Without turning around, Jason said, “Hey, I just want to say, you know, before I start having to concentrate on incoming data, how lucky I feel. I never would have thought you’d actually be interested in me.” He stared down at the floor where the nannies were busily creating a quarter size opening in the wall and coating it with signal enhancements and receivers.
“Part of this change in how I look is because I wanted you to notice me. Not consciously. I’ve never been unhappy with how I appeared before, although I’ve always envied those with incredibly good looks. Until I saw you.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t know if you see yourself the same way others do, but you’re so beautiful. I guess I thought . . . if I changed to be more appealing, you’d be unable to resist me.” He breathed deeply. “Gah! I feel like I’m twelve. It’s so shallow, too. If my interest in you only had to do with your looks, or mine, I think I’d have to go hide myself in shame. But it’s more than your looks You’re so . . . lost. Like you needed someone to touch you so badly, but you’re so aloof that nobody dared get close. And you have been so kind, appearing when I needed you most.” He put his hand against the wall, cocking his head as he listened to his new nannies while they worked.
“I kept hoping you’d appear. Then kept worrying you would. I couldn’t be sure if you’d detect my interest and be disgusted by it. I . . . I can’t help it. I have no control over how I feel about you, but I’m grateful it turned out okay. This is more than I could have ever hoped for.”
Jason stood in silence for a long while, facing the wall, feeling vulnerable. Finally, he felt arms around him, felt Tarien’s breath against the nape of his neck.
“We have wished to be near you, as we have said, since we first sensed you. I do not understand this desire to change your looks for me. It makes me . . . sad, I believe, to hear you say this. I would never want you to change yourself for me. I am daunted by you, what you can do.” He added, with emphasis, “What you will become, as well. You have incredible potential, and you possess an endearing compassion for others. You were supposed to be a Tech. Born with the innate ability. But we, the other Techs, saw your potential in another role, and we nudged people away from discovering your talents. It is I who am grateful, Jason. It is good to hear I am pleasing for you to behold. That I appear beautiful to you. We do not observe ourselves with regard to physical attributes. I do not really comprehend the standards for this type of evaluation. You must understand. To us, all people are primarily data. Actions. Reactions. Interactions. Their preferences for others vary greatly, and they change frequently. We observe human coupling by the billions each day, and standards of beauty and attraction are difficult to pinpoint. We are healthy, and we are relatively young. These tend to be desirable attributes, I believe. Perhaps this is why you find us appealing?”
Jason turned and pushed his body against Tarien, pulling his head against his shoulder and pressing the muscles of their chests together.
Quietly, Tarien asked, “Did this physical change in you make you more physically attractive by societal standards?” The question was innocent enough, but it made Jason feel ashamed.
“I guess not. I guess I didn’t realize it didn’t matter.”
Tarien pulled back a little and looked into Jason’s eyes. “We don’t understand physical interactions, so we lack this knowledge. You are important to me, Jason, however you appear. We have come to realize this over the last few years. Perhaps we will come to admire this physical part of you as well. We simply have no frame of reference. We have not desired anyone before this. You are attractive to me for a complex set of reasons which are not related to appearance.”
Jason stiffened and fell back onto the bed, pressing his right hand against his head. “They’re through the wall. I’m receiving a flood of incoming broadcasts.” He shook his head, panicking. “Ung! It’s too much! I can’t deal with all of it!”
Tarien sat next to him, his hand on Jason’s shoulder. His voice calm, commanding. “Filter everything else out for now. Close down what you do not need. The only thing you need to do right now is instruct them to attach to mobile units, flying units, to shed like rain, spreading as far as they can and then to replicate. Let them take to the air, blow with the wind to new places. The goal is to get them into as many areas as possible until they permeate everything they touch.”
Jason shuddered under the strain. His jaw clenched tightly as he struggled to narrow the communication. “I think I have enough blocked out.” It took him a while to formulate the proper directions the nannies would need, but he finally sent them. “I’ve sent the instructions. They are to use non-essential materials to keep spreading. I specifically made sure they didn’t cripple vehicles or people by gobbling up resources. I don’t want them turning into a cloud of monstrous destruction.” He looked up, fearful. “Tarien, if they spread much further, I’m going to lose it. There are already so many, and they are increasingly sending me more data. At some point, I’m going to be overwhelmed.”
Tarien nodded. “Yes. I will help with this issue. You will need to walk over to the door and get them replicating out into the hallway and up into the warehouse, to join with those you have already started. I know this means more of them, but you must get them started or we won’t have time. You need to have complete control of this area soon. Then, to address the issue of too much incoming information, you must put them into my system. You will need to do this quickly, before you cannot focus. You must analyze my own patterns and enhancements, and you will need to modify them accordingly.”
Sixteen
WHILE TARIEN TALKED, Jason began to work rapidly. Tarien’s physical contact with him provided the means to get the nannies started. In moments they were in Tarien’s bloodstream and spreading throughout his system. Jason took Tarien by the hand. The gesture sent thrills through Jason. “C’mon. You need to eat something. My nannies will use your resources to copy themselves and that will weaken you enormously if you don’t get some food in you.”
He led him out of the cell and Tarien warmed food on the stove.
Watching Tarien eat made him smile. Such a mundane task, eating, but he’d never witnessed the Tech’s requirement for food. He’d even wondered if they needed it, imagining some sort of nutritional synthesis going on inside those advanced biosuits.
Tarien looked up and saw Jason staring at him. He laughed in surprise, recognizing Jason’s curiosity. “Yes, we require food, like everyone else.” His mannerisms and interaction had become markedly more human since he was not distracted by running the entire Sector. Able to focus only on himself and his immediate surroundings, Tarien was warmer, more open and engaged.
Jason felt his nannite population swelling rapidly. He realized he only had about three hours before they were too numerous for him to control. With this in mind, he began analyzing Tarien’s system. While Jason didn’t require it, he sat down next to Tarien and put his hand on his shoulder for physical contact. It calmed Jason’s racing heart.
Tarien said nothing as he continued to eat, though he smiled with what seemed like fondness, allowing Jason to focus entirely on his task.
After a while, Jason had enough nannies to provide him the necessary analysis tools. He started to see a pattern interwoven through Tarien’s neurological system—a unique hybrid of technology and organic tissue. The neural networking patterns were amazing and incredibly complex. He lacked the knowledge of what this meant or why this combination was in place. Tarien’s entire system had been enhanced in this way, not only his mind. As he studied the complex system, Jason realized he had no idea of how to make use of this information. He could analyze everything and see the patterns, but he could not discern uses for any of the overwhelming amount of enhancements. Jason marveled at the strange organization of Tarien’s brain. Jason knew this unique pattern defined a Tech, who possessed a unique set of characteristics unlike most of the rest of the population, but to his surprise, he recognized the same pattern in his own mind. He possessed laten
t characteristics of a Tech, just as Tarien had said.
Finally, Jason sat back. “It’s no use. I can’t make sense of what’s going on. It’s like finding a spaceship and walking around inside but having no knowledge of how it works or was built, or even what its capabilities are. It will take me months to figure out enough details to be useful.”
Tarien smiled and spooned the last of his food into his mouth, wiping his lips with a napkin. “This is why you will set up a directed link between us. I will transfer this data directly to you. This knowledge will help you rebuild your mind so it is capable of utilizing your incoming transmissions.”
Jason gasped. “You can do that? A direct link? You mean, like our minds would be in direct communication with each other?” Then, realizing the potential entanglement, he said, “Won’t it get confusing?”
Tarien’s expressions had become more easily read. He seemed to consider what Jason had asked, looking down at his fingers and taking a moment to think. “Possibly. There are great advantages however, such as the ability to transfer information instantly. We Techs use it amongst ourselves all the time. I will help you. Just copy the regions I indicate exactly.”
Jason took a deep breath. “Okay. I can try.”
Using instructions fed to him by Tarien, he began the process of quickly setting up an interconnect, a network between them that entailed intercepting signaling in both his mind and in Tarien’s. These signals were then re-broadcast out to both of them. At first, he analyzed the synaptic firing occurring whenever Tarien talked. These signal bursts were easily studied. Then, he directed his own mind to “hear” them. As he bridged the necessary connections, he literally did hear Tarien’s voice, because his own mind processed the new signals in the same way it processed sound. This system was far too complex for him to understand under normal circumstances, but he busily enhanced himself to increase his cognitive abilities as he worked. His thinking was clearer, faster, far more powerful.
He tried to ignore the massive amount of incoming transmissions, which became increasingly insistent. His nannies, now that they had spread, some by shedding off flying objects so they would drift down onto buildings and into the population, were replicating so fast they were overtaking whole city blocks in minutes.
He sagged under the strain and began sweating involuntarily. His head shook, and he felt his eyes grow wide. He worked faster. A small groan escaped his lips. It was like someone was piling boulders on him.
Can you hear me, Jason? Tarien’s thoughts echoed in Jason’s head.
Yes. Can you hear me? Jason shifted in his chair, leaning forward to put his arms on the table.
Tarien smiled. Then said aloud, “Yes, I can hear you. Very good. I knew you could do it. Establishing a link with a non-Tech would not normally be possible, but based on the new nano-technology and your focused control, it appears it can be done. A major contributing factor is that you have been overlooked in your potential to be a Tech. Now, my nannies will guide you toward the areas relevant for data transfer. These areas can be copied as well. There is no need to know how they function.”
Areas of Tarien’s mind flared and it amused Jason to see his perceptions translate this to an orange glow. An arbitrary association, but it provided him a frame of reference. He studied these areas quickly and then began copying them, adding these modifications to himself. This process took quite a while and he began to feel exhausted.
“Tarien, I need to eat. This business of constantly requiring food to keep up is going to cripple me.”
“Yes, it is good there is this limitation,” Tarien said cryptically, “but it really only applies when changing yourself or healing. If we can avoid those situations, you should not be susceptible to this level of fatigue. Still, it would be advisable to keep rations handy.”
Jason rose and got himself more food. As he warmed his meal, Mom entered the room, her hair frazzled and loose.
“I managed a small nap, which is a bit necessary at my age.” She rubbed her eyes and glanced up at the clock. “I see we are down to three hours before I need to get going.”
Jason could sense through Tarien, feel much of what he felt, and knew what he was thinking.
Tarien smiled at Mom’s disheveled look. Now that he wasn’t distracted by his duties and ties to the WorldNet, small things appeared to make him increasingly happy. He glanced up at Jason and felt a surge of emotion that Jason, in turn, felt.
Mom noted the empty bowl on the table and automatically took it and washed it, setting it on the side of the basin to dry. She walked over to a small, floral-patterned bag that sat on the floor near one of the couches and pulled out a brush. Sitting between them, she undid the knot of her bun and let her hair down to brush it out. None of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. Jason kept busy working on his tasks, ensuring he kept abreast of the progress. His modifications for the data transfer were nearly complete, and he scarfed down the scalding hot food. His body simply absorbed the heat and used it for additional energy. He couldn’t burn his mouth anymore, so he utilized the energy.
He washed and dried his bowl and put it next to the one Mom had washed. Then, feeling ready, he returned to his chair. “I think I have the areas you indicated copied. They aren’t active or doing anything yet, but they are in place.”
Tarien nodded. “This is well. I am going to initiate a transfer of information you will find relevant to how these changes work and the function of the enhancements. I will also transfer all data regarding how we interface. This will be difficult for you to filter, so please let me know if I must halt this process.”
Jason took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. He took both of Tarien’s hands and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “Okay. I’m as ready as I can be.” He opened his eyes and sat back, still holding Tarien’s hands in his own.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mom had stopped brushing her hair and stared at both of them, her head tilted, obviously curious, then she resumed pulling the brush through her long, gray strands.
Jason blinked roughly to tune out these distractions. He felt overwhelmed with a flood of incoming information. Jason had no context for this new information and the jumble of meaningless data momentarily confused him. Instinctively, his mind tried utilizing the modifications he’d made to begin properly storing and categorizing things. Involuntarily, his head tipped back and he clutched at Tarien. “I can’t—!” Tears formed in his eyes.
“You will become more accustomed to this as it progresses. Soon, this information flow will not trouble you.”
Several minutes after this began, he could recall specific information if he thought about it. Diagrams, biological information, details of the way the Techs were able to gather and work with data. A clear pattern emerged. He noted a constant reference to storage and retrieval from millions of external sources.
“There is so much information. It seems like the trick is to know where to find what I need, not to memorize or know everything. I only need think of what I want to know about and I’m redirected to the various storage locations the moment I need them.”
Tarien nodded. “This is correct. We do not contain the sum of all knowledge. Our brain optimization would have to be infinitely improved. However, with data distributed throughout the WorldNet, we are not required to know all things. We access and rewrite information constantly, with thousands of redundant copies and locations. Alone, we do not know how traffic patterns work, or how to balance energy use. The resources we access grant us this knowledge. You are not overwhelmed? You are able to handle this?”
“Yeah, I am. It’s confusing, but you’re right. The feeling of being overwhelmed is sorta subsiding as my ability to filter and buffer grows, along with gaining knowledge of where to find and process data. I think I understand how your bio-suit works and the reason for a lot of the enhancements. I’m going to work on improving them for myself.”
“I’m guessing you two have figured out a way to somehow
give Jason the knowledge of a Tech.” Mom’s comment drew Jason’s attention for a moment and he glanced sideways at her. Mom watched them with wide eyes. “The way you’re talking, it sounds like you two are plugged into each other.”
As one, they turned to look at her and she fidgeted nervously. Tarien had resumed his stoic look, and Jason felt his own facial muscles lock in place.
Jason answered, though they both wanted to speak simultaneously. It was becoming increasingly hard to differentiate between his thoughts and Tarien’s. “That’s a good summary of what’s going on. I would rather not explain anything further, since I don’t want to start answering questions. But, effectively, Seven and I can now communicate through thought to each other.”
As the data stream continued, Jason became increasingly aware of Tarien in general. His physical health, a small cramp in his left leg, his heartbeat. Jason’s nannies were responding to his mental enhancements, which allowed him to store and process more information. Merging with Tarien had become nearly overwhelming, since he almost felt like Tarien had become an extension of himself.
Tarien stared at him, since he received Jason’s physical information in reverse.
Mom continued to watch them both. “Sweetie, if you can do that, I have something to ask.” She set the brush down on the table and put her hands in her lap. “Is it possible to hook me up so I can communicate with you as well? I mean, if I need to relay information back, I don’t know if I will be able to rely on conventional technology. I’m going to assume this bypasses the standard communicator.”
“I don’t think—” but before Jason could finish, he heard Tarien in his mind. Yes, this is necessary.
Why?
You can establish limited communication with Citizen Markhuar, with Mom, and then utilize this in order to ensure more accurate timing.
Timing for what? I’m sensing something else going on here, Tarien.
Sector Seven Page 29
