure because of scanning for brain areas affected. For more information type: suppressor more.”
Andena knew she had found something which might help her to understand what had happened to her. She wasn’t able to recall anything from her past even though she reckoned she must have one. All this thinking and reasoning was tiring, and she yawned fighting her sleep as she commanded, “Suppressor more.”
The text appeared and she started to read, but it was very detailed with terms she didn’t understand at all. At the bottom of the text was the word ‘more’ and she knew she had to give the command to continue. Andena had lost count how many pages of text she had read already, but it was all as clear as mud. In the end, she couldn’t focus enough to give the command in the correct way to get a new page of text. She tried it once more, but her mind didn’t work anymore and totally exhausted she fell into a deep sleep.
Lunn walked into his quarters feeling totally exhausted but satisfied, wanting only a hot shower before crashing into bed. It had been an enervating afternoon in the new headquarters. The launch of the satellites was on schedule and had gone smoothly. Lunn was fascinated by how confident John was in monitoring the progress of the launch and when the satellites were released into space it had been amazing to see them joining the rest of the ring. The only moment when John showed some discomfort was at the point that the ring was to be completed. With sixty satellites fewer, all the others had to be readjusted which was a delicate job and after spending at least an hour double checking the positions, it had been time to initiate the ring. John had given Lunn the honour of pushing the button. Lunn knew if it didn’t work that the financier would lose several billion credits and his relief was palpable as the ring came online. It would be around forty-eight hours before the ring was fully charged and ready to be deployed, assuming that the systems at the headquarters were ready as well.
There was still a major issue with the secure connections that had been provided by Datanex because they were not stable enough. During the repositioning of the satellites they had lost their connection with them several times but fortunately, it had never happened at a critical moment.
That was reason enough to stop using Datanex immediately, and it had taken John a few hours to get the local network facility to start the procedure to reconnect the original data connections. The man at the facility had promised that it would be done within forty-eight hours. They had ended the laborious day with drinks John had brought with him, and it was way past midnight before the two had left the headquarters.
With a satisfied sigh, Lunn stepped into the hot shower and felt his tense muscles relax as the warm water streamed over his tired body. Memories of Danette caressing his body flashed across his mind, and he felt a stab of pain knowing he had lost her for good. He wondered whether Danette had dumped him because of his obsessional involvement with Andena. His reaction to her disappearance had even shocked him, and he couldn’t make sense of his feelings for her. There was no denying that she was very sweet and incredibly beautiful in every respect: a perfect body and mind-blowing sex-appeal. He regretted the fact that he had only ever had sex with her while under the influence of a mind-bending aphrodisiac. His recollection of the night with her was reduced to a shadow in his mind, and even though he knew what they had done, the experience was devoid of emotion.
Then Lunn’s mind was flooded by the amazing, intimate and pleasurable moments with Alice. Those moments had been more genuine, and he realised that Alice was always there when he needed her. It dawned on him that she had secretly been harbouring a crush on him for some time, and he knew she would never have admitted it to him openly. He sighed as the soothing warm water cascaded over his body: he hadn’t a clue what to do. He stepped out the shower and decided to sleep on it all because he was just too tired to do anything else. As he entered the bedroom, he saw a piece of paper lying on his pillow, and he smiled knowing it would be from Alice.
He unfolded the paper and started to read the text:
Lunn, I’m afraid I can’t stay with you anymore. That means, to my regret, I have to resign, and I hope you find a suitable replacement for my position.
All the best, Alice.
He gasped realising he was about to lose another woman that he cared for. He moaned softly as he tried to process the note. He studied the paper intensely, and he noticed she had written it in a hurry. Her handwriting was usually more curved. Something must have happened, and he decided against his own better judgement to pay Alice a visit. He jumped into some clothes and looked up her address. He was surprised by how close she lived. He thought it was funny that he had never bumped into her as he passed her door on a daily basis.
Within a minute, he was standing at her door pondering what to do. Just as he had gathered up enough courage to knock on the door, he heard a sultry voice behind him saying, “I knew you would come back for me Lunn.”
Totally flabbergasted Lunn let Lily pass him to open the door. She hooked her index finger, indicating that he should follow her and pressed him close against her voluptuous body. She nibbled on his ear and said huskily, “What do you want to do gorgeous?”
Lunn was pleased that he had bumped into her instead of being confronted by a sleepy and perhaps angry Alice. There were worse things in life than having to deal with a very hot and apparently incredibly horny woman. His groin reacted to her sensual assault, but he managed to keep a cool head and said calmly as he caressed her arms, “Talk.”
Lily instantly stopped bumping and grinding her hips against his butt and asked wearily, “About what Lunn?”
Lunn tried to turn around, and Lily let her arms go just a bit which was enough for him to turn. He felt her firm breasts in his chest and she moved her hips against his excited girth. Her eyes pierced his while she waited for him to answer her question. Lunn had to fight hard against his urge to kiss her beautiful lips. They were almost the same as Alice’s which brought his mind back to the present and he chided himself for being so weak. He turned his head away because he couldn’t look into her eyes anymore as he whispered, “Alice.”
She moved her hands to his chest and pushed him slowly away from her. He looked up and saw that her face had changed into an angry frown. She moved her hands to her hips and growled, “What the fuck did you do, Lunn?”
Lunn was taken aback by how hostile she suddenly looked. He sighed and said as he gave her Alice’s note, “I haven’t a clue.”
With her fingers trembling, Lily unfolded the paper and started to read the note. Lunn saw the emotions flashing across Lily’s face with each word that she read, and as she folded the paper several times, she took a deep breath.
She shook her head and whispered, “Oh dear.”
Lunn’s heart was in his mouth and asked hoarsely, “What is the matter, Lily?”
She looked at him and gave him an affectionate smile as if she knew exactly what had happened. She took his hand, and as she was guiding him to a room, she said with a friendly voice, “Let’s have a seat and enjoy a bottle because we definitely need to talk.”
Lunn followed her into a bedroom and said, “I figured that much but why are we in a bedroom?”
Lily smirked and said, “The living room is occupied.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and don’t you dare to ask!” she chided with a playful smirk on her face.
Lunn couldn’t stop his chuckle and declared, “I don’t even want to know.”
Her smile was half-hearted as she chose to ignore his remark, “Let me tell you something about Alice that you should know.”
Lunn sat down on the bed and gratefully took the drink Lily had poured him. He had the feeling it was going to be a long night.
Tancred felt somebody patting his arm and he had trouble understanding what the female voice was saying to him. The light in the room was not too bright which made him feel relaxed. The female voice addressed him again, “Tancred, Tancred it is time.”
The soft mattress he was lying on was far too comfortable, and he turned away from the voice trying to prolong his pleasant state of mind. The patting on his arm was as persistent as the female voice that kept bothering him, and he had no choice other than to open his eyes. He instantly regretted his decision to give in: he recognised the horrible face that went with her voice. He moaned softly and asked, “Why do I need to wake up?”
The female voice answered joyfully, “You have had your well-deserved rest, and now it’s time to get up.”
“Well-deserved rest?” asked Tancred surprised.
“Well, yes. Your body showed signs of prolonged sleep deprivation.”
He couldn’t believe his ears, and was too afraid to ask the pressing question. His face must have shown his discomfort and the woman gently patted his arm again and said with a warm voice, “Don’t worry! Nothing special happened during the time you were out.”
Deep down he knew he had lost control over the humans, but he wanted to be sure and asked, “Can you tell me how long I’ve been out?”
The woman helped him to sit up as she said, “Hmm, I’m not sure but definitely longer than twenty-nine hours.”
Tancred dipped his head in sorrow because now he knew that all his carefully planned work had been for nothing and he knew he had failed massively. There was no way he could repair the cracks in the carefully constructed conspiracy pyramid. It was very fragile, and it had already been showing signs of crumbling before he was taken by the Cerasus vines. This planet would be the end of his adventure because he was sure that his superiors would kill him slowly. The woman gave him his robe, and he said still thinking what he could have done differently, “Thank you, human.”
She frowned and chided, “I would like to be called Saida.”
Tancred was taken aback by her sternness and raised his eyebrows. He had never thought he would have to address the assistants by a name. As the two males arrived in the room as well, Saida continued, “My partners would like to be addressed as Latif and Uso.”
Tancred looked at the three people standing in front of him. They were still surrounded by several Cerasus vines, but their bodies seemed to be complete as far as he could determine. He had to laugh when he heard their ridiculous names and wondered how long they would survive when his kind ravaged this planet. They didn’t have a clue how savage and uncivilised his race could be. He had only survived because of his powerful mind manipulating capabilities, but his superiors were even better at it. They could kill him in a blink by just looking at him. Tancred decided to retreat to his quarters and stay there until it was time to face his fate. He nodded to the three and mumbled, “Saida, Latif, Uso,” and turned around, heading to the exit of the field. He wondered whether he could reach his quarters without being seen but he knew that Haruz was not to be underestimated.
As soon as he stepped out of the gorse, two people walked towards him, and the first of them addressed him by saying, “Good Morning, Mr. Tancred. Would you be so kind to walk with us, sir?”
Tancred couldn’t believe that Haruz was so ignorant that he had only sent two of his guards, and he smiled at the two men and spoke calmly while imprinting their brains at the same time, “I’m not so sure. Why don’t you both enjoy the wonderful morning and have a stroll on the beach?”
Tancred was surprised when the men started to walk next to him and gently laid their hands on his shoulder. The guard said with a friendly voice, “I do agree it’s a wonderful day, but I’m afraid you will have to come with us.”
Tancred was stunned by the man’s indifference and focused all his mental power at him, “I want you to kill the other guard.”
He was horrified when the guards walked on as if nothing could stop them. The guard looked at him and said, “Well Mr. Tancred, I’m afraid that is not possible. He is my friend. Oh, by the way, there’s something dripping from your nose.”
Tancred knew he had strained his brain too much and used his sleeve to wipe the blood away. He looked closely at the guard’s face and to his horror he noticed the little cracks in the skin. He understood that he was staring at a machine which looked like a human. At that moment, he knew he had failed again, and he hissed, “Damned you Haruz! I’ll ensure that you suffer the most!”
He was surprised when they stopped at a large old lorry. The guards helped him climb into the back of the old vehicle where two scruffy looking benches were attached to the floor. Another guard sat on the bench opposite. Tancred was too stunned to sit down, and he stared at the guard realising it was a machine as well. He was shocked when he heard Haruz’s voice saying to him, “Do sit down Tancred. You and I are going to have a nice little talk.”
Tancred startled a bit when the heavy doors of the lorry slammed shut. He hated dark and confined spaces, and he asked with a trembling voice, “What are you going to do with me?”
Tancred felt the sudden jerk of the lorry accelerating.
“Tell me, Tancred, when are they coming?”
“Who are you referring to?”
Haruz chuckled and said, “Always trying to avoid the truth aren’t we Tancred? I’m referring to your race.”
Tancred shivered when he recalled the angry faces of his superiors and whispered, “Soon.”
“How soon, Tancred?”
Tancred sighed because that was exactly why he had gone to the field but he never had gotten an answer to that specific question. He said remorsefully, “I wish I knew, Haruz.”
He repeated the short sentence but hardly audibly, “I wish I knew.”
Haruz’s voice stayed calm as he asked his next question, “Tancred, how many of your kind are coming?”
Tancred knew it wouldn’t matter what information he gave because he knew they wouldn’t have a chance of thwarting the attack and he said, “Everybody is coming.”
There was a silence which Tancred used to continue, “Our planet is much smaller than yours, and it wasn’t overpopulated but the Cerasus couldn’t produce enough Joy for all of us.”
“How many, Tancred?”
He didn’t know the exact number and said, “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps a few billion.”
Haruz’s voice was a little hoarse when he reacted, “A few billion. Are we talking about two billion?”
Tancred had to think hard because he wasn’t good at numbers and he answered tentatively, “No, more like three.”
He heard Haruz sigh, and he wasn’t surprised that the man sounded somewhat stressed when he heard him ask, “Are they all coming at once?”
Tancred remembered the euphoria of his kind after they had conquered the planet and said dreamily, savouring the good old times, “No, each caste has its own vessel.”
“Do you know how many vessels there are?”
Tancr
ed sighed because he was getting sick and tired of these useless questions and said with annoyance, “Does it really matter, Haruz? I don’t know, but I guess it will be about twenty thousand or so!”
He couldn’t stand the darkness, and demanded, “Where are you taking me?”
Tancred hated that Haruz didn’t respond: it made him feel disregarded. The silence had become nearly unbearable, and he felt a little relieved when he felt the lorry slowing down. As soon as the lorry had stopped with a jerk Haruz’s voice said, “You are in a cave now with enough food and facilities to keep yourself alive for at least ten weeks.”
Tancred gasped because he realised he would start to suffer from major withdrawal symptoms within a few hours and pleaded, “You can’t do that! I need my medication!”
“You will be fine. Don’t try to get out unless you want to be electrocuted. We’ll regularly check to make sure that you are still alive.”
The android got up and opened the door of the lorry and sat down again. Tancred knew he had lost everything and shouted, “How dare you to treat an emissary like this Haruz! I’ll kill you if I get my hands on you!”
Haruz’s laugh was half-hearted, and he said, “I hope you’re willing to share your food with the rats, although if you keep it all neat and tidy, you’ll be fine. Have a nice time Tancred.”
Tancred roared, “You are dead! You hear me Haruz? You can’t stop us! You will fail!”
Meleda woke up with cramps in her stomach, and she felt sick. It wasn’t the first time that she had to deal with the consequences of being fragile and not paying attention to the needs of her body. A hot shower was usually the best remedy. While showering, she recalled what she had read in Bionex’s reports. It was fascinating and horrible at the same time. The research and experiments Bionex had conducted were amazingly advanced but from an ethical point of view, it was truly sickening and highly illegal. What they had done to the woman they had ‘rescued’ wouldn’t have happened in a regular hospital. She knew that the poor woman probably would have died or been paralysed for the rest of her life. She thought that it was remarkable that they hadn’t put any effort into finding out who the woman was, but then she realised the search would have brought unwanted attention from other systems.
