by Bob Blink
Had it been standing, it would have been just over seven feet tall. It retained a general human form, mostly because the designers felt the adaption of human brains into the device would be far more successful than if it had taken an alternate shape. The head was smaller than would have been appropriate to the scale of the thing, but it was mostly sensors with the brain case inside the chest cavity where there was more room. The legs were powerful, with hydraulically assisted mechanisms for power and strength. The arms were abnormally long, and even then could be extended. The normal length brought the mechanical hands to just below the knees if allowed to droop straight down, and with the extensions activated, they would reach all the way to the floor. A true knuckle dragger, but useful in many ways. The over-all frame was covered with a polycarbonate material that was durable and extremely strong. Powered by an internal energy cell that only needed occasional charging, the thing could run at forty miles an hour all day if needed, and it was only the human 'brain' that needed simulated sleep periodically. By adjusting the voltage to the brain module, it was possible to control the awareness of the melded human and machine components. At the moment Dr. Ho had the device in a low voltage idle mode putting Joe's brain to 'sleep'.
"He's going to continue to degrade unless we find a way to bring him out of the marginally aware state he's been in since we installed him into the Cyborg," Ho said.
Glenn had already accepted that he wasn't getting Joe back. He was going to have to think about making a new Joe, but the question remained just how that incarnation would react to the plans Walker was trying to put into action. It had taken Joe nearly a decade to mature into someone who could be swayed into a path where he viewed the situation along the same lines as Glenn. Unless Glenn felt he could quickly bring along the new Joe, it might be best to simply forgo rejuvenating him for now.
"Can we at least get at his recollections on the shooting incident?" Glenn asked. He was crossing a line here, but he needed to know what had gone down that evening. Too much time was passing.
Dr. Ho realized what Glenn was asking, and what he was telling her he would accept.
"We can try, but no promises. You've seen how incoherent he has been in the earlier attempts."
"I understand," Glenn said softly, and with a silent apology to Joe, who had probably been his closest friend, he said, "Bring him around."
Ho nodded to Jake, who stepped over to the monitoring panel and touched a couple of control points. After a moment the machine groaned. The voice was nothing like Joe's. All of the Cyborgs sounded the same. They were designed to be adaptable, but no one knew when and if they would be used, and who would be inserted into them. Ho had sounded the same during the weeks she had occupied one of the things.
"Joe, are you there? Can you hear me?" Glenn asked.
"I feel strange," the mechanical voice replied. Glenn was surprised that he could sense a great weakness in the voice.
"You've been in an accident," Glenn informed him.
"That's why my chest hurts."
The Joe machine placed the massive hands over the area of its chest where the human Joe had been shot. Some kind of buried memory from the time the bullet struck Glenn guessed.
"Your chest is fine. You are resting in a Cyborg unit while we grow you a new body. Do you understand?"
"Ugh. . . I feel strange. Get me out of here."
"Relax. It'll be alright, but it's going to take some time. Joe, I need to know what happened. Can you recall the night they shot you?"
"I was shot?"
"Come on, man. You've got to remember. It's important. What were you doing in the storage zone?"
"Following . . ."
"Following who?" Glenn asked, getting frustrated.
"My head hurts."
"Joe . . ."
"What?"
"Who were you following?"
"They were raiding stores. They had a car filled with stuff they had taken from the warehouse."
"Who?"
"Them."
"Damnit," Glenn cursed silently. "Joe, I need their names."
"Don't know most of them."
"Was Rao there?"
"That little programmer guy?"
"Yeah."
"Didn't see him."
"Who then?"
"That woman."
'Woman? What woman?"
"The blond one you sleep with."
"Jessica?"
"Yeah. That's the name."
"Jessica was part of the robbery? Are you certain?"
The undersized head of the Cyborg tried to nod.
"She was there with your car. She shot me."
"Jessica was the one who shot you? Where would she get a gun?"
"She had Pete's gun. One of the guys took it from him and handed it to her."
"What is the guy's name? Do you know him?"
"Yeah."
"Who?"
"I forgot."
"Joe, concentrate."
The Cyborg howled, an eerie sound.
"Get me out of this thing. I can't take it."
"I've got to put him under. This isn't helping him, and I can see his mind is failing." She started dropping the control voltage.
"Wait!" Glenn commanded. "I need that name from him."
"You'll kill him," she warned.
"He's gone anyway. You've said so yourself. We'll have to clone him the usual way."
Nodding unhappily, Ho raised the voltage level again.
"Joe. Joe!" Walker almost shouted.
A series of howls and incoherent mumblings was the only response.
"The brain activity is falling fast," Jake warned.
"He's gone," Ho said a short time later.
Walker cursed, then looked at the still form on the table. There was no way to get the name he wanted from the empty hulk now.
Back in his office, Glenn had brought together his men.
"I want that witch!" he snarled. "She's been spying on me the whole time. I'll bet with a little persuasion she'll tell the other names we want."
He knew that Jessica was around somewhere. She'd spent the night with him the evening before.
"Do we have the security people put out an alert for her?" Kurt asked.
"Not on her," Glenn replied, his eyes fierce. "Once we have her, she's history. Once I wring the information out of her, we'll dump her the same place we put Charlie. I want this group stopped."
"Even with the equipment they stole, they can't get into the Simulation," Zack said. "For that they'll need the Resort, and we've already made it impossible for anyone but us to get to the special location that leads to the Sim."
"Are you certain?" Walker asked. "What's to say those bastards haven't been holding back and they have another way in? I want Rao and his buddy. They're going to tell how they've been doing whatever it is they have been up to. Then they too will join our former friend Charlie."
"Bring them here if we find them?" Luke asked.
Walker shook his head. "No, we don't want them seen. If you get them, call me, but take them up the tunnel to the seal that leads to the surface. It's nice and quiet there, and no one has any reason to go there."
Chapter 30
Sequoia Facility
"Where exactly are you?" Ray asked. Jessica had called him, clearly panicked by the discovery she was being tailed.
"At the east perimeter market," she replied, "just short of the northern boundary."
"Okay, that's good. I'm just heading back from the storage zone. Give me about ten minutes, then leave where you are and start walking north toward the farmlands. I'll be in place and watch and see who it is, and take action if I decide it's appropriate."
"Thanks Ray. I couldn't believe when this guy kept showing up wherever I went."
"You don't know who he is?"
"No. He stays far enough away I can't tell, and he's wearing a baseball cap that hides his face. His walk is kinda familiar, so I'm betting he might be one of Walker's minions."
; "Okay. It sounds like they have become suspicious of you for some reason. You might have to join Greg and the others."
"Crap! I was with Walker last night and he didn't say anything. He's pretty easy to read, so something must have happened today. Maybe Joe is recovering. That could mean you're in trouble also."
"Let's hope not. We don't have much insight into Walker's plans as it is. If we are all in hiding, it'll be just a matter of time before he stumbles onto us. Then it's all over."
Ray parked the electric car and hurried into the cluster of buildings that Jessica would be approaching soon. He was barely in place when he spotted her familiar blonde head coming down the street. He watched as she passed, and then focused his attention down the street to see if the follower she had mentioned was still there.
It didn't take long, and Ray had no trouble identifying who it was. Even with his features obscured, Ray recognized Luke Morales, Walker's likely candidate for his new second in command. If Luke was following Jessica, then they clearly suspected her of being tied into the theft and, as a consequence, the shooting of Joe Thomas and his buddy Pete Coleman. It was time to break her free and send her into hiding. Their situation was clearly deteriorating.
Ray didn't have the gun he'd acquired during the confrontation a few days ago. It was too dangerous to have that on him. If anyone discovered he had it, it was tantamount to an admission of guilt in the killings. He'd left it with the second of their two handguns in the underground bunker where Dale, Rao and Greg were spending most of their time these days. But he did still have the stunner. He fished it out of his pocket, and keeping it palmed and ready, he set himself on an intersection course with Jessica's tail.
It was approaching the dinner hour, and as a result not many people were on the streets. That made his approach a bit harder, but Luke was so focused on Jessica, he appeared never to consider that he might be tailed himself. Ray was within five feet of the man before some instinct alerted him to the presence of another. As he started to turn, Ray quickly stepped forward and smacked him over the right ear with the short section of pipe he'd brought along just for that purpose. He'd had the little stunner in his left hand, ready in case it was needed, but only Security were supposed to have them, and using it could focus Walker's interest where Ray didn't want it. He was pleased to see the startled look on the face of Morales before his eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped like a bundled sack to the ground. He hadn't had time to turn and see who was closing on him.
Ray hurriedly searched the downed tracker, not knowing how long the man might be out, lifting another of the handy little pistols that the Director was having manufactured. He suspected that he was going to regret not cutting the bastard's throat while he had the chance, but a murder on the streets was going to be discovered, and that would likely lead to Walker enlisting the public's help in trying to find them. For now, the limited approach Walker was employing was working in their favor, one of the few leverages they had. It was better to try to maintain the status quo. Then he headed after Jessica. He wanted to get her into the electric car and out of the area before Morales started to recover.
"Jessica," he whispered softly as he caught up with her.
She turned, startled, at the sound of his voice.
"Ray," she replied, clearly relieved to see him.
"This way," he directed. "We've got to hurry."
When they reached his car, he folded down the passenger seat and stowed it in the slot under the dash. That left a barely adequate space behind the seats where she could lay down.
"You need to find a spot in there and stay down out of sight," Ray directed. "I don't want anyone to be able to spot you while I'm driving. I think I need to stay on my rounds just in case. Then we'll sneak out to the bunker area."
As he drove out of the area, he chanced a glance down the street where he'd attacked Morales, but the man was gone. Continuing without slowing, or showing the spot any additional interest, he continued his loop east, passing between the farmlands and the northern extremity of the residential district. Upon reaching the eastern end of the cavern, he turned south, following the narrow road past the tunnel offshoot that led to the surface with the security building nestled up against the rocky wall of the cavern, then on past the Cloning Clinic and labs. When he reached the southern edge of the cavern, he turned back west, continuing until he reached the small offshoot with the emergency surface exit. The never used tunnel was narrow, but wide enough he could drive the narrow vehicle into it. Once he'd gone about fifty feet, he pulled over and stopped.
"Where are we?" Jessica asked when he told her she could get out.
"Extreme southern end of the cavern," Ray explained. There are two exits that go to the surface. The main tunnel upwards is mid cavern adjacent to the Security Office. Everyone knows about that one. It's a wide pathway, and can support multiple vehicles passing both ways, as well as a hurried movement of people. It was the main route for construction vehicles and materials back when this place was being built. Most people don't know about this one. It was built as an emergency exit in case there were problems during the construction phase. This tunnel narrows quickly, and only one or two people at a time can pass. There are a series of three airlocks at the end, about two hundred yards farther on. It makes a good place to hide the car. We have just over three quarters of a mile to get to the bunker.
The bunker was another remnant of the construction period. Built underground, it was a surprisingly large area built into another section of one of the caves that housed the Ring control equipment during the construction phase before the Command Center had been completed. Once the Center was finished, everything had been relocated, and the bunker was left unused. Most everyone in the Facility had never known about it, and Ray had discovered it only because of an idle interest in the construction days for the place, and because Security had a complete set of plans for everything that was ever constructed or excavated here. When they had decided that multiple safe locations were needed, he'd made a point of wiping all references to this place from the records. He couldn't be positive there weren't other references to the place somewhere, or that someone like Walker might be aware of it, but odds were it wouldn't be high on anyone's list of where they might be. This is where they had brought the equipment that they had acquired from storage the night Joe Thomas and Pete Coleman had been shot.
"I've never been in this area before," she said glancing around. "It's pretty barren and dark."
"It's not meant to be a common destination. The whole Ring area is mostly off limits except for official business, and this area is even beyond the active area that houses the nodes. The designers didn't waste power for lots of lights in this area. There are some emergency units that can be powered. There are switches back in Security to do that, but they've never been activated to my knowledge. Power Plant #3 is just a short distance over that rise, but other than the people that work there, there is little reason to come this far. If we had kids in the Facility, they probably would have intimate knowledge of this place, but the adults have little interest in exploring."
"I guess I'm going to join Dale and Rao," she said.
"Until we know why Morales was trailing you," Ray agreed. "Come on, let's go."
He led the way into the semi-darkness, their way lit by the faint glow from the light that illuminated the Ring, a couple of the nodes just visible in the distance.
"How did they learn about Jessica?" Rao asked when they had joined the two programmers in the bunker. Rao had been busy at a terminal, completing some of the connections into the main system. Even though they were out of the main loop, care had to be taken that they didn't trip any indicators that might alert Walker's people in the Command Center. Most everything was in place, and Rao had passed the details of recent events to his LA counterpart. Communication back was still awkward, but the Los Angeles group was urging them to move against Walker and his group of soldiers. That was easier said than done. Dale, contrary to inst
ructions, had apparently felt it necessary to slip away to check on Matti. He was supposed to be back before dark, which wasn't long from now. Greg wanted to shout at Rao for letting him leave, but he knew the man had little ability to control his friend. Dale hadn't liked the idea of being separated from the beginning, but Matti hadn't wanted to live away from her friends, and had insisted on staying in the residential district.
"We don't know," Ray replied, answering Rao's question. "It's clearly a recent development. Walker didn't confide in me, or ask me to try to find her like he did with Greg. I'm not sure what that means. I may have lost his trust. Our best guess is that it relates to Joe Thomas in some way. If he's alive and talking, then all of us are exposed. If Joe could tell them about Jessica, he surely would have revealed my involvement also. It's a tricky situation. If I disappear now, I might be doing so unnecessarily, yet if I go back and they know about me, I'll be taken. That can't happen because I know too much, and I have no doubt they would be able to drag it out of me sooner or later."
"Where's Greg?" Jessica asked.
"I am expecting him back soon also," Rao explained. "He went to check with Sam at the Cloning Clinic. He wanted to wait until late in the day when everyone is heading home before making his return."
Greg had modified his appearance by removing his beard, and risked going back into the occupied area in order to interface with a couple of people he knew and trusted. It was a risk, but electronic communication was a greater risk. Any link in the Facility could easily be monitored, and they simply didn't know how far Walker's private group had infiltrated. Cindy had alerted them that she was suspicious of several individuals in the Facilities area which had access to the comm links.
Enough time passed that they were all getting nervous and Ray was contemplating going back to see if he could learn anything about the whereabouts of both Dale and Greg despite the associated risks when the engineer returned. He was clearly startled to see both Ray and Jessica waiting for him.
