B00BKLL1XI EBOK (30 page)

“So it’s basically painless?”

“Yes. Like I said, becoming a cyborg is the easy part. The hard part is being a cyborg, especially on Earth. Sure, we can give you the drip and turn you into a cyborg similar to Dot or Nelson. It’s worked for the Children without any problems. But you would be in a rather, shall we say, sensitive position. On the one hand, you have the right to do whatever you want with your body. But on the other hand, you are a tycoon who got her hands on technology out of reach for mortal souls around you through a business connection. You might face the kind of ridicule that even I can’t imagine and I had Newman’s media hounds call me some pretty nasty things.”

“So are you saying that you wouldn’t help me?” asked Andrea as a chill rand down her spine again.

“I’m not saying that,” protested Ace to her great relief. “Listen, I am the absolutely last person to deny this technology to anyone. I’ve lived longer then some civilizations exist. It would be atrocious for me to keep this technology under wraps. I’m just asking you to consider everything, all the ups and downs.”

“But Ace, I thought about it,” replied Andrea almost crying. “It’s not fair that we have to die. It’s not fair that in the end, everything in my head will be gone, that everything I learned, everything I lived to accomplish will be for nothing when I’m gone.”

“Well I don’t think you can say that,” chimed in Dot. “Someone like you is going to leave a legacy behind, a good deal of knowledge and plenty of things you built and helped build will still be around.”

“Yes, I know that. But... ultimately it’ll be forgotten, just some labeled items in a museum storehouse or stored on some disks in a library. You told me yourself how the catacombs of Abydos are preserving all that’s left of civilizations that used to rule this galaxy.”

“It’s not true immortality,” noted Dot. “You could still be killed, you still have death looming over your head during a war or when an interstellar cataclysm catches you off guard. Granted, as a cyborg, it will take quite a bit to kill you, but...”

“I understand that. I just don’t want to be trapped in one place, in one era. I don’t want to keep wondering what’ll happen in the future. I want to see it with my own eyes. I don’t want to live like I’m on death row, just waiting to die.”

Ace sighed and finished his drink in one gulp. He looked into the blurry reflection of his face in the glass. Putting the glass down with great care, he turned to Andrea.

“Andrea, are you willing to look like me on day?” he asked. “Or Dot? Or Nelson? To have gel instead of skin, polymers for muscles, to have big glowing eyes and sacrifice your own flesh and blood to a microscopic army of machines?”

“Yes,” declared Andrea with resolve.

“Are you willing to join the Nation?”

“Yes. I am.”

“Tell me, do you have family?”

“I don’t have any family left. They’re all gone. It’s just me.”

Ace looked at Dot with a question in his eyes. Dot nodded with a wink and a subdued smile. Without having to say a word, she asked the demon to be gentle.

“Here are the conditions,” announced Ace. “If the population of Earth finds out about this, it’ll cause the kind of chaos that could end up in a war, just like the war between poor nations and rich nations in the last millennium. If we do this, you’ll have to get your successor to run Fusion GEC and retire.”

“And what would I do then?”

“You would live in the territory of the Nation. Take your money, your investments, sell everything else and convert the cash to astros. I’m not sure what the exchange rate is now, I think it’s somewhere in the 4 to 1 range. But with your personal wealth, you could buy yourself a nice planet somewhere scenic and have a nice, big temple, something in the 16,000 square foot range.”

“Temple?”

“Yeah, our homes in space look like ancient temples so we just call them that. It could be a temple if you’d like, but it’s basically just a house.”

“So I have to leave everything behind?”

“Yes.”

“What do I do for a living?”

“You have enough money to just relax. The only thing you need to pay for is food and that’s not expensive anymore thanks to Earth. I think you would be surprised how much time you could spend freely roaming the stars. If you discover something amazing, sell it. If you want to have a standard job, I’m sure Advanced Kinetics would love to hire you since they know you so well.”

Andrea bit her lower lip in thought.

“Is there a time limit on this offer?” she asked.

“None,” replied Dot. “Whenever you want to do it and you think you’re ready. Just remember that you’re not making a change for just a few years or doing something you could take back. Your choice will shape your life for thousands and thousands of years. This isn’t supposed to scare you, just let you understand the scope of your decision.”

“And all this doesn’t mean that you have to part with everything in your life,” added Ace. “If you want to tell your friends about it when you made the decision to go through with it, go for it. Just make sure they keep quiet about this until we’re ready.”

Andrea nodded in reply, looking down at her drink. She had a lot to think about.

[ chapter _ 028 ]

August of 3508 was coming to a close and the general election finally ended the long and difficult media battle which raged for over a year now. It started a few weeks after trade agreements with the Nation were formalized, just as Ace, Dot, Steve and Christine left for the killing fields of the Rexx domain. Through all the smears, insults and verbal confrontations, the politicians once again failed to ignite the public’s admiration and attain the devotion of a normal, typical person.

But this election did arouse the people’s ire thanks to Nelson and his two minute speech on the morning after the battle. Furious voters went to the polls with only one goal. To punish. To distribute what they thought was justice. To cleanse the Council and their local city boards. With a seemingly innocent speech, Nelson directed the people’s anger and watched as the humans carried out their civic duty and turned rage into action. It was the morning after the election and all the numbers were in.

Armed with a plastic sheet, Nelson walked out to the pool of residential tower with his condo. The pool was in the middle of the sprawling private rooftop patio, surrounded by a winding road made of flat, polished stones arranged into a curving lane. Steve and Ace raced in the crystal clear blue water while Christine tanned and Dot sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her bare feet in the water. Deciding to take a risk around the laidback cyborgs, Christine tanned without her top. Dot, who’s silver gel reflected the sun’s rays, glowed in the light, dressed in just her shorts. Ace and Steve donned a pair of swimming trunks. Nelson joined them in shorts and a t-shirt.

“Ok guys! The election results are in!” he announced.

“And who won?” asked Ace, poking his head out of the water.

“More like who lost!” laughed Nelson.

“Newman’s outta there?” smiled Steve.

“That’s right. The Council is now stacked with progressives and their first order of business is ‘to improve relations with our friends, the Shadow Nation and repair any damage the smear campaign lead by ex-Councilor Newman may have caused.’”

“You know, you did get Newman tossed out on a lie,” Christine noted as she stretched out on the lounge.

“Ah well,” cringed Nelson. “You know what they say, an honest politician is like a virgin in a brothel. Even if it’s true, it’s not gonna stay that way for long.”

“Fair enough,” Christine shrugged.

“You know, I’m just glad that I’m not participating in battles of witlessness anymore,” laughed Ace. “Say, you won’t push me out on talk shows after this, right?”

“Uh-huh,” distractedly mumbled Nelson, his attention directed elsewhere.

“Nelson!” growled Dot. “Quit staring at Christine’s boobies and answer the man.”

Laughter erupted in the backyard as everyone except Nelson had their first good laugh of the year. With a slight blush across his nose, he coughed and regained his composure.

“No Ace, don ‘t worry, no more talk shows for you,” he said. “I think we’re pretty much done with that for a while.”

Ace jumped out of the water next to Dot and sat on the edge. His jet black gel also glowed in the sunlight which was reflected off the drops and streams of water that covered his body.

“Pardon me Dot,” he asked mockingly, smirking at Christine. “I would like to ask if you would mind terribly if I stare at your boobies while I sit here?”

“Go right ahead kind sir,” replied Dot puffing out her breasts.

Another bout of laughter rang across the patio, this time with Nelson joining the chorus. The High Councilor shook his head with a sad smirk and he kicked the water at Ace and Dot who instinctively raised their arms. Dot squealed from laugher and Ace grinned evilly.

“I get absolutely no respect from those two,” complained Nelson to the humans. “They just make fun of me whenever they want. I’m a member of the Child ruling body dammit!”

“Are they supposed to be scared of you?” asked Christine.

“Not Ace” frowned Nelson. “Technically he’s my boss.”

“Really?” asked Steve bewildered. “Ace, I thought you weren’t really a member of the High Council, just an adviser.”

“Well, Ace is a member of the High Command,” noted Nelson.

“You don’t say...” Christine perked up and looked at Ace.

“Guilty as charged,” admitted Ace. “I’m the evil High Commander that Newman and his friends were trying to find.”

“So what are you doing here?”

“Staring at Dot’s boobies.”

Dot giggled and lightly pinched him on the arm.

“No, come on now!” urged Christine.

“I’m not going to get much done if I sit around and rely on robot ships and soldiers I never met to do the job. I spend a lot of time with soldiers, a lot of time in my lab, I travel quite a bit and take care of a whole bunch of things. Most of the Command does the same.”

“What is the High Command doing now?” asked Steve.

“Getting our fleet ready.”

“Let me guess, we’re going to fight the Dark Gods.”

“We are,” said Dot. “You could stay if you’d like. I’m sure that Councilor Grey got what he needs out of stationing you with us. The Dark Gods are nothing like the Rexx. It’ll be a pretty rough war.”

“I think we can handle it,” said Christine.

“And I’m sure we can,” seconded Steve.

“You really want to come with us?” asked Nelson incredulously.

Steve got out of the pool and stretched.

“Earth is great and all, but out there, in the stars... That’s where the real adventure is,” he replied. “I’d rather take a risk to have some fun and excitement in life then wallow on Earth in boredom.”

“Besides, what do you consider fun here?” agreed Christine. “If there’s a new movie out we call it excitement. If someone goes for a hike through the jungle we call it an adventure. Earth is getting a bit boring. There’s not that much that’s happening here right now.”

“So you’re willing to go with us to the ends of this galaxy and go head to head with a vicious race of alien killer worms that’s been the dominant civilization in this galaxy for the last million years?”

Christine and Steve did a double take in unison.

“Alien killer worms?” they scratched their heads.

Ace shrugged.

“Well... they’re not killer worms now per se. I said that because they evolved from an insect that was a lot like a marine worm. Think of the armored bugs of the Cambrian period. Like an Anomelocaris but a lot bigger and leaner. On their planet, these armored killer bugs became very intelligent and turned into, well... a type of armor plated worm that evolved into them.”

“Scientists,” scoffed Dot. “Always going into every little detail, always using big words...”

“Why I take offense on the grounds that I resemble that remark,” grimaced Ace.

“Fine take offense. Don’t leave any for me.”

The crew spent the day outside, by the pool. They were finally able to relax and enjoy the warmth of their home star for a little while. In a very short time, they would be off to the battlefield once again, but right now they could relax. For their next battle, the stakes would be higher than ever because their enemy was determined to maintain its dominance of the galaxy at any cost.

Gene was in a particularly grouchy mood that day. After spending his day consoling his clients, he spoke frankly to a person he knew would understand him. At dinner time, he sat on the open air floor of an exclusive restaurant with Tina and released the pent up frustration that ate at him through the campaign.

“I cannot believe how badly Nelson fucked me!” he growled. “It was absolutely fucking insane. One day he’s neutrality itself and the Nation insists on staying out of the election. Then, the next day he’s on the morning news and says one little thing and the whole election sways to the Nation’s buddies.”

“Don’t be mad,” consoled Tina. “They played both of us like we were kids. You tried to undermine their potential authority, I tried to cozy up to them and they just waited biding their time. I think that he planned it this way all along.”

Gene furrowed his brow in shock.

“Do you mean that the attack was staged?” he asked coldly. “You’re not going whacko conspiracy theorist on me, are you?”

“No, no, of course not,” denied Tina. “The attack was real. We’ll never know exactly what happened because we don’t have the secret files that the Council has in their vaults, but what I meant is that their strategy was to build up a following and then sway the masses.”

“How are aliens going to know how to sway the masses?”

“Jeez, Gene! That’s why you lost the election... These guys rule almost a fifth of the galaxy with an iron fist. Do you know how much territory that is and how they had to learn to get there? ”

“Hey, hey, hey! I told you, Nelson fucked me over to get rid of Newman and his friends.”