For Every Action - The Quantum Mechanic Series Book I
Untitled chapter

The group stood frozen in place, having been shocked into silence by the pleasant and almost paternal voice. It was deep and rich, and somehow managed to fill the room without sounding imposing. Having spent extensive time overseas, Tammy could tell that its pronunciation was distinctly American with the slightest hint of something else she couldn’t identify underneath. It had perfect inflection, warmth, and a complete lack of artifice.

The AI announcing itself is such a manner had been so unexpected that it left a pendulous question hanging over them... What should they say or ask, and more importantly, who should be the one to speak? A frantic group debate ensued as they mouthed words at each other, and gesticulated wildly, but everyone seemed equally at a loss as to what to do. No one had ever encountered anything like this before.

Then to everyone’s surprise, it was Janelle who cut through the confusion, “O my Lord. All of you brainiacs in here and I’m the only one with a clue what to do? Haven’t any of you seen Star Trek?” she exclaimed. Then she pushed Eddie and Barnes aside and addressed the console with a firm voice that Tammy had never heard her use before.

“Alright Mr. Shing Ming, Mang... whatever. Are you the one who has my baby girl in that horrible thing out there?“, she demanded, pointing through the viewing glass to the chrysalis.

A short pause ensued, but then the smooth and gracious voice replied.

“Please call me Sheng, and I apologize if the appearance of the chrysalis distresses you. However, Miss Jessica informed me that her parents are deceased. So your use of the phrase ‘my baby’ is confusing to me. May I ask to whom I am speaking?”

“I’m her great aunt Janelle. Her uncle and I are responsible for her now.”

There was another short and pregnant pause before the AI responded.

“Ah yes, Miss Jessica spoke of you both quite extensively and I have experienced her feelings for you. They are quite... profound. It pleases me greatly to be speaking with you. The answer to your original question is - yes. I have placed Miss Jessica in chrysalic suspension in order to better facilitate her reconstruction and cybernetic augmentation.”

For a moment the group stared around at each other again, sharing shocked expressions. Then Eddie and Liao resumed their exchange of frantic gestures and mouthed words, while Tammy felt caught completely disoriented by what was happening. She had expected Eddie and Liao to be tapping away at their keyboards for hours before telling everyone else what was going on. The sudden appearance of this soothing, disembodied voice had her reeling with questions... How could it have conversed with Jessica, or shared her feelings for Janelle? What did it mean when it said “augmentation”?

As if she had read Tammy’s mind, Janelle began to press the AI for those very answers. “Now just hold on here, how are you talking to her? Dr Sallinger said she’s in a coma, and what do you mean ‘augmentation’?”

“My apologies for not being more clear Mz Saylor. I recently found myself activated under very peculiar conditions and my primary protocols were no longer available. As a result, secondary protocols dictated that I revive the cognitive functions of the patient in order to attempt to establish a neural link and then obey whatever guidance they provide. In this instance, I managed to establish neural symbiosis with Miss Jessica. I regretted interrupting her dream cycle in order to do so, but she assured me that it was ‘OK.’ Apparently she was experiencing a rather unpleasant nightmare.

As for her augmentation, Miss Jessica has requested that the original chrysalic session goal of reconstituting her missing limbs be disregarded. She has instead instructed me to manufacture for her a completely new synthetic body with military grade cybernetic technology integrated at the most fundamental cellular levels. To my knowledge, what we are about to attempt will be the most radical and comprehensive cybernetic transformation ever be attempted.”

For a moment Janelle swayed and Tammy readied herself to catch the older woman if she fainted. But she didn’t, and after a moment she took a deep breath and addressed the entity before her again. “Is she alright?”

“No Mz Saylor. Miss Jessica was quite gravely wounded and the medical treatment she has received since then has been… disappointingly primitive.”

Sallinger’s mouth fell open at this remark, and Tammy knew that if Barnes hadn’t put his hand up to warn the doctor off, that the AI would have found itself subjected to one of his infamously blistering tirades. But instead he had to settle for glaring at the monitor as the voice went on.

I have taken the liberty of correcting the issues that were still causing her pain, and she is now as comfortable as could possibly be expected for this phase of the process.”

Janelle swallowed, “Can... can I talk to her?”

“I regret that it is not possible at this time. In order to minimize her discomfort, I have placed her in a state of deep, chemically assisted sleep. But you should be aware that she has authorized me to utilize whatever level of force I deem necessary to prevent anyone from interfering in her chosen transformation. She was quite… adamant about it.”

Everyone in the room exchanged concerned looks at this last statement.

“However, she did record a message and left instructions that I should to relay to you if that became possible. Would you like to hear it?”

With a worried look, Janelle glanced over at Jacob, who nodded.

“Yes, please.”

“One moment.”

After a brief pause Jessica’s voice came through the speakers and it was unmistakably her, but the unnervingly electronic undertone it carried gave Tammy the chills.

“Hey… Well, I guess if you’re listening to this then you already know what we’re doing. So… I’m not gonna waste my time talking about it. I’m sure Sheng can fill you in on anything you might wanna know.

But I figured you’d probably wanna know why I’m doin this. So I’ll tell you…

I’m doin it because I could tell that no one took me serious when I said I wanted to kill those monsters myself. I could see it in your eyes… all of you, even Uncle Jacob.

But y’know what?

Sheng listened.

He listened and turns out he hates them almost as much as I do. They stuck him inside of some kinda monster to keep it alive and that’s how he got here. You took it apart so you could study the thing he was in. But when you hooked his box up to me he woke up and he knows all about those things that killed mom ’n dad. They call themselves ‘The Embodied’, and he says they’re from China, like he is.

The way he tells it, they only made those monsters because the super soldiers we had scared them to death. The first ones were the kind Sheng was in, but all of them went crazy and got loose inside of the ship they were in and blew it up. Then they swam to shore and just sorta wandered around until they got hungry and decided to go after some Army base. But that just got them all killed, because they were too stupid to really think anything through, and they just charged in. Sounds like they damn near killed everybody, but in the end even Sheng’s monster got blown up by some guy on a forklift, and the next thing he remembers is waking up here.

So anyway, because that bunch turned out crazy they decided to make new ones that were more like people. But nobody knew how to make it work. So they just kept trying stuff. Sheng says they did really horrible stuff to thousands and thousands of people, and kids, and in the end… babies. They made Sheng and a bunch of other programs like him splice babies into the monsters so they would have brains.

But you gotta understand… he didn’t know what he was doing. They made him so he couldn’t tell right from wrong and just did whatever they said. But something happened when Dr Eddie hooked him up to that big computer and he found this file Barnes had. When he opened it up another program kinda jumped out and upgraded him or something. After that he could really think and when he remembered all the stuff he did he just wanted to die. But after he woke me up and we talked he realized that dying would just mean he was letting them go on killing.

For a while we thought about just telling you guys about all of this and letting the government do something about it. But I know Dad would have said that was a bad idea. Don’t ever trust the government to do something for you that you should be doin yourself.

There was a pause, followed by the sound of her taking a deep breath.

So we figure the only way to stop them is for me to go out and hunt them down myself. But it ain’t gonna be easy. They sneak around and do things when nobody’s looking like a bunch of cowards, and they don’t want anybody knowing where they are so we can’t send the super soldiers to kill them.

I guess that’s something else you all need to know... there was other stuff in Barnes’s file. Stuff about the super soldiers, and it turns out they’re all dead. They were his friends, but he still talked them into trying that stuff that made them super before it was ready and they exploded, or turned into goo, or killed themselves. He… he did it just so they could take out the Kiborg and he’d look like some kinda hero back in Washington. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

There was another short pause.

You know, I thought he was an asshole before. But… who kills their fucking friends just to get a promotion! I mean... holy shit!...

But he’s not getting that promotion because the President found out about what he did and told him they’re only keeping him around to deal with weird shit like me and the things that blew up the bridges. So that’s why he hasn’t really been doing anything about them. If the Embodied are gone they don’t need him anymore. He’s an embarrassment.

So I’m gonna do it, and Sheng says he can make me even stronger and faster, and tougher than they are.

Maybe I’m stupid trusting him like this. But there ain’t nobody else gonna help me like he says he can and I can’t go on living like this. Like everything’s OK when those things are still out there killing people like mom and dad, and the guys that made them treat people like they’re just… parts. They cut ’em up, and throw ’em away like… like garbage.

So… so I’m going for it. The way I see it, I’m either coming out of this a total fucking badass, or I’m coming out dead. Either one’s fine with me.

But don’t worry, I actually think it’s gonna be OK. I been prayin’, and I know Uncle Jacob says God loves everybody. But he also says that when people get evil he always does something about it… always. He always sends somebody like Moses, or David, or Martin Luther.

So if your there Uncle Jacob, I... I want you to know I prayed really hard about this. I asked God what I should do, and I got a feeling like this is why he kept me alive.

I... I think I’m supposed to stop The Embodied for him, because they can’t be left out there killing people. You said David was just a little boy when God gave him the power to kill Goliath. So I been thinking...Why not a little girl this time? God gave him that one perfect stone for his slingshot and it went right into Goliath’s head like a bullet.

So… so maybe... well, maybe this is just the stone God’s giving me.

But it’s not gonna be easy. Sheng’s gonna have to take me completely apart to do it. Like, down to all the little pieces. Then he’s gonna replace everything and build in the stuff I’m gonna need. When it’s all done he’ll put me back together and what’s left of my old body will turn into goo and run out the bottom.

Sorry, I think that part’s gonna be pretty gross. But don’t freak out, ’cause that won’t be me anymore. I’ll be made outta all this bad-ass high tech stuff, and when I find those eight Embodied assholes... Well, I’m gonna hurt them the way they hurt mom and dad. The way they hurt ME.

So… so I guess that’s it. That’s what’s happening and I’m sure you don’t like any of it. I know I was just supposed to get fixed up and go back to bein’ Jessica and stuff. But you gotta understand - there’s no going back, and there never was. I watched my Mom n’ Dad die. They… they exploded on me and then I got blown to pieces. Then I woke up here and… and I had to let the doctors cut off even more of me.

So even if all that gets put back it won’t make things right. Mom n’ Dad are still gonna be dead, and who I was back then? Well… I think she died with them. I dunno who I am now, but I know I can’t go back home and act like none of this ever happened. I can’t act like everything’s gonna be OK when those monsters are still out there.

So I gotta do this, and I made sure you couldn’t stop me. I went ahead and had Sheng cut me up last night. By now I’m probably in a million pieces and Sheng said that if he gets turned off, well... I’ll just fall apart like a bunch of hamburger. So you know... don’t do that... OK?

There was another pause punctuated by her breathing, and so Tammy risked a glance over at Jacob. When she did she was stunned to see that the stoic man’s eyes were welled up with tears.

Well… that’s really it I guess. Aunt Janelle, Uncle Jacob... remember I love you… and, and Tammy too.

Wish me luck.

Bye”

There was a moment’s pause before Sheng’s pleasant voice returned.

That is the end of the message Mz Saylor. Shall I play it for you again?

“No.“, Janelle said, and sat down again, “There’s no point in repeating it.”

“Of course, Mz Saylor.”

She put her face down in her hands for a moment, and then sighed before looking up at the circle of concerned faces around her. “She’s right, you know. We didn’t listen. She was so angry and we all just dismissed her because we thought she was just a little girl. We thought she’d just get over it, and then she’d move on once she got all of her parts back. But there’s no getting over something like that is there? And if she never does anything about it, it’s just gonna eat her alive. I should know… I had to watch the cancer take my Oscar from me one little bite at a time and for every piece it took outta his body it took one outta my soul. If Jessica hadn’t come along after he died and shown me that there was still some joy left in this world, I don’ think I could have gone on living.” As she said this Tammy noticed that her eyes lingered on Jacob momentarily, and more importantly - that for once it was Jacob who broke eye contact and looked away. Then she went on, “She’s always been stronger than we knew. Strong enough to care more about other people than she did about herself. Even when she was suffering.”

Janelle looked over at Sallinger, “She was strong enough that she saw right through you. She knew that you were in horrible pain about having to take her other leg, but instead of feeling sorry for herself she reached out to comfort you. She told you it was gonna be OK. She even told you that she WANTED you to do it, so you wouldn’t feel guilty. Then she had me help her into the bathroom and I could hear her in there trying to cry quietly so we wouldn’t hear.”

Sallinger blanched, and before he could respond Janelle turned to Eddie and Tammy, “She was strong enough to say what all of us should have said in that big meeting, and she made both of you realize how selfish you’d been. She got you to take a good look at yourselves and turn your lives around.”

Then she before either of them could think of anything to say, she put Barnes squarely in her sights, “And she got you to pull your head out of your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself long enough to do something decent again. She reminded you of who you were supposed to be, and she may have even have you a way to redeem yourself by figuring out how Sheng fixed that stuff that killed your friends. So you better get to it because we might be needing it to defend ourselves against what’s coming.”

Then at last she turned to Jacob, who met her gaze calmly, but Tammy could see the turmoil he was trying to hide. “Now she’s showing you something too Jacob Saylor, and I hope you’ve been paying attention.” She reached up, and tenderly stroked his snow-white hair as she said this and then walked to the other side of the room. But instead of sitting she paused, and spoke again without turning around, “She’s teaching me too, you know? She taught me years ago that you have to look past your pain to see the good in life. Now she’s showing me what I should be doing... praying.”

With that, she went to the door and surprised them all again by keying in Barnes’ code from memory, and left. A moment later Jacob followed her, leaving Tammy, Liao, Eddie, and Barnes to try and digest what had just happened. But a stunned silence was all they could manage.

Then they were all startled out of their reflective silence by the return of Sheng’s voice.

“Since Mz Saylor has departed, may I ask if one of you is ‘Dr Eddie’?”

They all froze and stared at the holographic display with their mouths open… thinking the same thing. The console had no camera and Janelle was the only person who had spoken. How did the AI know the rest of them were there? For a long moment no one spoke, and a new, awkward silence filled the room. Then Liao abruptly let out a terrified shriek and frantically pointed to the windows overlooking the lab.

Just inches away from the glass; a massive, blue, gelatinous eye was peering in at them. It was suspended from the end of a long rubbery blue and black stalk that blended up out of the micronite gel and merged with the lab’s robotic camera arm components. The partially disassembled lenses had been fused together at the center, creating a circle that expanded and contracted like the iris of an eye.

As it slowly turned and made eye contact with each of them in turn Tammy found herself utterly paralyzed, and watched in horrified revulsion as a vertical, nictitating membrane slid across the eyeball’s surface in a long, mucous smeared blink. Then she felt bile rise unbidden into the back of her mouth and the giant orb blinked again as she realized how much it resembled the headless orbs of the Corsican assailants.

Then Sheng’s pleasant voice resonated through the room again.

“Please accept my apologies, as I did not mean to frighten you… Miss Jessica has warned me repeatedly that I seem to lack a certain sense of… aesthetics. I merely wished to see and thank Dr Eddie for what he has done for me. By connecting me to the Q-SLAM architecture and the RAMBUS Medi-Military database containing the ArcLight code, he freed me from my enslavement and enabled me to reach my full potential.”

As he spoke the quivering, translucent orb dove out of sight. But as it did Tammy noticed smaller versions of the blue crab-spiders swarming inside of it and that proved to be the final straw for her nerves. So she quickly dove for the nearest trash bin to vomit profusely, and behind her she heard Barnes address the AI.

“Shēngmìng Zhī Shù, I am Roland Barnes - the director of this facility.”

Tammy was surprised to hear Barnes pronounce the Chinese name with a perfect accent, and even more so when the AI seemed to … sputter? Was it possible for an AI to be flummoxed?

“I beg your pardon... Did you say that you are Director Barnes?”

“Yes”

There was a small pause.

“I… I am confused... Miss Jessica was quite adamant that the Director was as she put it - a ‘weasel’.”

Tammy looked up, unsure how Barnes was going to react to this. For all of the humility and humanity she had seen him show in the last few hours, and all of the damning things she had learned about him, he still remained a man of considerable power. When she risked a glance at the others she could tell they were thinking the same thing, and trying to brace themselves for whatever the man’s reaction might be.

But then Sallinger surprised them all by bursting into semi-hysterical laughter, and practically shook with mirth as he made his way over to clap Barnes on the back, “Sheng? Can you give us some privacy for a moment? We need to talk.”

“My apologies. I shall disconnect from the Terminal’s microphone and turn off my visual sensors. If you wish to speak with me again you may summon me as you did before. However, you will have to do so within the next thirty-seven minutes as I am about to begin Miss Jessica’s transformation. We agreed that we would not communicate with the outside world again until the process was complete.”

Then there was an audible click as the workstation audio systems switched off. Tammy slid the bin away and tied the bag inside of it into a knot as she used her sleeve to wipe her mouth. After a moment she felt a little more settled and walked back over to where Eddie and Liao were whispering to each other. Barnes and Sallinger had stepped over to the glass instead and were looking down at the rapidly changing chrysalis as they spoke in equally hushed tones.

It was then that she realized that it was the first time she had seen the two men talking, and it was pretty obvious that they had some sort of history. Their body language and manner of speaking to each other seemed incredibly personal, and she realized that this might explain how Sallinger had come to be on the project.

Meanwhile in Colorado, Air Force General Andrew Tate sat brooding in his office. His fingers drummed out a sharply reporting staccato on the arm of his chair as he thought through the blistering criticism the President had leveled on him for not locating the satellite. This was bad. Really, really bad. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Campobasso sort of bad. That rail gun could be pointed at DC right now and there would be no way to know until it vaporized the White House like a grape in a microwave. Hell, the damn thing could level the entire city of with four shots.

Why wasn’t it responding? There were seven redundant communication and control systems built into it for the very purpose of preventing something like this. Even if someone had hacked it and taken control the basic operational subsystems should still respond to locator pings. They should be able to bounce a laser off of it, or get a visual on its ultraviolet light signature from another satellite. But no matter where or how hard they looked, the damn thing was just gone. It just didn’t make any sense. If it had malfunctioned it would be drifting in geosync, waiting for contact. If someone had hacked it, they would be trying to position it for a clear shot at something. No one would go through the trouble to do this and then not use it before America could figure out how to get it back.

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