The Sixth Extinction

by Bob Blink

  "Are you certain they had rifles?" Luke asked.

  Several of the men clustered around him nodded. So Walker was wrong again. The only reasonable explanation was that the first Cyborg, the one that had reportedly gone topside, had found a supply of weapons and brought some back. If Rao had all of the Cyborgs functional, and they were all armed with guns, then the situation was suddenly very tricky.

  "How did you get away?" he asked.

  "We were on the far end of the line that Bill had established. We started converging on his orders when we spotted the old construction, but were still far enough away when the shooting started to be able to slip away. Most everyone else surrendered, those that weren't shot."

  "Tell me about this place where they were hiding," he commanded.

  "Couldn't see much, beyond it was clearly a place where old construction had been employed in a bit of a depression. Nothing shows above ground except a large stretch of concrete. It's dusty and blends in with the surrounding rock, but it is flat and that made it show up. I'd guess there is an underground area out there. We didn't get anywhere close enough to tell more."

  "Okay," Luke said when he'd gotten all he thought he was going to from the frightened group. "Go back to the Residential Zone. I'll contact Walker, and we'll get word to you if you are needed again. Keep this quiet for now, understand?"

  As the men scurried away, Luke headed the opposite direction, hoofing it back toward the vehicle he'd parked a couple hundred yards away. There was no point in heading into the flats where the men had just come from. That was only likely to get him killed. He wanted to get word to Walker, but held off calling until he was in the car and headed away from here. Walker had said the Cyborgs could move faster than a man, and who knew if they might be heading this way to track down those that had fled the engagement.

  Once he had a quarter of a mile behind him, with no sign of pursuit, he called Walker on the secure channel.

  "You found them?" Walker asked.

  "Bill did," Luke replied. "He's dead. So is Jason and an unknown number of those that were with him. They are hiding out on the flat in the center of the Ring area."

  "What's out there?"

  "I don't know. I didn't see it, but it sounds like some kind of old underground left over from the construction period."

  "I never heard of it," Walker replied. "I thought I knew everything about this place. Must have been abandoned long before I was brought into the project."

  "We've got trouble," Luke said when Walker stopped talking. "The men reported they were attacked by a large group of robots. Obviously they have found a way to activate the robots. Worse, all of them were reported armed with rifles. If that's true, they have more long guns than we do, and now they have Bill's."

  Walker was uncharacteristically silent.

  "Come to my place. We need to discuss this and see what actions to take in light of what has happened."

  "I'm less than ten minutes away," Luke replied, and broke the connection.

  "They are moving fast," Walker said when Luke arrived. "I just got a call from one of our friends at Security. The Cyborgs showed up there and now have control of the Facility. I wouldn't be surprised if the Command Center is next."

  "How did he get word out?"

  "Tony was just coming in for his shift, and was in the back area. He fled when he saw what was happening, but the Cyborgs announced they were some kind of police, and that they were now in charge and that I was being sought for murder. Apparently a couple of the security folks tried their stunner, which of course don't work on the machines. One was left in charge, and he is armed as you indicated. Even if we had someone here with a weapon, it wouldn't be sufficient and would only bring the others back."

  "Bill had a theory before he was killed that the Cyborgs would be populated with the cops from the Sim that we had been battling before."

  "If that is so, they are dangerously capable and we have an enemy who has little reason to like us."

  "What do we do?" Luke asked.

  Before Walker could reply, he received another call. Holding up his hand, Walker answered.

  "They just took over Facilities. I'm told they are broadcasting a cavern wide message."

  Walker walked over and activated his holo display.

  After a couple of minutes, Luke cursed.

  "They are telling everything. That's Cindy, Ray Burke's girlfriend who used to work at Facilities. They're giving all our names and telling what we have been doing. How are we going to counter this?"

  "I don't know," Walker admitted, "but there is almost always a way. So far, people are seeing a bunch of robots, that don't even sound human. If we can regain control of this we might be able to contend this is all artificial and those aren't cops from the Sim at all. Remember, the belief is that there is no way to contact those inside the Sim by design. That might work for us."

  "Shall I call the others?"

  Walker nodded. "But we need to meet elsewhere. Get everyone you can reach to head to the war room. Oh, and tell them to stop using the secure units. These guys have Bill's now, so who knows if they can listen in."

  The war room was a special backup operations center they had set up in the manufacturing zone.

  "Do you want the auxiliaries there too?"

  "Those that will come," Walker agreed. "Have Mark be in charge of contacting them through the network he set up and telling them where to come. Most don't know where it is."

  When Luke had finished his call over the secure Communicator, Walker was pointing toward the holo.

  "They've arrested Jake from the Cloning Clinic, Carol at the Resort, and a handful of others," Walker revealed. "We're going to have to move quickly."

  "If we can set up snipers and start taking down these Cyborgs, maybe we have a chance," Luke suggested. "You've said that they aren't immune to rifle fire."

  "We need a means of getting bunches of them at a time," Walker argued. "They own the Cloning facility now, which means they have access to a couple hundred Cyborg units. If they could populate the ones they had, they can keep adding to their forces. I also don't like the fact they have Security under their control. That means they have access to topside again. Whatever they found up there, and that appears to include explosives and weapons, they are able to resupply and there is nothing we can do about it."

  "Maybe if we take out their site in the flatlands while the Cyborgs are occupied, Luke suggested. "All of the humans are keeping out of sight still. That's probably where they are."

  "You know that area," Walker argued. "They'd see us coming before we get close, just like they did Bill. I know that Ray Burke is a good shot, and the others are probably armed as well. I doubt we can make that work. We need to plan carefully, because a single mistake will finish us."

  Chapter 58

  Sequoia Facility

  "Walker's gone," J-Bot reported back to Ray at the bunker after they had raided his apartment. "That's not a surprise. He's had time to get the word and clear out. Rodriguez and Lee are headed back to the bunker just in case he might attempt some kind of surprise action. We're spread pretty thin, although most places wouldn't be worth Walker attempting anything. The Cyborgs are there to keep any of his followers from trying anything. I plan on taking Sammi and John around and see what we can learn."

  "It's pretty late," Ray pointed out. "Cindy has returned from Facilities. I doubt we'll accomplish much tonight. People are home and inside, so they won't have seen anything and won't be available to talk. In the morning we might have more luck."

  "We're going to have a look around. We don't need rest as you recall, and maybe we'll stumble onto something. I assume all is quiet there?"

  "Rodriguez and Lee will be here soon to help stand watch. Like you, they don't need rest. Cindy and Rao are off working on some materials for the morning. Cindy wants to put a series of short videos out. Sort of a 'Meet your Cyborg' thing. She and Rao are working on it right now. They are recording the Cyborg counterpar
ts from inside the Sim. There will be recording of Lee, Rodriguez, Sammi, and John Morrison, as well as the reporter Russell. She'll explain these are the people that have been imported into the Cyborgs. It'll be a chance to humanize them, and also have them explain first hand the kinds of crimes Walker and his bunch have been responsible for in the Sim, and how we have been attempting to thwart him. She hopes to follow up with another appeal to the public for any inputs that will help us locate Walker."

  "That sounds clever," J-Bot acknowledged. "But I think you are right. This time of night most everyone is asleep, and no one is likely to see anything useful to us. Morning would be the time something might happen. If she's online when people are getting ready to start their day, that would be fantastic."

  By morning they'd found no sign of Walker. Now that they were doing the looking, they realized how vast the caverns were, and how many places one could hide. They were beginning to see what kind of effort might be required to chase them out.

  "How about more of us," Sam suggested. "You've been complaining that we are spread around too far."

  "How can we get anyone we can trust?" Ray asked.

  "More Cyborgs," Sam said as thought it should be obvious. "We control the Clinic now. There are hundreds of blank units there. I'll bet Rao could contact our friends in the Sim, and we could get dozens of volunteers willing to help with this."

  "Or even multiple copies of our same people," Jessica suggested. "How about half a dozen Sammis for example?"

  "That would start to get confusing," Greg said.

  "We need to hold off on that," Ray cautioned. "There's a bigger issue here. Not to mention we don't have weapons for more than one or two more Cyborgs, each person you place into a Cyborg has to be dealt with later. Each becomes a distinctive individual, which you don't simply shut off when this is done. The Sammi we have here is no longer the same person as the one in the Sim. Already she has different experiences, and sees that version of herself like a twin, but definitely a separate person. Shutting down her Cyborg would be equivalent to dying for her. What would a dozen or so cops do in the caverns after this is over, or a half dozen distinct Sammis for that matter?"

  "I hadn't thought of it that way," Jessica replied, thinking of J-Bot, who up to now she was thinking as an extension of herself. She realized she didn't know what the Cyborg was thinking, or how it was growing apart with each action it took.

  "I think we need to give it a day or two," Ray suggested. "Walker's options have to be limited. He wasn't prepared for all this, and it's likely someone will provide a lead to where he is hiding."

  It was noon when Cindy came into the main area smiling. "We've got a tip," she said.

  "Someone saw something?" Greg asked hopefully.

  "A man called and claims to have seen Kurt Gunner entering one of the nearly abandoned buildings in the manufacturing area."

  "He knows Kurt?" Greg asked.

  "Well enough to recognize him across the street," he says. "His name is Tim Worthington."

  "I've met him before," Ray said. "Before all of this got started. My impression is that he is a solid person. I'd like to speak with him to be certain, but if it's the guy I recall, I think we might be able to trust his claims."

  "You don't think it's a setup, or a diversion to try and pull something out here?" Jessica asked.

  "We won't know until we check, but we dare not pass it up. We'll keep a strong enough force here that Walker wouldn't be able to surprise us. Where did he say this was?"

  "Some place he identified as building 857. I don't know what that means."

  "We can look it up in Security. All of the buildings were given number designations when this place was built, but few people use them anymore. It was apparently handy when they were just getting everything set up."

  "You know what's interesting about that number?" Cindy asked.

  Ray shook his head.

  "When Walker's man Luke alerted everyone to gather somewhere, he called it site 'seven'. That was the last thing we've heard over the net since then, so they must be aware we are listening."

  "Probably because we got Bill Williams unit," Ray guessed.

  "Well, whatever, but I kind of wondered if they could have as many as seven different locations for their activities. It seemed strange. What if the seven just relates to the last digit of the building? It would be a handy way to alert everyone, and no one overhearing would have a clue what they meant. I know it's weak, but . . ."

  "It's as good a theory as any. I think we need to check it out. I'll have Lee contact Burke in Security over their net, and have him find out where that building is. We'll have J-Bot, Sammi and John have a closer look at it. In the meantime, I want to meet with this Worthington and see first hand what he saw. I hope you have a number for him?"

  "It's them," Sammi reported in. "They are trying to be circumspect, but they aren't patient enough for this business. I can see where they have set up four sniping positions, and there are others inside, but no one is coming or going. The buildings are solid. Concrete and stone, like most everything here. I guess building to last was a priority."

  "Describe the layout," Ray asked.

  "It's a compound with three concrete buildings. The back one running parallel to the street is the largest and has the faded number 857 on it. The other two are smaller, offset at angles of about thirty degrees from the right and left edges of the rear structure. All are set back near the rear of the cavern. The rock walls are no more than twenty-five yards away. All three are two story structures, probably because there isn't enough clearance for a third level. I'm pretty sure the roof is slightly sunken, so there is room for someone to lie down and not be spotted easily from below."

  "Can you get around behind?"

  "Not without being spotted. I am guessing that would be the way we'd have to go in. The pair of snipers on the roof would make the courtyard in front far too dangerous, not to mention the other two shooting through the front windows of the back structure."

  "Have you identified any of the key players yet?"

  I've recognized two of them, but don't know the names that well. J-Bot says she had spotted Luke, Mark, Kurt and Carl. I assume all those names are familiar to you?"

  "No Walker though?"

  "Not yet."

  "Stay on site and out of view. I'll talk to the others and see how we want to proceed."

  "Ten-four," Sammi replied.

  Three hours later they decided on a plan. Walker had been spotted briefly, but with absolute certainty. He was the one they needed most of all.

  "Keep an eye on the place and make sure they don't try and leave," Ray directed. "We are going to do a bit of shifting around here. Raobot will stay at the bunker. That will ensure trouble free communications with the rest of you via your secure link. All the rest of the Cyborgs will be joining you at some point during the night. I don't think anyone at Security or the Command Center will attempt any action at this point. They are watching one another, and after Cindy's videos and the arrest, they are being very cautious. It has been decided that a five AM attack time should be attempted. Walker's people will be sleeping or groggy, people won't have come to work yet, and it gives us time to get everything ready."

  "We are guessing between ten and fifteen unknowns in addition to Walker and his inner circle," John explained. "So far we've only seen the five rifles we expect. The others look unarmed, but probably have handguns. We agree up front that anyone with a gun gets taken down?"

  "That's the rules of engagement," Ray agreed. "We don't need anyone alive, and frankly, it might be easier if there weren't any to deal with afterwards."

  By four-thirty the next morning everyone was in place and they were about ready to move. Raobot was back at the bunker as planned. Ray was at Security, armed with one of the rifles, and Greg was in the Command Center, also armed. Everyone else, except the Cyborgs were at the bunker.

  John and Sammi were on another rooftop together. This one was just shy of tw
o hundred yards from the closest point to the three structures where Walker and his men were hiding. They had a slightly elevated view of the two closest positions, and with their enhanced Cyborg vision had been able to watch and even identify the men manning the positions. At the moment Mark Savage was on top of the left building, and Luke Morales the right.

  Both John and Sammi were armed with the same automatic rifles since no sniper rifles were available here, but John was down in a sniper's position, while once again Sammi provided cover and spotting. She wasn't happy about the similarity and the bad memories that were associated with the last time they were in a combat situation like this, but John was the only one sniper trained, and they needed someone to try and deal with the sniper nests Walker had placed on the two outer structures just over a hundred and eighty yards away.

  The remaining six Cyborgs were split into two teams. Rogriguez, Harper, and Don made up the south team and would circle around the structure to the left, using their Cyborg speed to try and outrace any shots that would be directed their way. Mike Lee, J-Bot, and Burke made up the north team, which would circle to the right with the same ultimate objective, hoping to make one of the doors in either the back of the right structure, or the side of the main structure. Once inside, they'd move upwards until they could engage Walker's men. A lot depended on there only being five rifles to contend with. They would disable any rifle they captured, so that it couldn't somehow fall into the hands of another enemy while they were engaged. They expected to take damage, but hopefully only from the many handguns in the hands of the large group they had been tracking all night. Fortunately, the Cyborg bodies didn't transmit pain, but they did transmit damage status where they would be able to evaluate their condition.

  John's first shot would be the go signal. It would hopefully indicate that he had taken out one of the two snipers. The snipers were the weak link in Walker's defense. He considered them reasonably safe, but should one fall, the back-side of the building that the dead sniper had been guarding was almost safe from the other shooters until they reached the back end.