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Jixie
Author of 12 Stories |
Roger Smith has made his decision.
It's not the choice I would have made, but it was never my
choice to make. If that is one thing he's taught me: this is
what it means to live free.
I only wonder how long we will sit on the bottom of the ocean
before someone hauls me out.
I suspect it is Roger. He is unnaturally troubled and agitated.
Between his dysfunction and the damage I've already sustained
from Duo, we are a weak team.
Roger puts all of his energy into the fight, brashly acting on
raw human emotions, and an unfailing determination to defeat
Rosewater. This time it isn't enough.
It doesn't take long for him to wear out. Anger drains the last
strength from an already weary man. We haven't landed a single
good hit on Fau, it and Rosewater are brutal against us.
Fau tries to knock us down, but Roger has anchored me to the
crater behind it. In one last, desperate attempt, he fires all
of the missile batteries at it. We're so close that the
explosion rattles my already weakened hull, and the air is so
clouded by debris that none of my detectors can pick up what
kind of damage Fau's taken.
It is an absurd belief of mankinds that we machines can not
feel. Over time, many of us have developed those prized human
emotions, created from the memories of those who've shared their
lives with us. As illogical and pointless as it may be, I have
come to know one called hope-- a feeling of optimism in a dire
situation.
Roger is teetering on the edge of consciousness and I have
sustained heavy damage. Fau and Rosewater with undoubtedly
finish us. I have hope that the attack will give us at least a
fighting chance.
Then the smoke and debris starts to clear. I can detect well
enough that Fau is unscathed. My hope dwindles, and dies.
Fau comes at us with its arms spinning, both of them aimed at
the cockpit. The blows land with terrible force, breaking the
hinge and leaving the doors ajar. I am unable to stay upright
and crash to the ground. Roger is tossed around in the now open
cockpit. It's more than he can handle, and he finally passes
out.
Cars and concrete crumble beneath me. With my pilot unconscious,
I am helpless to defend us against Fau. Trying one last time I'm
finally able to make a connection with the key. Unfortunately my
wireless networking abilities are not very strong. With half of
it in Fau, and so much trauma to its core memory and internal
server, our connection is poor. I do not believe it will help
any.
It is with this complete absence of hope that Fau takes hold of
my leg and drags us towards the ocean. The Military Police are
watching, and Daniel Datsun follows us. He will not be able to
change anything and should not throw his life away like this. I
want to warn him away, and it is one of many times I regret not
having a voice.
As Fau pulls us along, I focus attention to Roger. Flicking the
observation screen, setting off various alarms, and over-riding
manual controls have no effect. He does not wake up. Changing
focus back to my connection with Dorothy, I instruct it to
assist us, but it is confused and unresponsive.
The trip to the pier is agonizingly long. Having arrived at its
destination, Fau turns and lifts me into the air. Turning again
it holds me over the edge, dangling above the water. Roger has
still not come around, Dorothy is still unresponsive. Datsun has
followed us-- he is determined to waste his life to buy us a few
meaningless seconds.
None of my attacks have affected Fau and the shot of a single
tank is almost embarrassing. Nevertheless it must take a great
courage to face something like Big Fau. Datsun is a courageous
man; I will mourn him as well as Roger when this is all over.
Fau and Rosewater are prepared to destroy him when more tanks
arrive. It is any unexpected turn of events. Their simultaneous
firing still does not damage Fau, but it forces Fau to take
action.
Big Fau has made its decision. It gives Alex Rosewater no choice
in the matter, even though it should have been Rosewaters choice
alone.
His reaction to Faus connection is so strong that even I can
sense it. Human minds were never intended to connect to a
computer, their natural instinct is to fight it back. Fau is
ruthlessly quick as is parasitizes its dominus' mind. They are
no longer two entities; pilot and craft, dominus and megadei.
Faus stronger programming is in charge... now the pilot is the
piloted, the master is the puppet.
As much as Roger dislikes Rosewater, I have a sense of sympathy
towards him. Clearly the man has no idea what Fau's connection
has done.
Once Rosewater has accepted the connection and Fau is in
control, it annihilates the tanks. By luck or misfortune Datsun
is not in any of them. I am unclear what Fau will do next when
Roger wakes up.
"Whu... what...?"
We have to fight back now. Be alert Roger, I need you to
pilot. Action!
Roger quickly comes to his senses. He notices that we're upside-
down, notices the water below and that the door to the cockpit
is open.
"Big O, can you move?" he asks, experimentally pushing on the
floor pedal. Indeed I can. Roger hits the door button and then
start maneuvering the controls. The hinges on the cockpit door
are damaged, so it is kept slightly ajar. He is trying to get us
upright and safely on ground when Fau notices.
Rosewaters voice channels through Fau. "I'm going to send you
and that giant coffin to the bottom of the sea!" Roger looks
started, apparently he can hear it too.
It's a short fall before I hit the water. Roger is once more
tossed about, but this time he stays awake. He fires the chains,
which wrap around Faus neck and pull the other Big down with us.
The moment the water covers over me and we are completely
submerged, there is a response from my connection with the key.
"Roger," it intones. I can understand it clearly but Roger shows
no notice. He is struggling at the controls, anxiously eyeing
the water that is creeping in from the space between the door
and latch.
As we sink deeper, the ridged cuffs on Faus wrists start to
turn, acting as propellers underwater. It starts heading for the
surface, pulling us along with it. By now the cockpit is halfway
filled with water.
Then the chains snap.
"Roger!"
This time he notices and instinctively glances over his shoulder.
Confused, he wordlessly mouths the name Dorothy, like it is a
question. We are still sinking. Roger is fighting with the
controls, unable to get us to stop. It won't be long before I am
filled with water and he drowns.
"Are you trying to absorb me into your systems, Big Fau?"
Rosewater asks. His voice is as clear as if he was in my own
cockpit and it takes a second before I understand why. With half
of the key in Fau, there is relaying a feedback signal from
Rosewater and Fau to Dorothy to Roger and me. "I'm not like that
pitiful reporter or even that snickering cyborg. I am a true
dominus, the one and only!"
Then I know what must be done.
The times I've made a connection with Roger have always been a
mutual choice. Although that makes things easier on his human
brain, it still leaves immeasurable damage and distortion. Once
a connection is made between megadei and dominus, we will always
be one. Death is the only way to disconnect...
...but if we do not connect, then he will die.
I draw out the cables and bring them to Roger. He is almost
completely underwater. If I am to act, it must be done quickly.
The choice must be made now. The cables wavering above his back,
I hesitate. It is not my choice to make.
"Big O," Roger says, using what little oxygen is left. "Is this
what you want? If you do this, you and I will become one being.
But I've always been with you, isn't that right?"
Yes, that is true. I would never force this on you, but if we
don't act now you will die.
"Right. This is my decision."
And then...
Roger Smith has made his decision.
It's not the choice I would have made, but it was never my
choice to make. If that is one thing he's taught me: this is
what it means to live free.
"If I'm cut, I bleed. I have plenty of faults," he babbles as
the water starts to go over his head. "I've always been the same
man called Roger Smith. This may all be true, but still... who
am I?"
There is a pained look in his eyes as memories assault him. It
is understood that drowning is a bad way to die, the mind
fighting for consciousness as it slowly suffocates. We are
steadily sinking, passing by the great lost cities of the past.
'Who am I?'
I hope that you can find the answers in your rest, Roger Smith.
I hope that the answers can satisfy you.
My own memories are too great and terrible to share with any
human, but the look in Rogers eyes tells me he's remembering
them as well. It is unfortunate that he would have to relive
those memories as his current life slips away.
'No.' He mouths, still trying to speak in a room filled with
water. 'No!' We sink, and his eyes start to glaze over. 'These
memories you're seeing... they're...'
"ROGER!"
It is Dorothy the key. Possibly it is too late, but I am aware
of a renewed sense of hope. Strange that it is able to function
so well without a core memory and such severe system damage, but
I do not question this.
Dorothy knows exactly what to do. Giving Roger oxygen from a
tank first, it then wrenches the door into place. With the
cockpit resealed it instructs my air systems to function in
reverse. The water quickly drains into the ventilation ducts and
empties the room. Carefully pushing on Roger, the remaining
water is forced from his lungs.
As soon as Dorothy is satisfied with this, it crushes the oxygen
tank. The sudden release of oxygen and decompression violently
revives Roger. He trashes in the pilots seat and retches, barely
missing the android. Dorothy watches with feigned disinterest,
and when he finishes the coughing fit, Roger fixes it with an
irritated glare.
"DOROTHY! You could have come up with a gentler way to bring
me around," he scolds. "You know, like... er, like mouth to
mouth or... something?"
"Not with the displacement capacity of my air tank. You're such
a louse, Roger Smith."
His face softens, and then he breaks into a smile. "Heh.
Definitely R. Dorothy..."
Rogers thought is interrupted when we finally hit the sea
bottom. It is mostly rock and the landing jostles the three of
us. Running a gloved hand through his hair to wring out some
of the water, he comes up with a plan. Retaking the controls,
he has me place my fists on the solid ground. One well charged
release of both pistons is all it takes to send us rocketing
towards the surface.
More than halfway there, we are able to grab hold of one of the
underwater buildings. The second piston charge gets us to break
the surface. Now I'm close enough to the bay that a short walk
along the bottom takes us to the beach and onto land.
Fau is nowhere in sight, but he is quick to discover our
reemergence. "You plan on remaining half-dead forever?"
Rosewaters voice carries through the relay signal. "Big Fau, I
give you all that I am now! I know that's WHAT you WANTED!"
What a joke. Rosewater has belonged entirely to Fau since the
megadeus plugged into him. He simply hadn't known it.
"Big O," Dorothy says suddenly, speaking out loud in its
primary programming language as it tends to do. "Eject your
cables and connect to me."
The request is a surprising one, and I'm eager to establish a
solid connection. It is an amazing solution.
Plugging into the dominus allows for greater control, eliminates
the faults inherent in having a separate pilot and craft, and
creates a distorted harmony of one. Ultimately the megadeus
parasites off of the dominus, and in such a case we are still
limited to our own abilities.
Plugging into a hardware key opens programs and commands that
neither Roger nor I could access on our own. Dorothy, designed
by its creator to connect to and function with any megadeus ever
built, is the key needed to unlock my most powerful attacks.
The missing core memory gives me a direct access. As soon as our
connection is made, it breaks off the remaining signal to its
half inside of Big Fau.
Roger is oblivious to all of this, his mind completely focused
on finding Fau. It doesn't take long, because Fau is likewise
looking for us. Stepping within range of each other, Fau is the
one to initiate an attack.
It raises its arms, the wrist cuffs and hands spinning in
opposite directions. Both arms become unattached and fly towards
us, now seen as the missiles that they are. Roger jerks the
controls and I grab onto the missile arms. Raising them into the
air, my grip tightens until the warheads harmlessly explode.
There is a brief feeling of regret over our lost signal with
Fau. I would like to hear Rosewaters reaction to this turn of
events.
Not that it matters. This has gone on long enough, and it is
time to finish this fight. The control deck slides back as a new
one takes its place. Roger looks bewildered at the new
controller which he's never seen before. "What is all this?"
Half turning in the pilots seat he looks back at Dorothy, who is
plugged in. "Huh... Dorothy, you can...? How did you know?"
"I was informed by a buffoon with curly hair and gaudy clothing."
"That son of a gun," Roger says with a crooked grin as he turned
back to the controller. "Big O! Final stage!"
After anchoring to the ground, my arm shields, shoulder guard,
and chest plate all expand. The hidden laser cannon opens,
charging for the blast.
I've never had access to the chest cannon, and although this is
its first use, I know that it is my most powerful attack. It is
my last hope against Fau.
And will it work? Who can say which of us is stronger? Water can
not defeat earth can not defeat wind can not defeat water. We
are all equally matched; it is the dominus that pilots us who
decides the battle. Roger Smith is a greater man that Alex
Rosewater. It has to work.
Fau charges as we fire the cannon. The resulting explosion is
spectacular. It's a surprise that I stay standing.
As the debris clears, we can see that Fau is still standing. The
laser has caused significant damage, however, as half of Big Fau
is simply... gone.
Rosewaters enraged screams are so loud we can faintly hear it,
even if the words are impossible to distinguish. Fau struggles
to keep its balance as it attempts to fire back. As much as I'd
like to put Rosewater and Fau out of their misery, the cannon
will need a few minuets to recharge.
--then, none of it matters.
The sky changes and the shadow of death falls over everything.
Light, color, and reality twist and warp around the figure that
rises from the void.
"Big Venus." The name I would not have dared to utter, Dorothy
identifies it. "A bird whose wings have been plucked."
Roger inhales sharply before finishing Dorothys sentence. "...
will turn into the beast it was before it evolved into a bird."
The master Big marches forward consuming everything in its path.
Fau stands and accepts its fate, earning an honorable
termination.
Roger is talking, no, shouting at the Big. No. At its dominus.
His words are indiscernible to me, I am too engrossed by the
Big that is now marching towards us.
This is it. The end, again. Again. Again.
"Big O," Roger addresses me as he opens the door to the cockpit.
"Wait here." Standing up from the pilots chair, he leaps onto
the open door. "This one is for me to handle."
And he does.
I did not expect there to be any side effects to plugging into
the key. Perhaps Dorothy knew, after all, that was its purpose.
The connection is not unlike one made with the dominus. Even now
I have access to everything that it is, everything it sees and
experiences and remembers. A connection till death, if an
android could die. I wonder if that bothers it any.
After their talk, Angel goes to Roger. I watch through Dorothys
eyes as it waits for Angel to return, say her goodbyes, and
leave. Nice enough to let the master Bigs dominus to say
farewell to Roger in private, Dorothy is still eager to see the
blonde gone.
When Angel has finally left, it goes to Roger and tries to
lighten his mood. The two of them have had a lot of distress
from the reset. I've tried my best to comfort both of them
during this difficult period. Norman Berg, our friend and
keeper, has also helped every way possible. There is only so
much we can do.
It is then, after Angels parting, that things are completed.
Realizing that Roger is in no mood for conversing, Dorothy
starts turning over hourglasses. Together they observe the
sifting sands contained in each molded glass vessel.
As the first few hourglasses finish their time Dorothy starts
turning others and Roger stops it. Selecting certain ones, he
turns them over himself in a particular order. When it inquires
about the order, he blows off the issue as being irrelevant.
"Venus turned over Paradigms hourglass," Dorothy says suddenly.
"Yes... I guess so," he agrees.
"What do we do now, Roger Smith?"
He doesn't answer. Instead he looks at Dorothy intently, as if
trying to think of something. Then he touches its face, gloved
hand on synthetic skin.
My connection to Dorothy is a network of computer systems; a
link between two minds. Dorothys connection to Roger is more
spiritual; a link between two hearts. Rogers connection to me is
the most tangible; one body controlling another. There is only
one connection missing. It's something that we are finally able
to resolve.
Without chromosomes it is impossible for a machine to have a
gender, nevertheless, Dorothy has been fashioned after a woman.
Its purpose has it able to electronically connect to megadei,
its design allows it to physically connect to humans.
Driven by the most basic of human emotions, Roger makes another
choice and acts on it. Somehow it is very different but very
alike to the connection I would have made with him, had I
plugged in. Through Dorothy the key we have gained a sort of
balance in our relationship. I am now on the same level with
Roger. At the same time, Dorothy gains the link and affirmation
it yearned for.
This is my answer. People are not ruled by their memories-- they
are ruled by their feelings.
Roger Smith has made his decision.
It's not the choice I would have made, but it was never my
choice to make. If that is one thing he's taught me: this is
what it means to live free.
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