The Sixth Extinction

by Bob Blink

  "I don't see how we can help them," Sgt. John Morrison said. "They need weapons, manpower and intelligence, none of which we are in a position to supply. Even if we catch up with Walker's people when they are in here with us, the most we can do is effectively chase them away temporarily. They simply respawn, and return for more mischief."

  "I assume the communication problem back to the Facility hasn't improved?" Rodriguez asked.

  "It remains clumsy at best," Rao admitted.

  "What pisses me off, is that we are going to forget all of this," Sammi reflected. From what Rao has told us, our locally generated memories are designed to fade with time. That means Walker can do his killing, both here and in the real world Facility, and someday, assuming we are cloned out of here, we won't even know he did it."

  "Maybe we can leave records," Don suggested. "He'd been thinking along lines similar to Sammi's.

  Rao shook his head.

  "The Sim will deal with that, and they will also cease to exist."

  "So what can we do?" Morrison cursed.

  "Sadly, we are almost helpless," Rao admitted.

  "Your other self asked for advice," Sammi said, suddenly animated. "We haven't offered much, but it seems to me one of the only productive actions would be for someone there to take out this bastard Walker. They've done away with a couple of his underlings, why not him?"

  "Are you suggesting that they deliberately target and kill another human being?" Rodriguez asked.

  "Why not?" John Morrison asked. "The future of the human race is at risk here, and this maniac is fooling around with that. It might be the only way to stop some of this."

  "They don't have much for weapons," Sgt. Lee pointed out.

  "One well placed shot would be sufficient," Sammi pointed out. "They have a couple of handguns."

  "They'll just re-clone him," Don warned.

  "Ah, but if they can't copy this version of Walker because he is completely dead, which is important, then they'd have to extract a version of him from the Simulation, and from what our friend Rao has told us, it was many centuries where that Walker followed his duties normally. They wouldn't get the Walker who has some secret motivation to wreck everything."

  "He might not be the only one to worry about," Rodriguez warned.

  "Fair enough," Morrison said, warming to Sammi's suggestion. "But often there is one ultimate leader, take him down, and the revolution crumbles. If there are others, they can be targeted once they show themselves."

  "Assuming they are able," Smitty warned. He'd been quiet, but wondered how effective those at this Facility would be at this kind of a task. Most of them didn't sound like warriors to him.

  "Much of the problem we are dealing with appears to be tied to the ability Walker and his people have gained by being able to clone their Facility versions of themselves," Don mused aloud. "That is something Rao tells us is relatively recent. That suggests they found the equipment to do the scanning. From what we know of the skills available there, it is unlikely they developed the equipment on their own. If that equipment could be destroyed or somehow rendered inoperable, they would lose that ability, and once Walker and his buddies died off, their replacements would revert to the older versions of themselves."

  "I am wondering why that equipment still exists," Rao injected. "I would be fearful of destroying the only existing units as the planners might have foreseen a need for it that we are overlooking."

  "It might be a risk that must be taken," Lee suggested. "Clearly it must have been hidden away, and they didn't intend for it to be used in the manner Walker is employing it."

  "While it wouldn't help our friends at the Facility, part of the issue would be resolved if they could find a way to disable this Resort, or at least the portion of it that allows Walker's people to enter our Sim," Rodriguez pointed out. "With that out of commission, people here would at least be safe, but if Sammi is right, in a while we'd have no recall there ever was a problem. It's a weird situation."

  "We can pass all of this back to them, but I'm not certain what they can do about any of this," Rao replied to the suggestions. "They lack the knowledge and equipment for many of the ideas, and as I have warned, they are forced to maintain a very low profile. Only a few of their small band can actually operate openly."

  Rao hesitated, then decided if it wasn't information he should pass on, his counterpart wouldn't have edited it into his memory file.

  "There is something they are attempting to do. It entails a great deal of risk, but if it works out, it might provide information that would give them an edge."

  Rao explained what had been learned about the Cyborg, and the ability to plant human memories into the strange machines. He described how his counterpart wished to create a Cyborg version of himself, this one complete with the critical memories from the development of the Facility that were missing from all other Rao versions.

  "That's gutsy," Sammi said admiringly.

  "Let me see if I understand this. They are going to break into this Cloning Clinic, abduct the Clinic's manager, locate where these machines are stored, implant the desired memories, cart the as yet nonfunctioning device away, and hope to do all this without being caught," Rodriguez said revealing his doubts. "I'd say the odds are against them."

  "They can't just sit and hide forever," Sammi said stubbornly. She was already silently cheering them on.

  "I'd think some of the other goals we listed are better options," Mike Lee pointed out, obviously agreeing with Lt. Rodriguez. "The route they are choosing puts all of them at risk, and they have a small chance of pulling it off, and even then they don't really know what the payoff is going to be. I'd rather see them risk their lives eliminating this Walker, or shutting down his chances of continuing his long term objectives."

  "I will pass on what we have discussed, but we have to accept that we are not the ones there," Rao said, sensing a growing dissension among the various participants. "All we can do is suggest. Then they choose the path they wish to follow."

  No one had anything to say to that.

  "Do I tell Dale Nesbitt that his cloned self in the Facility has been killed?" Lee asked.

  "Perhaps we should do it together," Rao said. "You are there, but I have more details on the incident. If you could bring him in on a telecomm, we can inform him. Have my other self there also, if you would."

  Chapter 35

  Sequoia facility

  Despite Greg's assurances, Ray was very surprised when Sam agreed to support them in their plan to steal one of the Cyborgs. They'd been working details hoping for that outcome, so when the word had come through, they had very little preparations left to do. It was time to try to execute the complicated plan, and Sam had indicated that tonight was as good as any for what they wanted to do.

  Every one of them would be required if this was to work. Ray didn't like that virtually their entire resistance against Walker would be placed at risk, but it was a little late for second thoughts. Sam and Rao would be required for the mind transfer. Sam knew how to operate the equipment, something that wasn't required when Rao created the Simulation version of himself, and Rao had the assembled memories stored where they could access them and create the composite kernel that would be inserted into the man-machine. Ray and Greg would be needed for their muscle, the Cyborg would be heavy and hard to carry out, and because they were their most experienced 'soldiers'. Jessica was necessary to make off with Walker's electric car. She was one of the few authorized drivers the car would recognize. They would want both Walker's vehicle to carry the Cyborg, and Doctor Ho's car to allow the rest of them a more rapid escape. They purposely wanted to avoid using Ray's official vehicle, and in fact it was being used by someone else tonight since Ray wasn't on duty. Jessica was pleased that both cars they planned on stealing would be disposed of in a way that Walker would likely never see them again.

  Jessica had signaled she had the car and was waiting out of sight for their call. Greg led the way, with Ray and Rao
following as they approached the rear door to the clinic. The dimmed lights of late evening made them hard to spot, as did their darkened clothing that merged in well with the grays and browns of the cavern under the subdued lighting. Sam was waiting at the agreed-to time, and quietly opened the back door and led them inside. No one spoke. There was nothing they needed to say at this point, and they simply followed Sam deeper into the building.

  There was a small staff present because several clones were being grown, not an unusual situation, but also because several clones were in the recovery stage, their Sim memories having been installed into the grown bodies in the past twenty-four hours. Sam was the senior technician on duty, and was responsible for the overall operation during these quiet hours. It was a duty that rotated between himself and three other senior technicians.

  They avoided the recovery area with the three clones which were the primary focus of the night staff. The clones in the growth stage were less closely watched as there was usually nothing to be done, and any issues would trigger an alarm that would bring people if needed. Rao was intrigued by the twenty odd bodies in various stages of growth. It was one of these that Sam would be sabotaging to trigger Dr. Ho's unplanned return to the Clinic. As they watched Sam stepped over to one of the chambers, pulled something from his rear pocket, and pressed the injector against a permeable barrier on the side of the chamber. They heard the faint hiss as whatever was in the hypo was injected into the solution that surrounded the growing clone.

  "It'll take about ten minutes," Sam whispered, and led them deeper into the building toward Dr. Ho's office. "The clone will be damaged and have to be rejected, but that isn't a major catastrophe. Another will be grown, and the only long-term impact is that individual will be late in being returned to duty in the Facility. It happens periodically, but the chemical I injected will trigger the failure. They'll most likely discover traces of the compound when they do a postmortem, but by then we'll be long gone.

  The opening move of their plan complete, Sam led them down the wide corridor to where Dr. Ho and several key administrators had their offices. All were locked, but the thick transparent walls along part of one wall of Dr. Ho's allowed them to see inside. The Clinic's senior administrator had a large suite for her personal use. Ray knew even the Director himself didn't have such an expansive office area for his personal use.

  "Greeting area, with her office behind the double doors on the far side," Sam explained. "Her personal library and records room is off to the left, and her operations lab to the right."

  "The way down is in the lab," Ray said softly. "The plans show it is along the east wall."

  "We'll have to figure out just where," Sam said. "I have been in the labs many times, and never noticed it."

  "Like the office door, it might require her personal ID to unlock something," Ray noted. The sabotage of the clone was performed to lure the doctor back to the clinic in order to gain access to that ID. Sam had explained that she followed a routine that would have her return to her office, which she unlocked upon arrival. She would then go and inspect the damaged unit, and once a decision had been made how to proceed, she'd return, lock up and leave. This time, however, Ray would be waiting with his own injection, and they would put her under. They'd close and lock her door from the inside, and anyone in the Clinic would assume she had left, but they'd have her handy in case the ID in her left hand was required to gain access to the lower level where the Cyborgs were waiting.

  "It's going to be a bit of a hike hauling that thing out of here," Greg remarked, looking back down the way they had come. "Where do we wait?" Greg asked.

  Sam showed them the small supply room across the hall.

  "She'll leave the office open when we go and check on the clone," Sam explained. "You'll be able to simply walk in to the unlocked room while I'm with her. When she returns, you can grab her, but I'd guess you'll have ten to fifteen minutes to have a look around. Stay in the library or lab where you can't be spotted," he warned.

  As he finished speaking, a monitor he carried on his wrist flashed red and beeped noticeably. Sam glanced at the unit and said, "There's the alarm for the clone. I'll have to go. After making a check on the unit, I'll call and inform Dr. Ho. She always comes in and checks herself in such cases. You wait in the room I pointed out until Dr. Ho has arrived and we leave." Then he dutifully headed off toward the cloning area to check on the damaged unit.

  "I am a little nervous," Rao whispered to the others.

  "No backing out now," Greg said. "Sam has already taken an irrevocable step. He's going to be uncovered as the source of the problem for the clone he killed."

  Ray signaled to the others as he opened the door to the supply room. He was pleased to see that there was a very small, but adequate window that one of them could watch the good doctor's office. He could see now why Sam had chosen this location.

  "Time to move," Ray said almost thirty minutes later. He had just spotted the doctor and Sam leaving the office across the hall and turning toward the cloning area. It had taken Dr. Ho considerably longer to arrive and meet with Sam than had been expected. He hoped that Jessica wasn't getting worried, but there was no way to communicate with her that wouldn't risk detection, so they'd just have to hope she remained patient.

  Silently, the three men slipped out of their hiding place and made their way across the hall toward the door of the office. As Sam had predicted, the door was now unlocked, and they slipped inside. A quick glance to verify no one was present, they headed directly into the lab.

  Ray wondered what experiments the doctor engaged in here in the lab. It was well equipped, with a pair of the growing chambers, both empty at the moment, and a surprising variety of equipment neatly laid out around the room. Nothing appeared to be in progress, but even Greg recognized one of the large memory implant units set up on wheels for ease of movement sitting against the back wall.

  "Over here somewhere," Ray said, as he made a beeline for the east side of the room.

  As it turned out, the entrance wasn't difficult to find. Knowing it was there was the real secret. A wall rack concealed it neatly, but was easily pushed aside revealing the ramped passage leading downwards. There was no lock to deal with.

  "We're going to have a look," Greg said.

  Ray nodded. He watched as Greg and Rao disappeared quietly down the ramp, subdued lighting automatically triggering to show them the way. He'd have to wait here to be in position when Sam returned with the doctor. Sam had warned that the doctor might come alone, having directed him to take some action, so he'd have to be prepared for either eventuality. He had the stunner, but would prefer not to use it unless necessary. The drug that Jessica's friend had procured for them could point to anyone, but very few individuals in the caverns had access to the stunners. Using it might arouse Walker's interest as to who in Security might have been involved when their activities came to light tomorrow.

  Sam and the doctor returned sooner than Ray expected. They were engaged in conversation, Ho giving Sam a series of instructions. Most of the discussion meant little to Ray, but he did pick up on the fact the doctor had already become a bit suspicious of something based on the units chamber readings, and was directing Sam to run a series of tests she would review in the morning. She was focused enough on what she was saying, she never heard his approach, and jumped as he wrapped an arm around her neck, hand over her mouth as he injected the fast acting drug into her neck. She stopped struggling within a minute, and he lowered her into the chair nearby.

  "It's too bad we can't just let her go home," Sam said looking at the unconscious doctor, but she'd lock up again, and we'd trigger the alarms when it came time to leave."

  "There might be something else down below where we need her ID," Ray said. "This way there is no chance she'll be alerting Walker of the clone problem either. I don't know if she would, but it's better he doesn't learn until we are finished and long gone."

  "Where are the others?" Sam asked, looking a
round expecting to see Rao and Greg.

  "Down below," Ray said. "Let's close up here, and go and see what they have found."

  Sam hurried over and closed the office door, locking it from the inside, but not enabling the alarm. They also closed the door to Ho's inner office, so anyone passing by would see the room dark and not be able to see the unconscious form in the chair. Sam had already explained that where she parked, none of the night staff would spot her vehicle still being there.

  The ramp down was a wide spiral. In the center of the spiral was an elevator, something of an anomaly in the caverns where such devices were very rare. They chose not to activate it, not sure what monitoring of the device might be in place. It was a long way down, but the air was fresh and clearly the circulation systems were always active here as in the rest of the building. When the floor finally leveled out, a single vast open room lay spread out before them. There were a couple of tables near the front, with an array of equipment encircling each, and in the distance an incredible number of somewhat human looking robots stacked two deep, all horizontal and resting on some kind of shelf with electric cables plugged into a receptacle near the neck.

  "We've counted three hundred of them," Greg said, when he and Rao stepped forward to greet the new arrivals.

  "This area is reserved for the Cyborgs," Rao said. "We have seen nothing that looks to be the Memory Mapping devices, unless this equipment can serve a dual purpose."

  Sam had already had a look at the gear, making certain it was familiar to him and that he'd be able to use it. "This is standard gear. I'm quite familiar with the units, and they don't have that capability."

  "Unfortunate," Greg said softly, also disappointed the Memory Mappers weren't here. They had hoped they might be able to follow through on one of the suggestions from the cops in the LA Simulation, and remove Walker's ability to record his current self into a follow-up body.

  "That will have to wait for another time," Ray said philosophically. He'd had doubts everything would be so conveniently located. "We are already running a bit late. Let's see if we can do this."