Cyber Dreams - 6.50 Winding Down

Juliet watched the autosurgeon doing its work on Jensen’s insensate body. She’d never witnessed such a complicated surgery before; each time she’d had anything significant done, she’d been unconscious and wouldn’t have wanted to see it, anyway. The arms whirred, the suture gun rapidly clicked, needles injected fluids and IV lines, and all the while, Jensen’s vitals were displayed in shades of orange and red on the big display panel to the side of the bed.

The autosurgeon seemed to work alone, but Juliet knew Athena was running the show. It wasn’t obvious, though, because Athena’s physical body was standing beside her, guiding the other autosurgeon as two of its long, slender, prong-tipped arms gently probed her abdomen through tiny incisions near the tender red scar where Jensen’s plasma knife had stabbed her. “Your nanites did a good job of keeping the transected intestines oxygenated. They also have already debrided all of the burn damage. I needed to repair only three full transections; your medical nanites repaired the partially severed ones.”

“Wait, you’re done?” Juliet watched as the two arms withdrew with robotic precision, and then a third swept in with multiple attachments—one to vacuum blood, one to pinch her flesh together, and a third to chemically stitch the little incisions closed.

Athena smoothed Juliet’s shirt hem down and nodded. “Indeed! This is the kind of repair where autosurgeons can really shine. Hop up now, and let’s have a look at your sister.”

“Okay. Thanks, Athena.” Juliet smiled as Athena pulled her into a sitting position and helped her slide off the side of the table. Standing nearby with a pale face and an obvious desire to be anywhere else, Emma nervously stepped forward, clearly avoiding looking to her left, where Jensen was undergoing a much more invasive set of procedures. “Relax, Em. Athena’s just gonna scan you.” Juliet glanced at Athena. “Right?”

“Exactly. Hop up, Emma. This will only take a moment.”

While Emma complied, Juliet turned back to Jensen and watched as the robotic arms switched out empty IV pouches, one with clear liquid and another with red, synthetic blood. As they began to flow, she glanced at his vitals again and sighed softly when she noted how much his blood pressure had stabilized. She moved over beside Athena, taking her sister’s hand. “How do things look?”

Athena was quiet for several minutes as she gently guided a handheld scanner over Emma’s lower abdomen. Juliet was about to repeat the question when she paused to give Juliet a serious look. Without needing to hear the question, Juliet knew what she was wondering: did Juliet want her to be honest in front of her sister? She gripped Emma’s hand more tightly. “Tell us.”

“Well, I see two healthy ovaries, but I also see evidence of laparoscopic surgery. I’d need more thorough scanning, perhaps a nanite infusion, to count the ova, but judging by the fine, rather fresh, scarring, I wouldn’t be surprised if some were removed.”

“Those dirty mother—”

“Juliet,” Emma sighed, “forget it. I’m alive, and I’m mostly in one piece. Shoot, I knew a dozen inmates who traded a lot more than a few eggs to get out.”

“It’s not right, though, Em!” Juliet growled. She was furious—furious at Gentry, Apollyon, and all the other narcissistic, maniacal sociopaths aboard that ark ship, willing to treat people like cattle in their mad quest for power and eternal life. As she stood there, fuming, she thought of Honey, and the question that kept forming in her mind sent chills up and down her spine. Had she known?

“It’s not right, but I’ll take it.” Emma grunted and tugged on her hand as she pulled herself up. “Thanks for checking me out, doc.” She tugged the tab on the seam of her bodysuit and sealed it up. “Don’t suppose I can get a shower on this ship? Also, I’m starved—”

“I’ll show her to her room!” Frida announced from the doorway. Juliet hadn’t seen her approach, but the sound of her voice banished some of the gloom that had begun to gather. She tugged Emma’s hand, helped her down from the table, and then pointed to Frida.

“This is Frida, Em. She’s . . . well, she’s a really close friend.”

Frida hurried forward and took Emma’s hand, smiling brightly, her eyes crinkling with the expression. “So nice to meet you, Emma! I’ve really looked forward to it!”

“Um, yeah, nice to meet you too.” Emma looked from Frida to Juliet, then Athena. “Jeez, are you all running a modeling agency in your downtime?”

“Oh, hush!” Frida laughed. Then she winked. “If we were, you’d fit right in. Come on!” She pulled Emma toward the door. “After you get cleaned up, we can all sit down in the mess for some leftovers. How long ‘til we land, Athena?”

Juliet looked at Athena. “Land?”

“We’re putting down on Ceres—Cherry Blossom and Lady Hawk, too. We need to get Bennet and try to reclaim the Atlas suit, and I figured everyone could use some solid ground under their feet while we regroup.” She turned to Frida. “Ninety-seven minutes before we begin our landing approach.”

“Perfect. Time enough for a shower, Emma.” Frida winked at Juliet, then pulled her sister toward the door.

“I should get cleaned up—” Juliet started to say, but Athena put a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s chat first.” She gestured to the surgical table Emma had vacated. “Put your hand there. Your fingers should be ready.” Juliet nodded and placed her hand, sans armored glove, on the cool surface. Her two stubs, bloody and raw, still fizzed with the solution of nanites Athena had sprayed on them upon her arrival. Athena brought over an absorbent pad and lifted Juliet’s wrist so she could set the hand back down on the pad, then she put the little tray containing her severed digits down on the table.

“They look so pitiful,” Juliet chuckled.

“Well, the nanites have removed the burned tissue and prepped the wounded flesh to enhance vascularization and encourage regenerative growth. I’ll just need to add a little synth-nerve to ensure full mobility.”

“Um, okay.” Juliet didn’t want to watch while Athena worked, so she glanced over at Jensen’s autosurgeon, still whirring, clicking, hissing, and buzzing away. She continued craning her neck, ensuring the door had closed behind Frida and Emma. “I think she’s in denial.”

“Your sister? Most likely. That or she’s been conditioned to restrain her emotions—corporate prisons are known to place a tremendous psychological burden on inmates, especially long-term ones.”

Juliet groaned and reached up to rub her neck. “I hate that. I hate that I was oblivious to what she was going through, even after Angel and I found each other—”

“You weren’t in a position to help her, Juliet,” Angel reminded her.

Athena smiled and nodded comfortingly as she worked. “And what about your burdens?”

“Mine? I’m fine—”

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“Don’t do that. Juliet, you’ve been through an awful lot in the last twenty-four hours. No, let’s be realistic; you’ve been going through hell for months.”

Juliet grinned wryly. “Nah, if we’re being realistic, let’s be fair, too—most of that time, I was unconscious while they played around with my brain and took…samples.”

Athena was quiet for a few minutes, and Juliet felt the tugging on her fingers as she worked; she wasn’t sure if Angel had deadened her nerves or if Athena had made a quick injection. Juliet’s mind wandered as the silence stretched and Athena worked, and she was almost surprised when she stepped away and said, “That’ll do it. Keep those splints on for two days. They’re designed to grow flexible gradually, so you should have normal mobility back by the time you take them off.”

Juliet held up her hand, amazed by the tiny circular scars that ran around the bottom joint of her two newly reattached fingers. Hesitantly, she touched the tips of her fingers with her other hand. She frowned. “Can’t feel anything.”

“They’ll be numb for a few hours. With your nanites hard at work, they shouldn’t be too painful after that.” As she spoke, Athena reached up and gently squeezed her trapezius, and Juliet felt like she could melt as little tingles of pleasure ran down her spine, some invisible knot of tension unwinding. “Don’t downplay things. Your survival in captivity, your escape, and your further efforts aboard that ark ship are nothing short of heroic. The human race owes you a debt.”

Juliet sighed, shaking her head as she leaned back against the vacant surgical bed. “I’m not a hero, Athena. I’m just lucky. Without Angel—” She felt a knot of emotion tightening her throat and forced it down before Angel could speak and add to the feeling. “I mean, I didn’t even accomplish what we wanted. The ship’s gone! Apollyon and Gentry—”

“Are marginalized. Angel filled me in on what you learned from Honey and Clara, never mind the data you sent over.” She moved to stand in front of Juliet so they could talk face to face, and Juliet almost whimpered her disappointment as she stopped squeezing and let go of her shoulder. “Again, don’t downplay what you did. Many of Gentry’s schemes have been in motion for years, and some will be difficult to stop, but I can act against others. I’m quite sure I can delay or halt some corporate conflicts with a simple copy of certain documents. More importantly, there are figurative and literal bombs I can diffuse.”

“Not all, though?”

“No, not all. Before she left, Gentry managed to ‘own’ the remaining board members of WBD—some through blackmail, some through bribes, and others by fostering their corpo-political careers for decades. Those board members are rapidly selling off large sections of the corporation, consolidating resources, and shoring up certain industrial capacity—military hardware. They intend to start a war. While I can warn rival corporations, and they can attempt to intervene, I fear we’re past the turning point. News is slightly delayed here, but according to the data, WBD is already acting against Halcyon Industrial, Pacific-African Energy, and HG BioChem.”

“So…war.”

“I’m afraid so, but, as I make certain of these documents public, I’m sure we can keep the conflict from spreading as far as Gentry wanted. More importantly, I’ve already sent warnings to the CCC, and they’re sending interceptors into the belt. We should be in time to stop the worst of the terrorist activities.”

“The belt?”

“Yes—Apollyon has synth-piloted ships out there gathering asteroids, mounting them with booster rockets; they intend to bombard several cities on Earth and most of the domed cities in the system.”

“Are you kidding me? How? How? Aren’t the orbital defense sats supposed to be able to guard against things like that?”

“Exactly so.” Athena nodded. “Unfortunately, Apollyon is thorough and industrious—he infiltrated the defense AIs. With the data you retrieved, however, I’m sure I can undo what he’s done in that regard, even if the CCC fails to stop the bombardment wholly.”

“Shouldn’t we help?”

Athena smiled and took Juliet’s hand in hers. “Do you see what I mean? You have a heroic heart, Juliet. No, we don’t need to help. The CCC has already dispatched two squadrons of interceptors. They were far more willing to act on the intel I provided than they were to interfere with our actions against WBD. I’m sure my proxies on Ceres helped with that. It’s your turn to rest, Juliet.”

Juliet stood there, and, despite everything Athena had said, part of her brain was fixated on the strange idea that a synthetic person was holding her cybernetic hand and that it didn’t make any difference. It felt good and comforting, and she didn’t want to let go. She knew that part of her weird reaction to Athena’s tenderness was that she was crashing from an adrenaline-fueled charge through enemy territory and feeling safe for the first time in a while. It didn’t hurt that Athena was acting like a mother to her—something she’d been dwelling on a lot lately. Even so, it was strange to imagine that this person, this being of light and data, could connect with her on such a human level.

“What about Apollyon? What about the rest of their schemes? Can’t I help?”

“Oh, there will be plenty of need for that—plenty of work to go around for those of us willing to put our lives on hold to contend with the disarray in the system. Juliet, we shouldn’t stop there, however. Humanity needs guidance. Don’t you agree that reform is needed? Shouldn’t corporations have someone to answer to other than each other? You’ve seen the suffering firsthand! I believe that we have an opportunity to create something better here in the Sol System, but it’s going to take time, and it’s going to swallow up the lives of the people who want to help me. As you rest and recover, as you reconnect with your loved ones, I want you to think about that—whether or not you’re willing to continue to sacrifice so much.”

Juliet’s eyes widened, and, of course, she immediately wanted to profess her desire to help. She trusted Athena and knew things weren’t okay for most people in the system. There had to be a better way, didn’t there? “I want—”

“Don’t answer me now. Rest, relax, spend time with your family and friends. I have much to study, prepare, and organize. There are technologies we need to advance, schemes we need to unwind, and reforms we need to work into existing legal structures from the ground up. This will be a long, difficult process, but Juliet, I will need heroes on my side. Humanity is an emotional species, and they need people they can believe in. Think about what I’ve said, and please spend some time discussing it with Angel.” She nodded to the door. “Go get cleaned up now. Take a minute to gather yourself. I have a feeling you’re about to be swarmed with loving friends.”

Juliet nodded, her mind reeling, and walked to the door. Before she opened it, though, she turned back to Athena. “I know they were ‘marginalized’ and that they’re very far away, but I don’t like knowing Apollyon and Gentry are out there. I feel like they should answer for what they left behind. We’d be foolish to think they’ll never come—”

“I will discover their destination. Apollyon found a planet, which means he analyzed data gathered by exploratory vessels and telescopes. I have access to—or soon will have—all the same data. Give me time, and I will figure out where he went. I’m already working to gain influence with three rival corps that are also working on ‘warp’ technology. Apollyon and Gentry will face their comeuppance.”

Juliet nodded, then walked out of the med bay. Part of her wanted to look back at Jensen, but another part wanted to wait until those robot arms were done working on him. Athena hadn’t gone into the details, but she’d indicated that he was fortunate that the ship was stocked with cybernetic organs. Not legs, however—Juliet had used one, and the other would be difficult to match, so Jensen would have to wait until they docked. “There are probably some decent cybernetics available on Ceres, yeah, Angel?”

“I would think so. It’s a fairly large city.”

Juliet didn’t say anything more, and Angel didn’t bring anything up on her way to her quarters and shower. Angel knew Juliet wanted to think, or, more accurately, she wanted to not think for a while. Standing in the shower, she let her mind drift through a thousand different topics, never allowing herself to dwell on any of them for more than a few seconds. There was too much going on, and she was too raw. The hot water sluicing through her hair, over her shoulders, and along her body on its way to the drain was cathartic. It was so relaxing that she might have fallen asleep standing up if Angel hadn’t warned her with a gentle chime.

“We’re going to dock in twenty minutes, and Frida and Dora Lee are with your sister in the galley.”

“All right.” Juliet dried off, taking care not to bend her repaired fingers, though the strange, web-like splints kept them relatively stiff and straight. She dressed in a plain black tank top, and a pair of stretchy denim overalls that she’d forgotten were in her dresser. Even so casually dressed, Juliet clipped her gun belt around her waist, taking a moment to adjust the angle of her new monoblade and ensure the Texan was loaded. With a glance at her old, bladeless sword hilt, attached to its scabbard with a shrink-cord, she turned to leave.

Seeing herself in the mirror attached to the back of her bathroom door, she paused. She reached up to touch her red and black “Lacy Blake” hair. “Angel, can you make this different? Something lighter? Shoot, just make it blonde.” She watched the color bleed from her hair and brightened to a near-platinum blonde. “A little more yellow, maybe? And you better change my eyes, too. Let’s go with the ones we made up back on Luna when we were messing around with—yeah, that’s it.” Juliet smiled as her irises faded to silver and then brightened with bands of sky blue.

“Pretty,” Angel said, and Juliet realized she was standing beside her, once again projecting her image.

“Thank you, sis. Are you holding up all right? I hate that I get so much attention, and you—”

“I’m fine, Juliet. I know what you’re thinking most of the time, and you know what I’m thinking. We’re on the same page, but let’s not talk about it yet. Let’s enjoy some time with our friends.”

“Okay. I agree.” Juliet smiled into the mirror one more time before leaving. Feeling much better, more relaxed, and somehow a million miles and a thousand years from her ordeals on WBD ships, she walked to the galley with a definite spring in her step.

“. . . yeah, no joke, right in the chest!” Frida’s laughter and Emma’s snort of disbelief told Juliet all she needed to know about the story being told.

“Really, Frida? You’ve known my sister less than an hour, and you’re telling her how I shot you?”

“Wow! You look like a different person,” Emma said before Frida could respond.

Juliet fluffed her hair. “You like it?”

“I do!” Frida announced, jumping up from the table and approaching Juliet. “I wish you’d let me do your makeup.” She turned to Emma. “Wouldn’t some eyeshadow and a little—”

“Okay, okay,” Juliet laughed. “Anything to drink on this rig?”

Dora, sitting at the same table but a few seats removed from Emma, nodded and jerked her thumb toward the kitchen. “Still a lot of beer in the fridge. Helps that Leo and the others aren’t aboard.”

“Thanks, Dora.” Juliet started for the kitchen. “Anyone else?”

“Oh my god!” Emma laughed. “Are you serious? I haven’t had alcohol in years! Gimme!”

Frida laughed and went back to sit across from Emma. “Me too, then. I don’t want to be the only sober one when we land. I just got an update, by the way. Cherry Blossom is already at port, and Tanaka’s picking up Bennet—Athena’s lawyers got him out.”

“Good,” Juliet grunted as she pulled the fridge open. Sure enough, a couple dozen beers of various types were lined up on the middle shelf. As her eyes drifted toward them, though, she caught sight of some leftover meatloaf, a pie, and a drawer full of “food bars.” Her mouth filled with saliva, and she suddenly became aware of her empty stomach. The urge to eat nearly overwhelmed her, and it wasn’t until Angel spoke that she realized she was stuffing a hunk of pie crust into her mouth.

“You’re going to want to consume several thousand calories of high-glucose-content foods. Your nanites have been masking the cravings, but your body is low on nutrients, most especially glucose.”

“Good grief, Juliet! Bring it to the table!” Frida called, and Juliet turned, her cheeks bulging with pie, another fistful ready to stuff in as soon as she could manage to swallow.

With an audible gulp and a gasp for air, she shrugged. “My batteries are low!”